The Tribune

The Bahamas men’s national beach soccer team played to a tie in regulation against Guatemala, but lost on penalty kicks on the opening day of competition at the 2021 CONCACAF Beach Soccer Championships.

Tied 3-3 at the end of the third period, Wood Julmis was the only member of Team Bahamas to successfully convert his penalty kick, while Guatemala got conversions from Wilson Gonzalez, Angel Saenz and Miguel Gonzalez to earn the first point in Group B.

The Bahamas had several early scoring opportunities in the first period but came up just short. Shots from goalkeeper Michael Butler and a free kick from Lesly St Fleur were deflected by Guatemalan goalkeeper Renee Castro.

Castro just barely avoided an own goal when a header from his teammate nearly crossed the goaline.

Juan Flores broke through with a shot from the right wing for the first score of the game to give Guatemala a 1-0 lead.

In the second, Wilson Gonzalez gave Guatemala a 2-0 lead.

Kyle Williams finally put Team Bahamas on the board late in the second on a free kick to trim the deficit. Williams nearly scored the equaliser with two seconds left in the period, but his shot deflected off the crossbar.

Guatemala went ahead 3-1 on a Miguel Gonzalez goal with 2:25 left to play and appeared on their way to the three points before a late rally from The Bahamas.

Daron Beneby scored on a header just 10 seconds later and Gary Joseph scored next to tie the game 3-3.

The soccer competition continues through May 23, in Alajuela, Costa Rica.

The Bahamas will face The Dominican Republic today at 1:30pm local time followed by a matchup against El Salvador at 3pm on May 19.

The top two finishers in each group and the two best third-place finishers will advance to the knockout stage.

Team Bahamas is one of 11 teams participating in this edition of the event.

The team will compete in Group B alongside El Salvador, Guatemala and The Dominican Republic.

Group A includes Mexico, Panama and Belize. Group C includes The United States, Costa Rica, Trinidad and Tobago and The Turks and Caicos Islands.

The two semifinal winners will earn a spot in the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Russia 2021, August 19–29, 2021, in Moscow, Russia.

Luiz Escobar is the head coach and Larry Minns is the team manager. Daniel Miller is the medical officer, Darron Beneby is the assistant manager and Eugena Patton is the physiotherapist.

In 2019, The Bahamas was eliminated in the quarterfinal of the CONCACAF Beach Soccer Championships in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

Team Bahamas finished their run in the tournament with a 2-2 win-loss record.