The Belize Senior Female National Football Team, known as the Lady Jaguars, won a friendly match against the team from Motlow State Community College in Tennessee, USA, on March 8th. The game was held at the Ambergris Stadium in San Pedro Town and ended 1-0 in favor of the Lady Jaguars.
The match started at 8PM after a short ceremony where Belize and the United States national anthems were played. The Lady Jaguars took control of the ball from the beginning and tried to score early. The visiting team tried to penetrate Belize’s defense but could not. Belize’s Elva Nuñez scored the match’s first goal in the fourth minute against Motlow’s goalkeeper. The visiting team made a close attempt to even the score, but the Lady Jaguars’ tight defense prevented a goal. The Lady Jaguars continued to pressure the Motlow team, but without scoring another goal, the first half ended with a 1-0 lead.
After the break, the Lady Jaguars faced a more determined Motlow State Community College team. However, the Lady Jaguars kept their ground and didn’t give the visitors any chance to score. The Motlow team also strengthened their defense, making it challenging for Team Belize to score another goal. Although the Lady Jaguars came close to scoring several times, they couldn’t widen the gap. The rest of the game saw close attempts from both teams, but the score remained 1-0 in favor of the Lady Jaguars at the final whistle.
The Motlow State College women’s team has visited Belize for the past few years. This time, they played two friendly matches with the Lady Jaguars, with the first on March 2, 2024, in Independence Village, Stann Creek District, in southern Belize. The Lady Jaguars also won that match 3-0. The Motlow team also spent part of their time in Belize, visiting popular attractions and interacting with youth involved in football. They look forward to another visit in 2025.
The Belize Senior Female National Football Team is preparing for the 2024 CONCACAF Women’s Gold Cup League B. During the matches in 2023, the Lady Jaguars played six matches, winning all of them. They defeated Turks and Caicos, Bonaire, and Aruba, moving from League C to League B undefeated.
