Canada blank Guatemala in Olympic women’s qualifying – Trinidad and Tobago beat Guyana to earn spot in semis

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HOUSTON, Feb 17, (AP): Rebecca Quinn and Nichelle Prince each scored three goals and Canada routed Guatemala 10-0 on Tuesday night to advance to the semifinals at the CONCACAF women’s Olympic qualifying tournament.

Canada, ranked No. 11 in the world, will face Costa Rica in the first semifinal at BBVA Compass Stadium on Friday night, followed by the top-ranked United States against Trinidad and Tobago. The winners will earn a berth at this year’s Olympics in Brazil.

Earlier Tuesday, Trinidad and Tobago defeated Guyana 5-1 in the qualifying tournament for the North and Central American and Caribbean region.

Melissa Tancredi scored on a header in the fifth minute to open scoring for the Canadians. Seventeen-year-old Gabrielle Carle scored in the 27th minute for her first goal at the senior level, and Janine Beckie followed with another goal in the 35th.

Prince scored in the 44th minute before Quinn put together a second-half hat trick. The goals, in the 45th, 49th and 52nd minutes, were Quinn’s first with the national team. The 20-year-old from Toronto plays for the Duke University.

Canada rested veteran Christine Sinclair, who scored her 159th goal Sunday to pass American Mia Hamm for second on the women’s career list. The goal came in the second half shortly after Sinclair entered as a substitute in a 6-0 victory over Trinidad and Tobago.

The top scorer is recently retired US forward Abby Wambach with 184 goals.

Canada was the bronze medalist at the 2012 London Games, defeating France 1-0. The North American nation hosted the Women’s World Cup last summer, but the home team was eliminated by upstart England in the quarterfinals. The US women won the event with a 5-2 victory over Japan.

The United States has won the gold medal at the last three Olympics. Trinidad and Tobago scored three goals in the first 16 minutes and went on to beat Guyana 5-1 on Tuesday to earn a spot in the semifinals at the CONCACAF women’s Olympic qualifying tournament.

The Soca Warriors will face the top-ranked US national team at BBVA Compass Stadium on Friday, following the semifinal between Canada and Costa Rica. The winners advance to a Sunday final and earn berths at this summer’s Olympics in Brazil.

Kennya Cordner, Mariah Shade and an own goal gave Trinidad a commanding lead before Ahkeela Mollon added a goal in the 21st minute.

Bria Williams scored for Guyana before the end of the first half, but Cordner scored again for the Soca Warriors in the 61st minute.

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