U.S. women's soccer team routs Jamaica, seals World Cup berth
The U.S. women's national team will get the opportunity to defend its World Cup championship next summer in France after defeating Jamaica 6-0 in a semifinal of the CONCACAF qualifying tournament on Sunday in Frisco, Texas. Canada won the other semifinal 7-0 over Panama on Sunday and also qualified for the World Cup. The Canadians and Americans will play Wednesday at Toyota Stadium in Frisco for the CONCACAF regional championship. Jamaica and Panama also will play Wednesday in Frisco. The winner of the third-place match will qualify for the World Cup, while the loser will face Argentina in a playoff for another World Cup berth. Once Tobin Heath scored the first of her two goals in the second minute, the outcome was never in doubt as the U.S. rolled to a 5-0 halftime lead. Megan Rapinoe scored in the 15th from a diagonal ball out of the midfield by Abby Dahlkemper. Julie Ertz scored with a powerful header off a service on the left flank by Crystal Dunn in the 21st minute, and Heath made it 4-0 in the 29th minute for her 25th international goal. Alex Morgan continued her impressive goal-scoring run with a shot from the middle of the box after a corner kick 10 minutes before the break and added a penalty kick in the 84th. She has 23 goals in her past 23 games, including 16 in 16 matches this year. Both teams laid off the intensity and used their substitutes in the second half to be rested for their next matches. The U.S. has outscored opponents 24-0 in the four tournament games while running its all-time qualifying record to 31-1-0. The Americans are 15-0-2 this year and 22-0-3 since July 2017. --Field Level Media
