Donations bring Trinidad and Tobago team to Women's World Cup qualifiers

CHESTER, Pa. (WPVI) -- This weekend the Women's World Cup soccer qualifying games are being held at the Philadelphia Union's stadium in Chester.

Trinidad and Tobago is poised to become the first Caribbean women's team to ever qualify.

The "Soca Princesses" as they are called, initially couldn't come up with enough money to process their visa applications.

Last minute financial support from Trinidad brought them to the U.S. but without equipment and money to eat.

Their coach Randy Waldrum, best known for leading Notre Dame to two national titles, issued an urgent plea on Twitter for help.

"As a coach, I was just trying to make sure everything was taken care of," said Waldrum.

The donations poured in.

Trinidad's first game in the World Cup qualifiers was against the U.S. women's team in Kansas City last Wednesday. The U.S. won 1-0.

Trinidad faced Haiti two days later, beating them 1-0, then defeated Guatemala 2-1 this past Sunday in Washington D.C.

So what is it about this team that's brought them this far?

"I think the overall spirit of the group. I think we've been good in implementing stuff in a short amount of time and we believe in the group and that's kind of led us to this point" said Ben Waldrum, assistant coach.

Lincoln, the team's technical director, says their confidence is at an all-time high.

"They believe, they want it, they think they can do it, they're seeing it right now and that's a good thing," said Lincoln.

In Friday's semi-finals, Trinidad and Tobago will face Costa Rica and the U.S. will go up against Mexico.

What does the team think about their chances?

"You know we have a game plan for each team and we're just gonna execute what coach give us. If we can stick to our game plan, I think we have a great chance.

"We know the U.S. fans are rooting for the U.S. but if you ask a lot of them, I think we might be their second most favorite team," said Lauryn Hutchinson, player.

The top three teams this weekend will qualify for the 2015 Women's World Cup in Canada next summer.