Alex Morgan, top, is congratulated after scoring for the United States on a penalty kick against Canada during a 1-0 win that secured a spot in the 2024 Olympics for the Americans. Fernando Llano/Associated Press
SOCCER
Alex Morgan scored a second-half goal and the U.S. women’s national soccer team clinched a berth in the 2024 Paris Olympics and earn a measure of revenge by defeating rival Canada, 1-0, on Monday in the final of the CONCACAF W Championship in the first match between the teams since Canada beat the Americans, 1-0, in the Olympic semifinals last year in Tokyo.
Midfielder Rose Lavelle was tripped up after dribbling the ball into the penalty area in the 76th minute. The 33-year-old Morgan converted the penalty kick in the 78th for her 118th goal in international play.
Canada’s win at the Tokyo Olympics was its first in 20 years against the two-time reigning World Cup champion. Canada went on to defeat Sweden for its first Olympic gold medal in women’s soccer; the Americans topped Australia for bronze.
Since then, the top-ranked Americans have gone 15-0-3, with an 11-match winning streak that includes a 3-0 victory over Costa Rica in a semifinal Thursday. Canada reached Monday’s final by topping Jamaica, 3-0. The Americans’ win Monday improved their record against sixth-ranked Canada to 52-4-7.
MLS: American right back Shaq Moore was acquired by Nashville and agreed to a contract through the 2025 season.
Nashville acquired the 25-year-old’s MLS rights from Montreal for $50,000 in general allocation money. The deal includes an option for 2026.
BASEBALL
NECBL: Michael Snyder hit an RBI double and Logan Chambers an RBI single as Martha’s Vineyard scored two runs in the fourth inning and beat the Sanford Mainers 4-2 in Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts.
Cabot Maher and Joey Rezek each added an RBI double for the Sharks.
Sanford took a 1-0 lead in the second inning when David Bermudez scored on an error. The got within 3-2 when Adam Dapkewicz scored on an error.
CYCLING
TOUR de FRANCE: Canadian cyclist Hugo Houle claimed an emotional first-ever grand tour stage victory, while Jonas Vingegaard stayed in the overall lead of the Tour de France after a tough 16th stage as the race hit the Pyrenees near Foix, France.
Houle attacked on the approach to the final climb, the top category Mur de Péguère, and held off the group of chasers from the remnants of the breakaway to finish 1 minute, 10 seconds ahead of Valentin Madouas and Israel-Premier Tech teammate Michael Woods. Houle had plenty of time to reach his arms out in celebration on the approach to the line and point to the sky in memory of his brother, Pierrick, who was killed 10 years ago in a drunk-driving accident while out running.
It was only the second time a Canadian has won a stage in the Tour, and the first in 34 years.
The 31-year-old Houle had crested the final climb with a 25-second advantage and his task was made easier when American Matteo Jorgenson – who was second at the time and in hot pursuit – slipped out on a corner, leaving only Woods with a realistic chance of catching his compatriot and teammate.
HOCKEY
NHL: The New Jersey Devils acquired Vitek Vanecek to compete for the starting goaltender job. Now they’re paying him in line with those expectations.
Vanecek and the team agreed to terms on a $10.2 million, three-year contract that counts $3.4 million against the salary cap through 2025. After avoiding arbitration, he will make $3.55 million next season, slightly less than incumbent starter Mackenzie Blackwood, who is going into the final year of his contract.
New Jersey acquired Vanecek in a trade with the Washington Capitals at the NHL draft, swapping picks to fill the spot in tandem with Blackwood that previously belonged to veteran Jonathan Bernier, whose career is in jeopardy after hip surgery.
• Andrej Sekera announced his retirement after almost two decades in the NHL.
The Slovak defenseman played the past 15 full seasons since making his debut in 2006. Sekera played 888 regular-season and playoff games for the Buffalo Sabres, Carolina Hurricanes, Los Angeles Kings, Edmonton Oilers and Dallas Stars.
BASKETBALL
NBA: The Milwaukee Buck announced they re-signed 32-year-old center Serge Ibaka, who came to Milwaukee as part of a four-team deal at the Feb. 10 trade deadline. Terms of the deal weren’t released.
Ibaka averaged 7 points, 5.3 rebounds and 17.8 minutes in 19 games with the Bucks last season.
• Charlotte Hornets forward Miles Bridges is facing three felony domestic violence charges after being accused of assaulting his girlfriend in front of their two children last month, the Los Angeles County district attorney said.
District Attorney George Gascón said his office filed one felony count of injuring a child’s parent and two felony counts of child abuse under circumstances or conditions likely to cause great bodily injury or death. Bridges is scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday.
WNBA: Brionna Jones tied a season-high with 21 points, Alyssa Thomas added 18 points, 13 rebounds, five assists and a season-high six steals and the Connecticut Sun beat the visiting New York Liberty 82-63.
Connecticut (17-9) was without Jonquel Jones, averaging a team-high 15.1 points and nine rebounds, due to health and safety protocols. The Sun’s defense rallied without her by holding the Liberty to 36.4% shooting with 18 turnovers.
FOOTBALL
NFL: Darius Anderson, a practice squad running back for the Houston Texans, has been arrested and charged with burglary.
Anderson, 24, was arrested Friday and scheduled for arraignment on Wednesday, according to Harris County (Texas) court records.
His ex-girlfriend told police that she got home around 7 a.m. Friday after getting coffee to find Anderson’s car parked outside her garage, according to a police report obtained by the New York Daily News. Anderson spotted her but she kept driving, at which point he followed her, she told police.
The woman returned home when she thought she had lost Anderson, but he met her back at her townhome and forced his way in, allegedly pushing her down against the stairs, then chasing her to the second floor, according to the arrest affidavit.
Upstairs, the woman allegedly grabbed a gun from the coffee table “to prevent (Anderson) from having access to it,” but never fired.
Eventually, the woman said, she was able to lock herself in a third-floor bathroom, but claimed that Anderson broke through the locked bedroom door and said he was going to “beat her up,” according to the affidavit.
TRACK AND FIELD
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: The best triple jumper on the planet is now a three-time world champion. And even though there was no new record to go with her victory, Yulimar Rojas was grateful that at least she had fans on hand to watch her perform late Monday night in Eugene, Oregon.
The Venezuelan star captured her third straight title, winning the final with a jump of 50 feet, 9 inches. That was 10 1/2 inches away from her world record but still good enough to romp to a 1 foot, 10 3/4 inch victory over Shanieka Ricketts of Jamaica.
ASIAN GAMES
NEW DATES SET: The Asian Games have been rescheduled to start on Sept. 23, 2023, in Hangzhou, China, more than 12 months after the original date.
The Olympic Council of Asia confirmed the delayed games would be held from Sept. 23-Oct. 8, saying it took two months of consultations involving the Chinese Olympic Committee and other stakeholders to find “a window” which didn’t conflict with other major international sporting events.
The OCA executive board voted in May to postpone the 19th Asian Games because of restrictions in place for the COVID-19 pandemic. The original dates were Sept. 10-25 this year.
FIGURE SKATING
RETIREMENT: Two-time Olympic champion Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan is stepping away from competitive figure skating, he said.
Hanyu, however, left it unclear whether he would ever return to the sport.
Hanyu won back-to-back gold medals at the 2014 Sochi Games and the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics. But he finished fourth in Beijing five months ago and had been noncommittal since about his future.
AUTO RACING
NASCAR: NASCAR will celebrate its 75th season with an unprecedented street race through downtown Chicago in yet another radical change to the once staid schedule.
The Cup Series will race against the backdrop of Lake Michigan and Grant Park next July 2 in the debut race of a three-year deal with the city of Chicago. The venture was spearheaded by Ben Kennedy, the 30-year-old great-grandson of NASCAR founder Bill France.
TENNIS
EUROPEAN OPEN: Top-seeded players Carlos Alcaraz and Anett Kontaveit won their first-round matches at Hamburg, Germany, and Emil Ruusuvuori had an upset win over Diego Schwartzman.
The 19-year-old Alcaraz dropped the first set but recovered to win 3-6, 6-1, 7-6 (3) against 259th-ranked German wild card Nicola Kuhn. His second-round opponent at the clay-court event will be Filip Krajinovic.
Ruusuvuori won 7-5, 6-4 against third-seeded Schwartzman. Tallon Griekspoor won 7-6 (8), 7-5 to eliminate eighth-seeded Holger Rune.
Kontaveit started her campaign in the women’s draw with a 6-3, 7-6 (3) win over Irina Bara despite losing her serve four times and next plays Rebecca Peterson.
Second-seeded Barbora Krejcikova, the 2021 French Open champion, beat Magdalena Frech 6-3, 6-0 in the second round and will face either Anastasia Potapova or Maria Lourdes Carle in the quarterfinals.
PALERMO LADIES OPEN: Top-seeded Martina Trevisan withdrew because of a back injury, but No. 2 seed Yulia Putintseva advanced after comfortably winning her opening match at Palermo, Sicily.
Putintseva of Kazakhstan beat Jaimee Fourlis 6-3, 6-1 and will face either American Lauren Davis or Frenchwoman Diane Parry in the Round of 16.
Trevisan was replaced by lucky loser Carolina Alves, who will face Elina Avanesyan later in a repeat of their match in the final round of qualifying.
Seventh-seeded Anna Bondar beat Clara Burel 6-4, 6-4 and Lucia Bronzetti eliminated Wang Xiyu 6-3, 6-3.
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