SIMONE Wark, the Under-20 Reggae Girlz striker, said she is anxious to represent Jamaica in the CONCACAF round of World Cup qualifying, scheduled to be played in Honduras next month.

Due to school commitments, Wark, who turns 19 years old next April, was only available to play Jamaica’s last two games of the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) Under-20 tournament in October. Jamaica went on to finish second to hosts Haiti.

She had an immediate impact after arriving in Haiti just a day before the semi-final clash with Puerto Rico. The tall and speedy attacker notched the opening goal against Puerto Rico in a 2-1 victory.

Wark failed to score in the 0-2 loss to Haiti, but only narrowly so after clipping the crossbar with a chipped shot.

The CONCACAF Championship in Honduras, set to begin on December 3, is her new target.

“I came in late to the [CFU] tournament to give the team a lift. The whole reason I was brought in was because coach [Hue Menzies] thought I could make an impact within a short amount of time…I knew I didn’t have a lot of time,” Wark said.

“Yes, I’m looking forward to it (the CONCACAF round), I’m always happy to join my Reggae Girlz teammates to build that vibe and chemistry. Being outside of our regular environment… it creates character and brings us closer together. I’m excited about that challenge,” she continued.

Wark, who grew up in Canada, just outside of Toronto, has a Canadian father and a mother who hails from Kingston, Jamaica.

She attends the University of South Carolina in the United States and has scored crucial goals for her school.

Wark described how, in different ways her parents and her grandfather helped to mould her young footballing career.

“When I was younger I actually danced — like at age four, five and six. And then I thought these dances are a little bit too snobby. My grandpa on my dad’s side played soccer and I always thought it looked like fun, so I said ‘mom, I don’t want to dance anymore, I want to play soccer’. She said I could try whatever I wanted, she encouraged me,” Wark said.

“My dad would always go out with me and we worked on things today outside of practice. I’m grateful that he did that and spent time with me. We watch soccer quite often together and we talk about the games, and he would give feedback and ask what I have to say as well,” she shared.

CFU Under-20 third-placed finishers Trinidad & Tobago join Haiti and Jamaica in the CONCACAF tournament. The top three countries will qualify for the 2016 FIFA Women’s Under-20 World Cup.