USVI's soccer team preps for BVI series

A youthful U.S. Virgin Islands national soccer team visited Anguilla for a friendly last weekend and of the 18 players who traveled, 14 of them made their international debut.

The team's technical adviser, Keith Griffith, was impressed with the squad's performance as the match ended in a scoreless tie.

"We were on the road and the pitch at Anguilla was difficult to play on," said Griffith, a Barbados native who joined the USVI team in May. "Playing away from home is always hard, but we adapted quickly, and I was very happy with how we performed."

It was the last tune-up match before the young squad officially is re-introduced to the international soccer community.

The USVI will meet the British Virgin Islands in a home-and-away, two-game playoff series July 3 on St. Thomas and July 10 in Tortola. The winner will advance to the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) preliminary draw, which will include 25 other countries from the region.

It's the first step toward possibly earning a spot in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

"We are all looking forward to the BVI games," Griffith said. "We need the USVI fans to come out and support us because we want to create history."

The match on July 3 will be held at Lionel Roberts Stadium on St. Thomas and will start at 5 p.m. Tickets cost $10 and can be bought at Urban Threadz and VI Bridal and tickets will also be sold on game day in the Fort Christian parking lot.

Players on St. Croix and St. Thomas had worked out the last few months on their respective islands before an 18-player team came together for the first time for two tune-up matches in Puerto Rico last month. The USVI knocked off Bayamon F.C., 4-2, and played to a 0-0 tie with Mayaguez F.C.

The St. Thomas players will combine with the St. Croix players this Sunday at Sion Farm Ballpark from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and the public is welcome to attend the full 30-player practice. Griffith said the team's final 22-man roster will be announced after the workout.

"It's no longer a St. Croix and St. Thomas thing," Griffith said. "We are now a USVI family. We've come together as one and we're trying to do something no team in the territory has done in many years."

The USVI is one of the 208 member associations of FIFA, the international governing body of soccer, and competes in CONCACAF. In order to reduce the number of teams to be included in the preliminary draw for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, the 10 lowest-ranked teams in CONCACAF will square off and the winners will move onto the next qualifying stage.

As of April, the USVI is ranked 200th in the FIFA world rankings while the BVI is ranked No. 183. Among the CONCACAF rankings, the USVI is 33rd out of 35 countries

Only three CONCACAF teams will eventually advance to the World Cup. The United States, Mexico and Honduras were the three CONCACAF countries that qualified for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa last summer.

Regardless of what happens during its World Cup pursuit, the USVI program appears to have a bright future.

After more than three years of turmoil, USVI Soccer Association president Hillaren Frederick was elected in January and has brought solidarity to the program. Griffith joined national team assistant coaches Terry Jones, Zimba Bailey and Dale Richards last month and the team is undefeated in its last three matches and has not conceded a goal in the last two.

"We are looking to our younger players and we are focused on the future," Frederick said.

The oldest player on the squad is Alderman Rowe Lesmond, 32, who is a team captain and plays striker. There are 10 players on the current roster that are 22 or younger and seven are active college players.

- Contact sports writer Aaron Gray at 774-8772 ext. 352 or email agray@dailynews.vi.

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