ACAPULCO, Mexico (April 16, 2023) – A year to date from winning its first international tournament, the U.S. Beach Soccer Women’s National Team captured its second by winning the inaugural Acapulco Beach Soccer Cup with a three-game sweep at Arena GNP Seguros on Mexico’s southern coast. The USA opened the tournament Friday night with a 7-2 rout of world number-two ranked England, defeated Mexico 5-2 on Saturday night and edged Bahamas 5-4 in overtime Sunday afternoon to finish atop the standings with 8 points. Ali Hall was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player.
| 2023 Acapulco Beach Soccer Cup - Mexico | ||||||||
| Team | GP | W | W+ | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts. |
| USA | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 17 | 8 | + 9 | 8 |
| England | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 15 | 12 | + 3 | 6 |
| Mexico | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 11 | - 1 | 3 |
| Bahamas | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 11 | 22 | - 11 | 0 |
APR 14:
USA 7-2 ENG
BAH 2-8 MEX
APR 15:
USA 5-2 MEX
ENG 9-5 BAH
APR 16:
USA 5-4 BAH
MEX 0-4 ENG
Having earned a berth at the Olympic Committees’ World Beach Games in Bali, Indonesia with a second place finish at last week's Qualifiers in El Salvador, the WNT made a few changes to the roster for the Acapulco Cup, which allowed 10 rostered players compared to 12. Alas Lauren Leslie and Vanessa Valentine and goalkeeper Melissa Lowder departed, and goalkeeper Jennifer Ramirez was called in for her first international tournament.
The changes did not affect the USA, which led the field with 17 goals scored and conceded the fewest with eight. Kilee Quigley and Hannah Adler led the team with four goals each, followed by Ali Hall with three. Kelly Garson and Rachel Hunter each scored twice and Jean Sunsuri-Warp added another. Gabriella Batmani played every minute in goal.
The USA officially clinched the Cup on Saturday night after defeating Mexico. With six points after two games - including victories over England and Mexico - the U.S. was assured to finish first regardless of Sunday’s results. England and Mexico entered Sunday with 3 points each, so even a USA loss could have left the USA tied with either Mexico or England, but the USA held the first tie-breaker, head-to-head. Still, the BWNT fought a resilient Bahamas side and won the match when Adler scored with five seconds left in overtime.
The USA’s previous title was the 2022 El Salvador Beach Soccer Cup when they defeated Argentina, Bahamas and El Salvador on April 14-15-16 in Costa del Sol, El Salvador.
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APRIL 14: USA 7-0 ENGLAND (MATCH 1)
Scoring Summary: 1 2 3 F
USA 3 3 1 7
ENG 0 0 2 2
USA - Hannah Adler 8:20 (1st Period)
USA - Kelly Garzon 7:02 (1st)
USA - Kilee Quigley 3:53 (1st)
USA - Rachel Hunter 8:49 (2nd)
USA - Hannah Adler 5:34 (2nd)
USA - Ali Hall :11 (2nd)
ENG - Sarah Kempson 11:02 (3rd) - Batmani
ENG - Molly Clark 10:42 (3rd) - Batmani
USA - Ali Hall 7:31 (3rd)
Lineups:
USA: 1-Gabriella Batmani, 3-Hannah Adler, 5-Makenzie Chronopoulus, 9-Kilee Quigley, 10-Ali Hall (Captain
Substitutes: 2-Danielle Kovacevic, 6-Jeane Sunseri-Warp, 8-Kelly Garzon, 11-Rachel Hunter
Did not Play: 12-Jennifer Ramirez
Head coach: Morgan Church
ENG: 17-Sophie Harris, 2-Katie James, 5-Hannah Short, 6-Wendy Martin, 10-Molly Clark
Substitutes: 3-Chloe Andrews, 7-Sarah Kempson (Captain), 8-Rebecca Barron, 9-Gemma Hillier, 15-Connie Short
Head coach: Steven Black
Misconduct Summary:
None
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APRIL 15: USA 5-2 MEXICO (MATCH 2)
Scoring Summary: 1 2 3 F
USA 0 3 2 5
MEX 1 0 1 2
MEX - Fanny Vieyra 6:40 (1st Period)
USA - Own Goal (Sanchez) 6:17 (2nd) - Batmani
USA - Hannah Adler 3:45 (2nd)
USA - Rachel Hunter :03 (2nd)
USA - Kilee Quigley 10:52 (3rd)
USA - Kelly Garzon 8:35 (3rd)
MEX - Taisha Anna :33 (3rd) - Batmani
Lineups:
USA: 1-Gabriella Batmani, 3-Hannah Adler, 5-Makenzie Chronopoulus, 9-Kilee Quigley, 10-Ali Hall (Captain
Substitutes: 2-Danielle Kovacevic, 6-Jeane Sunseri-Warp, 8-Kelly Garzon, 11-Rachel Hunter
Did not Play: 12-Jennifer Ramirez
Head coach: Morgan Church
MEX: 1-Daniella Ramos, 5-Dennise Leilani, 6- Alejandra Sanchez, 7- Stefi Reyna, 10-Dana Garcia
Substitutes: 12-Sofia Casares, 3-Marlen Cruz, 4-Taisha Anna, 8-Fanny Vieyra, 9-Laura Canales
Head coach: Fatima Leyva
Misconduct Summary:
MEX - Fanny Leilani (caution) 8:42 (2nd)
USA - Kilee Quigley (caution) 4:22 (2nd)
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APRIL 16: USA 5-4 BAHAMAS (MATCH 3)
Scoring Summary: 1 2 3 AET F
USA 1 1 1 2 5
BAH 2 0 1 1 4
USA - Jeane Sunsuri-Warp 9:59 (1st Period)
BAH - Own Goal (Sunseri-Warp) 8:41 (1st) - Batmani
BAH - Karen Wert 7:37 (1st) - Batmani
USA - Kilee Quigley 2:04 (2nd)
USA - Kilee Quigley 6:52 (3rd)
BAH - Hadassah Knowles 3:05 (3rd) - Batmani
BAH - Karen West 2:57 (AET) - Batmani
USA - Ali Hall 1:05 (AET)
USA - Hannah Adler :05 (AET)
Lineups:
USA: 1-Gabriella Batmani, 3-Hannah Adler, 6-Jeane Sunseri-Warp, 9-Kilee Quigley, 10-Ali Hall (Captain)
Substitutes: 2-Danielle Kovacevic, 5-Makenzie Chronopoulus, 8-Kelly Garzon, 11-Rachel Hunter
Did not Play: 12-Jennifer Ramirez
Head coach: Morgan Church
BAH: 1-Kendi Outten, 2-Jodei Clarke, 3-Karen Wert (Captain), 7-Jade Thelamour, 21-Alexis Woodside
Substitutes: 4-Jada Thelamour, 5-Janeka Edey, 8-Angel Williams, 9-Hadassah Knowles, 11-Taleah Thompson
Head coach: Daria Adderley
Misconduct Summary:
USA - Ali Hall (caution) 6:42 (3rd)