| |
IN BRIEF
Gauchos, Bruins in soccer final
UNION-TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICES
December 3, 2006
A soccer team that was nearly written off midway through the season and a walk-on player helped set up an all-California final at the men's College Cup in St. Louis.
Sophomore Eric Avila scored the deciding goal on UC Santa Barbara's fifth penalty kick and the unseeded Gauchos beat Wake Forest 4-3 in the tiebreaker yesterday to advance to the national title game. The Gauchos face UCLA today after the Bruins were led by nonscholarship freshman David Estrada's two goals in a 4-0 upset of Virginia in the first semifinal.
UCSB (17-7-0) was a disappointing 7-6 when coach Tim Vom Steeg told his team he planned to use younger players to prepare for 2007 if a turnaround did not come quickly. The Gauchos won 10 of their next 11 games, including yesterday's, which put them in the title game for the second time in three years.
Skiing
American Lindsey Kildow rocketed down a course she knows as well as any to win a World Cup downhill, finishing a whopping 1.33 seconds ahead of Austria's Renate Goetschl in Lake Louise, Alberta, Canada. Kildow captured a downhill for the third time at Lake Louise, covering the Olympic course in 1 minute, 48.84 seconds. Goetschl followed at 1:50.17 and Sweden's Anja Paerson was third at 1:50.56 . . . Italy's Massimiliano Blardone won a World Cup giant slalom in which American Bode Miller squandered his first-run lead in Beaver Creek, Colo., by catching his arm on a gate his second time down. Norway's Aksel Lund Svindal finished second for his best career GS result. Ted Ligety of the U.S. climbed from fifth into third, 0.07 seconds behind the winner.
Skating
Mao Asada hit all but one of her jumps and skated away with a scoring record in winning the NHK Trophy women's event in Nagano, Japan, thus qualifying to defend her Grand Prix final title. Asada's score of 199.52 beat Irina Slutskaya's Grand Prix series mark of 198.06 at the 2005 Cup of Russia. Asada beat compatriot Fumie Suguri.
Tennis
Marat Safin found his footing on a surface that left him seething less than 24 hours earlier. He and Dmitry Tursunov beat visiting Argentina's David Nalbandian and Agustin Calleri 6-2, 6-3, 6-4, putting Russia ahead 2-1 and one match from its second Davis Cup title. The reverse singles today in Moscow's Olympic Stadium will decide the outcome.
Swimming
Michael Phelps won two events at the U.S. Open Swimming Championships, giving him six gold medals during the three-day meet at Purdue's Boilermaker Aquatic Center. Phelps won the 100-meter freestyle in 49.16 seconds and the 200 butterfly in 1:55.77, but his bid for seven golds came up short when Club Wolverine's 400-freestyle relay was disqualified for a false start. Mary Descenza of the Athens (Ga.) Bulldog Swim Club won her third gold, taking the 100 freestyle in 56.19. Katie Hoff won her third event, the 800 freestyle in 8:33.35.
Horse racing
Sailors Sunset beat favorite Siren Lure by 1¾ lengths in the $100,000 feature race at Hollywood Park. Sailors Sunset finished in a stakes-record 1:07.79 for six furlongs and paid $28.80, $6.40 and $2.40.
»Next Story»
|
