U.S. Virgin Islands defeats rival British Virgin Islands

USVI's Alderman Lesmond celebrates a goal.

Road Town, BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS- The U.S. Virgin Islands men's soccer team was celebrating its 2-1 win over the British Virgin Islands on Sunday night in Tortola when the actual accomplishment finally started to sink in.
"We were just hanging out afterward and then it hit us," USVI goalkeeper Dillon Pieffer said. "Can we actually make it to the World Cup? I know it sounds crazy, but this is what they make movies out of."
Dwayne Virgil Thomas scored in the first minute, and Reid Klopp found the net in extra time to put the finishing touches on the USVI's second win over its British cousins in a week. The USVI topped BVI on a 4-1 aggregate score and advanced to the next stage in World Cup qualifying for the first time in its history.
The USVI was officially recognized by FIFA, the international governing body of soccer, in 1998 and had never won any type of World Cup-qualifying match. Until this past week.
On a soggy pitch, the USVI topped BVI, 2-0, at Lionel Roberts Stadium on July 3. The second leg of the two-game series shifted to Tortola on Sunday, and Klopp scored his second goal in two matches.
"The goal came very late in the match and it really didn't matter because we were ahead on the aggregate goals," said Klopp, a St. Croix resident who played college soccer in Maryland. "Everyone worked hard, and we got the job done, but we can definitely can play better than we did. We still have a lot of work to do."
The team will now be included in the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) preliminary draw, which will be held July 31 in Rio de Janeiro. That's when the USVI will find out the other teams it will be matched up with for the next stage of World Cup qualifying.
USVI Soccer Association President Hillaren Frederick said the team is guaranteed six more matches and three will be played inside the territory.
"This is a big deal and huge step for the program," said Frederick, who was elected president of the USVI Soccer Association in January. "We've been recognized by FIFA for the last 13 years and this is the first time we've won any kind of qualifying matches."
Once again, getting on the scoreboard early set the tone in the match. Thomas beat BVI goalkeeper Dowlyn Daley to put his team up early, which meant the BVI would have had to score four goals to capture the two-game series.
Trevor Peters scored to tie the game in the 37th minute and the score was knotted at the break. It was the first goal given up by the USVI defense in its late four matches.
"The scoreless streak ended and it was frustrating because it didn't come on an amazing shot or anything," said Pieffer, who celebrated his third wedding anniversary with his wife, Melissa, on Sunday. "I'm just glad Reid saved my butt. I know it was all about aggregate score, but we wanted to win."
Three minutes into extra time, Junior Laurencin broke free and sent a through ball to Klopp, who had enough time to collect the cross and bury the game-winner.
"I was wide open and Junior sent a great ball," Klopp said. "It's a great feeling to win these last two games but we're not done yet. We're looking forward to a couple friendly matches coming up so we can stay sharp before the next round."