U.S. Beach Soccer Women’s National Team Wins Acapulco Cup With Three Straight Wins

USBWNT Defeated World #2 England, Mexico and Bahamas to Win Inaugural Acapulco Beach Soccer Cup; Ali Hall Named MVP; Hannah Adler and Kilee Quigley Led Team with Four Goals Each
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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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USA Game-by-Game Capsules:

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)

Go Deeper