Blues' Vaughan to represent Trinidad and Tobago at women's Gold Cup qualifier

Soccer goalie competes internationally

On September 3, second-year U of T goalkeeper Alexis Vaughan will trade in her blue and white Varsity Blues jersey for 10 days in favour of a Trinidad and Tobago national team sweater, as the 18-year old competes for her native country in the final round of Caribbean qualifying for the 2006 Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) Women's Gold Cup.

The final qualifying round, hosted by Trinidad and Tobago and played at the Manny Ramjohn Stadium in Marabella, will take place from Sept. 6 to 10 and feature six teams (two groups of three), including the Dominican Republic, Surinam, Bermuda, Haiti and Jamaica.

The top team from each group will advance to the CONCACAF Women's Gold Cup, to be held in November. The four teams that have already qualified for that event are Canada, Mexico, Panama and the host United States.

"I am really excited and very honoured," said Vaughan of the opportunity to play for her country this fall. "It's great to be competing at such a high level, and the girls on the team are great."

Vaughan, a life sciences major, joined the Trinidad and Tobago national team in May after successfully landing one of the two goalkeeper spots during an open tryout.

In June, Vaughan got the chance to don a Trinidad and Tobago jersey for the first time, taking part in the first round of CONCACAF qualifications. The 18-year-old saw action in two of the club's three games -- all wins -- to help the squad earn a berth in the final qualifying round.

Despite Vaughan's departure, the Varsity Blues will only miss the talented keeper for two games, including a September 9 contest against Laurentian and a September 10 matchup versus Nipissing. And while U of T head coach Beth McCharles would like to have Vaughan for the entire season, she is more than willing to see the youngster get the opportunity to play for her native country.

"We are all very proud of Alexis," said McCharles. "This is such a great opportunity for her and she is going to make a great contribution to both the Trinidad and Tobago team and to the Varsity Blues."

McCharles also added that with the loss of last year's starting goalkeeper Andrea Tristao, the Blues expect Vaughan to play a much bigger role in 2006, something that the second-year student is looking forward to.

"I am excited about this season [with the Varsity Blues]," said Vaughan. "We are much more experienced this year and I think that we have a good chance to be successful."

by Todd Devlin

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