Dominican Republic and Nicaragua opened the first round of their Concacaf Women’s U-17 Qualifiers campaign on winning notes as they downed Grenada and St Kitts and Nevis 5-0 and 4-0, respectively, in Groups E and F on Tuesday.

Nicaragua, who are at home in Group E, made light work of St Kitts and Nevis at the National Stadium in Managua.

Emma Quintanilla opened the scoring in the 20th when she fired a firm left-footed shot box into the bottom left corner of the net.

From there, Nicaragua applied consistent pressure and inevitably doubled the lead in the 44th through Mariela Zavala’s header.

Stefany Miranda capitalized on a poorly cleared ball in the area to get Nicaragua’s third goal in the 87th, while Helena Lau proved to be a super sub, as her first touch of the ball, a right-footed effort from the top of the 18-yard box, gave St Kitts and Nevis’ custodian no chance at a save in the 90+4.

With the win, Nicaragua assumed the early lead in the group, while St Kitts and Nevis will seek to bounce back when they cross paths with Jamaica on Thursday. Nicaragua and Jamaica will meet to close the group on Saturday.

Meanwhile, in Group F action, host Dominican Republic brushed aside Grenada at Estadio Olímpico Félix Sánchez in Santo Domingo.

Jabes Martinez started the goal count for Las Quisqueyanas in the 16th with an effort from a distance that had Grenada’s goalkeeper Jadsa Mark beaten all ends up.

The hosts doubled their lead in the 18th when Paige Martinez pounced on a loose ball and calmly slotted home.

Four minutes later, Emma Torres got Dominican Republic’s third with a banger from outside the box that landed in the far left corner of the net. 

Sophia Espinal pushed the Spanish-speaking Caribbean island further ahead with a composed 25th-minute finish.

Torres then completed her brace with a 48th-minute strike from Espinal’s weighted corner to cap the win.

The win puts Dominican Republic in a handy spot to progress, while Grenada will have much to do against Costa Rica on Thursday. The Dominican Republic will step back on the field for its chance against Las Ticas on Saturday.