U15 Girls storm to Goombay Cup

The Cayman Islands Under-15 Girls National Team has entered the history books, securing the inaugural Goombay Cup title in the Bahamas.

Their campaign ended with an undefeated run capped off by a narrow 1–0 victory over Bermuda on July 26, in the final group stage match. With the match scoreless heading into the second half, Ari Eden turned things around after securing the single-winning-goal with a header from a corner kick in the 60th-minute.

Cayman topped the final standings with 13 points, well clear of runners-up Bermuda and the US Virgin Islands, who finished tied with 8 points each. The Cayman squad, led by captain Yasmin Elliott, marched through the competition without a single loss, recording four wins and one draw.

Along the way, they scored 13 goals while conceding just once.

Their campaign opened with a statement 7–0 defeat of Grenada before the team weathered a hard-fought 1–1 draw against hosts Bahamas. The Cayman squad quickly regained momentum with back-to-back clean sheets, shutting out the US Virgin Islands 1–0 and defeating Turks and Caicos 3–0 to set up their showdown with Bermuda.

Eden was top scorer with five goals while the tournament’s Most Valuable Player honour went to Cayman’s Zyniah Missick. Cayman’s head coach, Alex Gonzalez, reflected on the milestone achievement, saying: “This means everything to us. We’ve been training this group for two years, and to see that work pays off is incredibly rewarding – not just for me, but for every parent, volunteer, and supporter who’s backed this team along the way.

“For the girls, it’s proof of what they can achieve when they trust the process and each other. For Cayman football, this is a real statement. Most of this squad is young enough to represent us at the Caribbean Football Union U14 tournament next year, so this win is invaluable experience as they now know what it takes to compete and win on a regional stage, and they’ll carry that belief forward for Cayman,”

Despite losing key players like Abby Proud and Tillie Lomas to injury mid-tournament, Gonzalez said the Cayman squad remained firm. “Two things stood out all tournament: team spirit and defensive discipline. This group fought for each other in every match, and that showed most when we were tested by losing key players.”

He added: “This didn’t derail us because the depth of our squad meant whoever stepped in stepped up. Every single player played a significant role at some point in this tournament.

“We are hoping to be the host of the Goombay Cup next summer and the idea is to have other countries take turns hosting it.”