For the first time ever at any level in men’s or women’s football, a Dominican Republic National Team has reached the quarterfinal stage of a Concacaf competition, with the Dominican Republic Under-20 Women’s National Team reaching the final eight of the 2020 Concacaf Under-20 Women’s Championship being played in the Dominican Republic.

The host nation achieved that feat with a 4-1 win over El Salvador on Saturday in the Round of 16, which came on the heels of a very impressive group stage performance that saw the Dominican Republic compile a 2W-0D-1L record, with seven goals scored and four conceded.

When asked to put into words what it means to be part of the team to have made Dominican football history, team captain and MF Alissa Oviedo was nearly left speechless.

“I have no words for how I feel,” said Oviedo in an exclusive interview with Concacaf.com following Saturday’s victory. “I feel so proud of this team, I’m so excited to see how far this team can go because I think we have a great team and I cannot begin to describe how happy I am.”

Oviedo also expressed her gratitude to the legions of fans who have come to the Estadio Olimpico Felix Sanchez in Santo Domingo to support the team.

“Thank you so much to the fans. They are our 12th player and we thank them for coming to all the games and giving us all the support we need,” said Oviedo.

Next up for the Dominican Republic is a quarterfinal date with Jamaica on Wednesday. FW Mia Asenjo knows that a difficult 90 minutes awaits against the Reggae Girlz.

“Jamaica is a very good team, but I think we’re a great team as well and I think it’ll be a fight and a tough game between both of us as well,” said Asenjo.