HARRISON, N.J. (June 26, 2019) - New York Red Bulls Derrick Etienne Jr. (Haiti) and Kemar Lawrence (Jamaica) helped their respective national teams place first in their groups and advanced to the knockout round of the Gold Cup.
Etienne Jr. and the Haiti National team played an exciting match at Red Bull Arena, in which Haiti defeated Costa Rica 2-1. With the match tied 1-1 late, Etienne Jr. began Haiti’s offensive chance deep into Costa Rica’s defensive third with a pass into the box for teammate Alex Christian. Christian sent a cross in front of net for Djimy Bend Alexis, who finished underneath the cross bar for the game winner in the 81st.
The Haiti National team finished first in the Gold Cup group stage for the first time in their country’s history. Haiti will face Canada in the quarterfinals on Saturday, June 29 at 7 p.m. EST.
Lawrence and the Jamaican National team battled to a 1-1 draw with Curacao. Lawrence started and played the full 90 minutes, while taking seven corner kicks for the Reggae Boyz. Lawrence and Jamaica finished first in Group C and will face the runner-up of Group D between the USMNT and Panama in the quarterfinals on Sunday, June 30 at 5:30 p.m. EST.
