CORDOBA, Mexico (CMC):
A THREE-GOAL second-half burst drove Jamaica to a 3-1 victory over El Salvador Saturday evening that revived their hopes in the CONCACAF Women's Under-20 championship.
Jamaica tackle Suriname today in their last group game needing only a draw to reach the semis.
The United States, Mexico and Canada have all secured their semi-final berths.
Rebounding from a 4-1 loss to the USA in their opening game last Thursday, star player Kenesia Reid sent Jamaica ahead early in the second half when she scored in the 50th minute.
Omolyn Davis struck two minutes later with an accurate free-kick from outside the box, and Kimmia Parker beat the Central American goalkeeper Sulma Claribel with another strike from outside the area in the 58th minute.
Patricia Elizabeth Campos netted a consolation goal in the 71st minute for El Salvador, who had beaten Suriname 3-0 in their opening game on Thursday.
In the other Group B match at the Rafael Murillo Stadium, the USA shot past Suriname 4-0 to secure their spot in the semi-finals of the qualifying tournament for this summer's FIFA Women's Under-20 Championship in Russia.
At the conclusion of the first round today, the winners and runners-up of each group will earn a place in the event's semi-finals on January 25, with the winners of those games earning an automatic place as CONCACAF representatives in FIFA's Under-20 Women's World Championship in Russia from August 15 to September 2.
CONCACAF's third spot in the FIFA event will be determined by a third-place play-off game between the two losing semi-finalists on January 27, the same day the two finalists meet for the CONCACAF Women's Under-20 crown.
