FRISCO, Texas - FC Dallas Girls Academy players Kiara Gilmore, Trinity Armstrong and Rylee McLanahan helped the U-17 U.S. National Team win the 2024 U-17 Concacaf Championship in Mexico on Sunday, Feb. 11. It was the U.S.’s sixth Concacaf title and earned qualification to the 2024 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup.
The tournament, hosted by the Federación Mexicana de Fútbol Asociación (FMF), featured eight teams divided into two groups with the top two finishers automatically qualifying for the U-17 Women’s World Cup. The U.S. now holds a 40-0-2 record in Concacaf, having outscored their opponents 249-12.
The U.S. kicked off the tournament with a 13-0 victory over Panama. They later beat Puerto Rico 3-1 and finished the group stage with a 5-0 victory over Canada. To finish off their winning campaign, the U.S. defeated Haiti in the semi-final match 7-1 and later sealed their victory by defeating hosts Mexico 4-0 in the final.
Forward Rylee McLanahan had one aim going into the tournament: “Being a forward, I think scoring my first international goal would be really cool.” In her very first game, she scored in the 67th minute after taking on a defender to drive into the box. The strike was placed well, going under and out of reach of the diving goalkeeper and into the bottom left corner. She had ten total shots this tournament, with three on target and one goal.
Defender Kiara Gilmore had three starts and one shot during her second tournament representing a U.S. Youth National Team. Gilmore celebrated her birthday by being a part of the starting backline of the final match to help secure their victory.
Leading the FC Dallas contingent with the most starts was defender Trinity Armstrong who had four, including one in the championship match. She also helped the U.S. earn a strong defensive record, conceding just two goals throughout the tournament.
