Marley Christian helps Bermuda advance to next round in Caribbean Cup

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – In late May, incoming freshman defender Marley Christian (Fulton, Md.) of the Bryant women's soccer team had the opportunity to play with the Bermuda Senior Women's National Team in the first-ever Women's Soccer Caribbean Cup in Turks in Caicos.

Check out below as she reflects upon her experiences playing on a national stage and view some photos HERE:

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Earlier this summer I was given the opportunity to play with the Bermuda Senior Women's National Team in the first ever Women's Caribbean Cup. When I first received the email from the Director of the BFA (Bermuda Football Association) I was in a bit of shock. I never thought that I would get to play for a national team and I was very excited to meet the team and play with them in Turks in Caicos.

I went to a Bermuda about a week before the tournament, so that I could get some training in with the team before we left. It was easy to jump in because the practices were very similar to my club teams. Every day we practiced I felt like we got better and better so I was very excited to see what we could do in Turks. We went into the tournaments as the favorites, but being the favorite meant nothing. It was going to come down to how we played.

Our first game was against Turks and Caicos, the host country. From what we had seen in training the day before they weren't very good, but we weren't going to underestimate them. We were able to beat them 5-0. Our next game was against the Cayman Islands, one of the tougher teams but not unbeatable. By the end of the first half we were winning 1-0 and then scored quickly when we came back out for the second half to make it 2-0. Unfortunately, Cayman was able to gain some momentum and tie it 2-2. Tying that game truly felt like it was a loss, and put a lot more pressure on our situation.

In order to go to the next round we had to beat St. Kitts and Nevis, the toughest team in our group. When the game started we were dominating and scored two quick goals. However, right before the half ended St. Kitts was able to tuck one in to make it 2-1. In the second half we scored again making it 3-1 and kept it that way for the rest of the game. The St. Kitts game was probably one of the most physical games I have ever played in, but winning was one of the best feelings in the world. Since we had two wins and a tie we finished top of our group with a birth to the next round in Trinidad. We are one step closer to being the first Bermuda women's team to qualify for the world cup.

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With a pair of wins and a tie, Christian and team Bermuda advanced to the final round of qualifying, which will be held from July 14-21. Check back in during preseason to read more updates from Marley and CLICK HERE for the Caribbean Football Union homepage.