The United States came up empty in a bid to end Mexico's dominance of the CONCACAF U17 Championship, losing 5-4 in a penalty shootout after finishing in a 1-1 draw after 120 minutes of regular and extra time on Sunday.
The Americans were on the board first in Panama City, after a woeful clearance from the Mexico defence fell to Andrew Carleton, who spun and smashed a first-time volley home from 20 yards out.
GOAL United States, Andrew CARLETON No. 11 | @ussoccer @miseleccionmx #CU17PAN pic.twitter.com/rXF5pXDVuO
- CONCACAF (@CONCACAF) May 7, 2017
The U.S. held its lead all the way into second-half injury time, but a late Carlos Robles strike beat Justin Garces, who had been stellar in the match, to force extra time.
Mexico went on to prevail 5-4 in the penalty shootout to win its third-consecutive and seventh-overall CONCACAF U17 title.
The U.S. and Mexico had already qualified for the the U17 World Cup in India. The two teams will join Honduras and Costa Rica at the event, which takes place in October.