Haiti and St Lucia maintained pole position in their respective League B groups as they registered their second win of the Concacaf Nations League campaign, while Curacao and Puerto Rico notched their first victories on Monday.
St Lucia edged Grenada 2-1, while Curacao blanked St Martin 4-0 in the Group B double-header at Kirani James Athletics Stadium in St. George's.
With the win, St Lucia moved to six points as Curacao rose to second on three points, same as Grenada, who slipped to third. St Martin is the only team in the group yet to get on the board.
Meanwhile, Haiti hammered St Maarten 6-0 and Puerto Rico clipped Aruba 1-0 in their Group C encounters at Estadio Centroamericano in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico.
Haiti now sit on six points and Puerto Rico inched up to second on three points, same as third-placed St Maarten, while Aruba remains at the foot of the standing without a point.
Curacao vs. St Martin
Curacao’s clinical victory over St Martin, kept their hopes of League A promotion alive.
Juninho Bacuna opened the scoring in the 10th minute when he outpaced defenders and slotted home on a transition play.
Gervane Kastaneer doubled the lead in the 13th when he converted on a second attempt after his initial shot was blocked.
Leandro Bacuna added a third in the 48th with a firm finish from deep inside the 18-yard box, before Joshua Zimmerman headed home from a weighted cross in the 65th minute to cap the win.
Haiti vs. St Maarten
Favoured to top Group C and reclaim their rightful spot in League A, Haiti moved closer to achieving the feat with another dominant performance.
Duckens Nazon led from the front with a second half hat-trick, while substitute Mikael Cantave had a brace.
Attys Christopher opened the scoring in the 40th when he headed home from a corner kick.
From there, it became the Nazon show, as he also headed home in the 59th minute, with his second and third coming in the 75th and 82nd minutes, respectively.
Cantave chipped in with strikes in the 77th and 85th minutes as St Martin had no response to the onslaught.
Grenada vs. Saint Lucia
This was always expected to be a close contest and it lived up to its billing with St Lucia denying their host.
Christian Forino Joseph broke the deadlock for St Lucia in the 13th when he got on the end of Alvinus Myers’ well-weighted corner kick.
Donavan Jn Baptiste then capitalised on Grenada’s defensive error to double the lead in the 21st minute.
Grenada pulled one back in the 51st courtesy of Lucas Akins.
St Lucia’s goalkeeper Vino Barclett was instrumental in his team’s victory as he pulled off six saves to deny Grenada an equalizer.
Aruba vs. Puerto Rico
Leandro Antonetti was the hero for host Puerto Rico in a tightly contested encounter.
Antonetti found the winner in the 73rd with a firm header to break their opponent’s hearts.
St Lucia, St Maarten, Grenada, and Haiti all opened their 2024/25 Concacaf Nations League accounts with victories in League B on Friday.
Grenada blanked St Martin 2-0, and St Lucia edged Curacao 2-1 in the Group B double-header at Kirani James Athletics Stadium.
Over in Group C, Haiti were 4-1 winners over Puerto Rico, and St Maarten blanked Aruba 2-0 at Estadio Centroamericano in Puerto Rico.
St Lucia vs. Curaçao
In what was the first-ever Nations League encounter between the two nations, St Lucia were the better team on the day.
Arkell Jude-Boyd broke the deadlock for St Lucia in the 24th when he fended off a defender on his way to poking an effort through the legs of Eloy Room in goal for Curacao to make it 1-0 at the break.
Jude-Boyd went close to extending the lead in the second half, but Room came up big for Curacao on that occasion.
However, St Lucia inevitably doubled the lead in the 55th through Caniggia Elva, who finished off a loose ball.
Curacao pulled one back in the 63rd when Joshua Brenet fired home from Leandro Bacuna’s pass.
St Maarten vs. Aruba
St Maarten and Aruba failed to separate themselves for most of the contest, as their respective goalkeepers Tyrell Richardson and Matthew Lentink were in good knick between the sticks.
It wasn’t until the 81st that Gerwin Lake broke the deadlock for St Maarten when he rifled an effort past Lentink, who had no chance at a save on that occasion.
Ronan Olivacce added a second for St Maarten in the 90+3, with an easy tap-in from Chovanie Amatkarijo’s pass.
St Martin vs. Grenada
Grenada were always favoured to secure the three points and that they did.
It took them only five minutes to open the scoring as Lucas Akins capitalised on a defensive error.
The menacing Regan Charles-Cook made the points safe when he tucked home from close range in the 38th minute.
St Martin tried to stay in the contest but found Grenada’s defence and goalkeeper Chad Phillip in defiant mode.
Puerto Rico vs. Haiti
After being relegated from League A, Haiti is intent of getting back to the top and they demonstrated that with a comfortable beating of Puerto Rico.
Interestingly, it was Puerto Rico that struck first in the 29th when Gerald Diaz fired home from a rebound.
Haiti responded with a second half flurry, which was started by Danley Jean Jacques in the 51st.
Frantzdy Pierrot added a second in the 60th, taking his Nations League tally to eight goals, before Don Louicius finished off a tidy team build up in the 76th to put Haiti 3-1 up.
Duckens Nazon then capped the win with an 83rd-minute strike to put Haiti on course for promotion.
Aruba’s Ethan Westera will not advance to the men's windsurfing semifinals after finishing fifth in the quarterfinals at the Marseille Marina, securing an overall eighth-place ranking in the event.
Westera began the race in third place but dropped to fifth by the third mark, where he ultimately finished. Despite this, Westera's performance in the competition has been impressive. He entered the quarterfinals ranked ninth in the series, with 120 total points and 90 net points.
His standout moment came in race 12, where he finished second, demonstrating his exceptional windsurfing skills. In race one, Westera finished 11th, demonstrating his athleticism from the start. In races two and three, he finished 12th, continuing his consistent streak.
Despite a big setback in race four, where he finished 17th, he rebounded in race five, rising to 10th. He finished 13th in race six.
Westera's performance began to change in race seven when he finished eighth propelling him into the top 10. Despite falling to 12th in race eight, he soon recovered by capturing third in race nine. He continued to perform well in consecutive races, placing sixth in race 10, eighth in race 11, and seventh in race 13.
The 26-year-old won the 2023 Pan American Games iQFoil silver medal, completing his Olympic qualifying. He also won the silver medal at the 2015 IFCA Funboard Slalom Youth & Masters World Championships and gold in the 2012 IFCA Funboard Juniors Slalom World Championship.
With a good season behind him, Westera has demonstrated his athletic abilities and proudly represented Aruba on the international scene making his mark at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
St. Lucia's Luc Chevrier had a solid start in the men's dinghy event, which got underway at the Marseille Marina on Thursday. Despite a delay due to weather-related issues, Chevrier exhibited determination in the initial races.
Chevrier finished 24th in the first race, a performance that was marked by strong advancement as he climbed to 16th at mark 4, then to 14th at mark 1. However, he later slipped to 22nd and ultimately crossed the finish line in 24th place.
The second race proved more formidable, as Chevrier started 39th and worked his way up to 36th. By virtue of those performances, the 25-year-old, who contested the Laser event at the 2020 Tokyo Games, is now 32nd in the overall standings with 60 points.
Meanwhile, Aruba’s Just Aanholt finished 26th in the first race and 38th in the second, as he sits 37th overall with 65 points.
Thad Lettsome of the British Virgin Islands, making his Olympic debut, placed 40th in the first race but improved to 37th in the second. He is occupying 40th position overall with 78 points.
As the competition progresses and the next races get started, the attention will be on these Caribbean athletes as they look to improve their positions in the sport, which uses small boats, such as sailing dinghies.
In the opening round of the Caribbean Zonal Volleyball Association (CAZOVA) Under-19 Boys and Girls Championships in Spanish Town, Jamaica, the Barbadian women’s team and the Jamaican men’s team secured victories on Saturday. Trinidad and Tobago's Under-19 women's volleyball team suffered a 3-1 defeat to Barbados, while hosts Jamaica's men blanked Aruba 25-21, 25-22, 25-20 in their opening match.
The six-time champions, T&T, struggled to find their rhythm early on in their first match of the preliminary rounds in Pool 'A' at the GC Foster College. The Barbadian team capitalized on this, taking the first set 25-17.
In the second set, T&T seemed to regain their footing, building a promising 13-8 lead. However, the Bajans demonstrated resilience, leveling the scores at 13-apiece and then surging ahead to win the set 25-21, thus securing a 2-0 lead in the match.
Determined to stay in the game, T&T mounted a comeback in the third set, winning 25-16 and reviving their hopes of turning the match around. This spirited performance extended the match to a fourth set. However, Barbados delivered a commanding performance in the fourth set, sealing their victory with a 25-13 win.
With this loss, T&T's path to the semifinals now hinges on their next match against host nation Jamaica. A victory is crucial for T&T to advance in the tournament.
Adding to the excitement of the opening round, Jamaica's men’s team delivered a strong performance against Aruba, winning their match in straight sets with scores of 25-21, 25-22, and 25-20. This victory set a positive tone for the host nation in the championships.
In other action on Saturday, the lone boys' match featured host Jamaica facing Curacao, adding to the competitive spirit of the championships. The wins for Barbados Women and Jamaica's Men have set the stage for an exciting tournament ahead.
St Kitts and Nevis, Guyana, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic registered a maiden win in their respective Concacaf World Cup Qualifying campaign, as they brought the curtains down on second round action, on Tuesday.
Five players scored twice for their respective teams, including Guyana’s Deon Moore, Dominican Republic’s Rafael Mata and Dorny Romero, and Puerto Rico’s Jeremy de Leon and Wilfredo Rivera.
St Lucia vs Aruba
St Lucia and Aruba were the only teams that failed to separate themselves, as they played out a 2-2 scoreline in Group C at Wildey Turf in Bridgetown, Barbados.
Aruba got the perfect start they desired, when Walter Bennett headed home from close range to gift them a 22nd-minute lead, before Isai Marselia added a second from the penalty spot in the 43rd minute.
However, Ridel Stanislas (45+2) cut the deficit for St Lucia with a tidy finish from deep inside the 18-yard box, to make it 2-1 at the break.
Peter Pearson then pulled St Lucia level in the 66th minute to secure a share of the spoils.
With this, their first point of the campaign, St Lucia and Aruba occupy third and fourth positions in the group behind Curaçao and Haiti, on six points each, heading into the break.
St Kitts and Nevis vs Bahamas
St Kitts and Nevis edged Bahamas, 1-0, in Group B at Warner Park in Basseterre.
Ethan Bristow found the all-important goal in the 12th minute when he pounced on a rebound.
With the win, The Sugar Boyz inched up to third in the group, behind Costa Rica (six points) and Trinidad and Tobago (four points).
Guyana vs Belize
Guyana proved too strong for Belize with a 3-1 victory in Group D action at Wildey Turf in Bridgetown, Barbados.
After playing out a goalless first half, Deon Moore finished off an Omari Glasgow pass in the 66th minute to put Guyana ahead.
The Golden Jaguars doubled the lead a minute later courtesy of Liam Gordon’s dazzling solo effort which he finished off with a close range effort.
Moore completed his brace in the 71st with a flick of the ball inside the box to redirect Nathan Moriah-Welsh’s pass.
However, Carlos Bernardez pulled one back for Belize in the 88th, as he rose above defenders to head home Jahryl Smith’s weighted cross.
The win moved the Golden Jaguars up to third place in the group, behind Nicaragua and Panama, on six points each.