Tuesday, November 08, 2011
- by B.B. Branton
Girls Preparatory School senior goalkeeper Simone Busby allowed only one goal in three matches as the Guyana Women’s U20 National Soccer Team posted a 3-0 record to win the Women’s U20 World Cup Qualifying Stage I this past week in Guyana.
“It was a great opportunity for me to play in international competition and to represent Guyana in a World Cup qualifying tournament,” said Busby.
Known as the Guyana Lady Jags, Busby and company opened with a 7-0 win against Antigua & Barbuda (Nov.2), followed by a 5-0 victory against Anguilla (Nov.4).
Guyana and the Dominican Republic were 2-0 heading in to the final match on Nov.6. The D.R. scored first, only to have Guyana follow with two goals, including the winning goal in the final seconds.
Guyana and the D.R. advance to the Stage II World Cup Qualifying Tournament to be played in December or January.
The CONCACAF finals are in the first quarter of 2012 with the U20 World Cup to be held in Viet Nam next summer.
"We were very pleased with Simone’s overall performance, especially considering that this was her first experience with international competition in a FIFA tournament setting,” said Guyana head coach and the University of South Florida women’s assistant coach Chris Brown.
“She provided a calmness in goal that is always helpful when you have a team that has not spent much time together as a group.
"We are certain that Simone will continue to work even harder during the coming weeks to assure that she is prepared to put her best foot forward in anticipation of the next phase of the U20 World Cup qualifying tournament."
contact B.B. Branton at william.branton@comcast.net