PORT OF SPAIN — Kaylee Hunter scored five goals and Natelle El Mokbel added four as Canada hammered Dominica 22-0 in CONCACAF U-20 women's qualifying play Friday.
Lea Larouche and Kierra Blundell each had hat tricks for Canada, which led 4-0 after 11 minutes at Ato Boldon Stadium. And the goals kept coming.
Larouche, a freshman forward at Butler University, completed her hat trick in the 31st minute, giving Canada a 7-0 lead.
Hunter, a member of the Northern Super League's AFC Toronto, made it 10-0 with her third of the day in the 45th minute. She added a fourth in the 54th and upped the lead to 14-0 from the penalty spot with her fifth in the 61st minute. Fortunately for Dominica, she exited in the 64th minute.
Annabelle Chukwu and Jadea Collin each scored twice while Sienna Gibson, Ava Greco and Iba Oching added singles for Canada, which led scored 11 goals in each half. The Canadians also hit the woodwork three times.
Chukwu, a freshman at Notre Dame, previously broke Christine Sinclair’s Canadian youth international goal-scoring record. The 18-year-old from Ottawa now has 30 goals in 35 games from the under-15 to under-20 level.
It was a tough day at the office for Dominica goalkeeper Dymond Daniel, who got little help from her defence. She was replaced a halftime.
Blundell and El Mokbel both came off the bench in the second half.
Canada's senior side is ranked sixth in the world compared to No. 164 for Dominica, whose population is some 75,580
Two years ago in the same CONCACAF qualifier, the young Canadians outscored their opposition 40-1 in four games. The Canadians opened play with a 15-0 win over Martinique before downing St. Vincent and the Grenadines 12-0, Cuba 4-0 and El Salvador 9-1
The United States and Mexico, as the top-ranked countries in the confederation, get to skip the qualifying round and will go directly to the CONCACAF U-20 Championship in May. Canada and 23 other teams will have to win their way there.
Those 24 teams have been divided into six pools with only the group winners moving on to the main CONCACAF competition in May. Four CONCACAF teams will make it to next year's FIFA U-20 World Cup in Poland.
Canada faces Bermuda on Sunday and host Trinidad and Tobago next Tuesday in Group E play.
While Canada has never played Dominica or Bermuda before at this level, it has won all four previous meetings against Trinidad and Tobago in under-20 play, with an 18-2 edge in goals.
Selena Lancaster of Vaughan, Ont., started in the Dominica midfield. She has committed to play for Dalhousie University under Canada U-20 coach Cindy Tye, who doubles as Dalhousie women's coach.
The Canadian squad features six returning players from last year's FIFA Women's U-20 World Cup in Colombia where Canada made it to the round of 16 before losing 2-1 to Spain.
The veterans are led by midfielder Jeneva Hernandez Gray and Chukwu, both of whom got the second half off Friday.
Hernandez Gray, who has earned one cap with the Canadian senior side, signed with Portugal's Sporting CP in January.
Other returning players are goalkeepers Noelle Henning and Sofia Cortes-Browne and defenders Janet Okeke and Collin.
Chukwu and Okeke, who captained the side Friday, have been called into camp by the Canada senior side but have yet to win a cap.
Canada has taken part in nine of the previous 11 editions of the FIFA U-20 tournament, missing out in 2010 and 2018.
Canada’s best showing was runner-up in 2002, led by a young Sinclair, in the first edition of the tournament when it was still an under-19 event. The Canadian women reached the quarterfinals in 2004 and 2014 (on home soil), failing to make it out of the group stage on five other occasions.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 21, 2025
The Canadian Press
