The St Kitts and Nevis U20 Women’s team endured a tough night in Managua, Nicaragua, falling 8-0 to the hosts in their opening match of the Concacaf Women’s U20 Qualifiers on Thursday night at Estadio Nacional de Fútbol.

From the outset, Nicaragua dominated proceedings, opening the scoring in the fifth minute through Jenifer Sarantes, who struck a powerful left-footed shot from outside the area into the center of the net.

The home team doubled their advantage in the 14th minute, when Sarantes forced a save from St Kitts and Nevis goalkeeper Tatyanna Daley, but Jennifer Toval was on hand to tap in the rebound. Just a minute later, Perla Garache added a third, finishing from inside the box with a precise right-footed shot.

Sarantes struck again in the 43rd minute, scoring from just outside the area to give Nicaragua a commanding 4-0 lead at halftime.

St Kitts and Nevis struggled to contain Nicaragua’s relentless attack, and in the 80th minute, substitute Daniela Manzanares made an immediate impact, scoring from a well-taken right-footed free kick. Manzanares completed her brace in the 88th minute, again converting from a free kick, extending the scoreline to 6-0.

As the match neared its end, Sara Pavon found the net in the 90th minute, before Kyrstin Mesa rounded off the scoring deep into stoppage time in the 90+6’, sealing an emphatic 8-0 victory for Nicaragua.

The result is a tough start for St Kitts and Nevis in Group D, and they will need to regroup quickly ahead of their next fixture as they look to bounce back in the Concacaf Women’s U20 Qualifiers.