(WWW.Concacaf.com) CANCUN, Mexico – Maribel Dominguez scored four goals and set up another to lead Mexico to a 7-2 victory over Guyana yesterday in the opening game for both at the CONCACAF Women’s World Cup Qualifying tournament.
Dinora Garza also had a pair of goals for Mexico, which extended its unbeaten streak to seven games at home in CONCACAF women’s championship play.
Guyana, making its debut in the CONCACAF women’s championship finals, used four 17-year-olds and two 19-year-olds in its starting 11 backed by 37-year-old goalkeeper Catherine Kobelka.
Mexico jumped ahead 81 seconds after the opening kickoff, but committed two defensive gaffes in the first half that led to goals and kept the Lady Jags’ hopes alive.
Dominguez – who has played in Spain since 2005 — was instrumental in putting Mexico ahead. Natalie Vinti launched a ball from deep in her own end that Dominguez chased down and dribbled into the area before sending a ball across the six-yard box, where Garza volleyed in at the back post.
Dominguez scored her first in the 24th, capitalizing on a major mistake by Kobelka. The veteran keeper, who will turn 38 on November 24, raced off her line to challenge Stephany Mayor to a looping high ball at the top of the area but missed. The ball bounced once and an unmarked Dominguez headed in from 12 meters to double Mexico’s lead.
Garza nearly added a second in the 29th, crashing a right-footed shot from 12 meters off the crossbar.
Mariam El-Masri exploited a failed clearance by Vinti to get Guyana’s first goal. Vinti attempted a left-footed swipe inside her own penalty area, but the ball struck a pressing El-Masri in the chest. It fell fortuitously for El-Masri, who beat Mexican keeper Pamela Tajonar inside the far post.
Dominguez converted a penalty to restore Mexico’s two-goal advantage in the 36th after drawing the foul in what appeared to be a fair shoulder-to-shoulder challenge with Guyanese defender Briana DeSouza.
Guyana pulled within a goal again in the 40th on a embarrassing mistake by Tajonar. Kayla DeSouza lifted a seemingly innocuous looping ball toward goal from the corner of the penalty area, but Tajonar appeared to misjudge it, letting it fall behind her arms stretched upward and inside the goal.
Garza scored her second 77 seconds into first-half injury time, running past Justine Rodrigues onto to a through ball and finishing low under Kobelka.
Mexico was overwhelmingly dominant in the second half scoring twice more and hitting bar twice.
Guadalupe Worbis put Mexico ahead 5-2 in the 59th, arcing a 35-meter right-footed shot over the outstretched arm of Kobelka and just under the bar.
Dominguez then finished the onslaught with goals in the 69th and 80th.
She sprinted through Guyana’s high line, ran unmarked onto a ball out of the back from the top of the offensive third, and easily beat Kobelka from just inside the top of the penalty area. Her finale was even easier, converting after Katrina Moore’s attempted clearance of a Mayor cross fell to her feet in the middle of the area.