ORANJESTAD — Despite a late effort, the U.S. Virgin Islands’ senior men’s national soccer team lost to Aruba 3-1 on Saturday afternoon in a CONCACAF Nations League group play match at the Guillermo Prospero Trinidad Stadium in Aruba.
The loss drops the USVI National Team to 0-1-1 (one point) in League C’s Group B, tying with the Cayman Islands, while Aruba remains undefeated at 2-0-0 (six points) and atop the group standings.
The Dashing Eagles will have a rematch against the Cayman Islands – the first match, Sept. 7 on St. Croix, ended in a 2-2 draw – on Tuesday, Oct. 17, at the Truman Bodden Stadium in George Town, Cayman Islands. Game time is 4:30 p.m. Atlantic.
After a scoreless first half, Aruba took advantage of the U.S. Virgin Islands’ struggling defense to score three times – by Rovien Ostiana in the 52nd minute, Diederick Luydens in the 62nd minute and Mishawn Molina in the 86th minute.
With Aruba up 2-0, the USVI broke the shutout on Quinn Farrell’s goal in the 63rd minute off a long shot from just outside the penalty box to pull the Dashing Eagles within 2-1. But Molina’s goal put Aruba in command.