THE ‘Lady Jags’ will go hunting tonight for three points when they face table-leaders St Lucia from 20:30hrs in a game that many fans are anxious to witness, as the CONCACAF U-20 Women’s Championship Qualifiers continue at the National Track and Field Centre.
Suriname will face Antigua and Barbuda from 18:00hrs in a clash between two teams who are so far yet to secure a win, and should set the perfect tone for what is expected to be Group A’s biggest clash – Guyana vs St Lucia.

The Dr Ivan Joseph-coached women had a few days to rest after taking back-to-back wins against Bermuda and Antigua, both victories coming by a 2-0 scoreline.

After their win against the Antiguans, Dr Joseph said the three days’ rest would give the girls a chance to relax away from the game, while taking one day to prepare for tonight’s game against St Lucia, who he said have been “quite the scorer”.

“They (St Lucia) get a lot of goals in, they’re fast, and they’re strong, so our job is to heal our injuries, look at the St Lucia tape and decide what the game plan is,” the Canadian-based coach said.

St Lucia chalked up another impressive win on Wednesday evening, beating Antigua and Barbuda 3-1, thanks to a hat-trick from the tournament’s leading scorer Krysan St Louis. His goals which came in the 14th, 20th and 72nd minutes, took her tally to five in three outings.

Team captain Brianne Desa has been sensational for Guyana at the back, leading her charges to a clean sheet so far in the tournament, but Guyana’s head coach was adamant that with St Lucia showing that scoring goals is not a difficult task, it will certainly put the Lady Jags’ defence to the test.

Contrary to how well the team looked on the pitch, Dr Joseph made it clear that the game against Bermuda was the side’s first time playing together, since the team had no time to prepare because they came from different parts of the world; mostly Guyana, USA and Canada.

The coach who holds a PhD in Sport Psychology believes that his side have what it takes to top Group A, but with St Lucia standing in their way, he said the game between the two sides tonight will test Guyana’s readiness to play at the next level of the tournament.
Tiandi Smith, Audrey Narine and Jenea Knight are so far showing that they can be problems for defenders in the region, while Kiana Khedoo is so far having an exceptional showing in the midfield.

Meanwhile, Bermuda chalked up their first win in the tournament, with a dismantling display against Suriname on their way to a 6-1 win.
The win puts them third, behind leaders St Lucia (nine points) and Guyana (six points).