Canada dug itself an early hole Sunday, conceding twice in the first 10 minutes en route to a 4-1 loss to the defending champion the United States in the final of the CONCACAF Girls’ Under-15 Championship.
Alexandra Pfeiffer and Kennedy Fuller scored in the seventh and 10th minute, respectively, for the Americans in the 70-minute match. Abby Ballek and Ashlyn Puerta added insurance goals in the 67th minute and stoppage time (72nd minute) with Canada pressing for an equalizer.
Isabelle Chukwu replied for Canada in the 26th minute, recording the first goal conceded by the U.S. at the tournament.
It was 30 degrees Celsius, feeling like 34 C for the 11 a.m. local time kickoff at the Hillsborough County Sportsplex.
The U.S. went ahead in the seventh minute when Canada failed to clear the ball out of its own end with Pfeiffer beating Canadian keeper Noelle Henning with a left-footed shot…
