A goalless draw against Guatemala gave Saint Lucia’s young Piton Girlz their first point in Group C of the 2026 Concacaf Women’s Under-17 Qualifiers. The brace result came on Thursday, January 29 at Stadion Rignaal Jean Francisca in Willemstad, Curaçao.
Saint Lucia was forced into a change to their starting lineup, as Ivana Marshall was serving a one-game suspension due to a red card against Haiti on Tuesday. Amaya Emmanuel, a forward, was deployed in the back line in her stead, with the team switching to a 4-3-3 formation. Nyeesha Antoine took over at the head of the attack.
The Central Americans were on the attack from early, coming off consecutive wins, 1-0 over The Cayman Islands and 5-0 over Antigua and Barbuda. Saint Lucia had fallen 5-0 to Haiti in their opening game on Tuesday at the same venue.
On Thursday night, Guatemala had four shots in the first ten minutes, calling Alyssa Flavius into action on three occasions. Kennya Richard and Amaya Emmanuel won the first two free kicks for Saint Lucia, whilst winger Kayla Polius was twice adjudged to have been offside.
A golden opportunity sprang up for Guatemala in the 38th minute, when Hayla Samuel upended Lourdes Lòpez in the 18-yard box. But Flavius was not even needed, as Emery Aguilar shot wide to keep the scores level. Guatemala ended up with 24 shots to just two for Saint Lucia.
Both of Saint Lucia’s shots came in the second half, when Joyceline Neptune replaced Antoine due to an injury. Overall, Guatemala enjoyed 67.9 per cent of possession, but the experienced Saint Lucian defence shone on the day, against a team that included three US-based players.
Saint Lucia next meets winless Antigua and Barbuda on Saturday afternoon. The Antiguans have shipped 15 goals in their previous three matches, and are bottom of the group.
