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SPORTSFriday 12 February 2016
U.S. opens Olympic qualifying with 5-0 victory
FRISCO, Texas (AP) — The Group A opener at Toyota
U.S. women’s opening set
piece finally paid off. Stadium, Maribel Domin-
Alex Morgan scored
off it 12 seconds in and guez scored a hat trick as
added another goal in
the 62nd minute and the Mexico routed Puerto Rico
U.S. opened CONCACAF
qualifying for the Rio Olym- 6-0.
pics with a 5-0 victory over
Costa Rica on Wednesday Morgan’s first goal was a
night.
Morgan’s goal was the right-footed volley to the
fastest in CONCACAF
Olympic qualifying histo- left of goalkeeper Dinnia
ry, and the team said it is
believed to be the fastest Diaz from about 13 yards
in U.S. history. It came on
a designed play that the out while being tightly
team uses off most open-
ing kickoffs. marked on her left side.
“We always see it com-
ing,” Morgan said. “It al- Lloyd assisted with a jump-
ways starts off right, then
something goes wrong. ing header after collect-
This time, nothing went
wrong.” ing a long cross lofted in
The match was the Ameri-
cans’ first competitive by Lindsey Horan from be-
game since winning the
World Cup. They have won yond midfield seconds af-
three straight Olympic ti-
tles and four of the five in ter the opening kickoff.
women’s soccer.
The U.S. roster features only Costa Rica coach Amelia
Valverde said through an
interpreter that her team
was prepared for a U.S.
attack right off the open-
ing kick yet couldn’t pre-
vent the early goal. That
Costa Rica midfielder Cristin Granados (15) gives chase as United States midfielder Carli Lloyd disrupted not only the de-
(10) controls the ball during the second half of a CONCACAF Olympic qualifying tournament soc-
cer match Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2016, in Frisco, Texas. The United States won 5-0. fense, Valverde said, but
Associated Press the whole team.
Morgan’s second-half
goal, her 59th career
13 of the 20 players who are pregnant and will miss minute. score, was a header just
were on the World Cup the Olympics. “For me, it’s almost a per-
team. Christie Rampone Carli Lloyd and Crystal fect start,” U.S. coach Jill inside the 6-yard box off a
and Megan Rapinoe are Dunn also scored first-half Ellis said. “We were able to
injured, and Amy Rodri- goals, and substitute Chris- check off a lot of boxes.” chipped cross from Lloyd.
guez and Sydney Leroux ten Press scored in the 83rd In Wednesday’s other
Lloyd noted her on-field
teaming with Morgan is dif-
ferent from what Morgan
shared with recently retired
Wozniacki beaten star Abby Wambach. But
this pairing is getting better
with familiarity, she said.
by Cibulkova “What she does great is get
in behind the back line,”
in St. Petersburg Lloyd said of Morgan. “To-
night was great. We had a
good connection.”
ST. PETERSBURG, Russia (AP) Cibulkova’s serve be- Lloyd’s goal came on a
— Caroline Wozniacki was fore Cibulkova eventually
knocked out of the St. Pe- closed out the match in penalty kick after Dunn
tersburg Ladies Trophy by straight sets.
Dominika Cibulkova 6-4, “I was aggressive. Even if was tripped just inside the
7-5 after a heated dispute I did some mistakes I was
with the umpire over a mis- really confident. It was 18-yard box. It was her 83rd
taken call. the only way I could beat
Wozniacki was 5-3 down in her,” Cibulkova, of Slova- career score and 20th in
the second set when a Cib- kia, said in televised com-
ulkova shot was wrongly ments. “I’m happy with the her last 15 matches. She
called out. way I stayed really tough
Umpire Emmanuel Joseph mentally.”Cibulkova, the nearly scored again in the
overruled the call and Australian Open losing final-
awarded the point to Cib- ist in 2014, next plays Darya 59th minute on a point-
ulkova instead of replaying Kasatkina in the quarter-
it even though Wozniacki final after the 18-year-old blank header right at Diaz.
had clearly returned the Russian beat Laura Siege-
ball in court Thursday. mund of Germany 6-3, 6-4. Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia returns the ball to Caroline Woz- Dunn scored her fifth ca-
That prompted a lengthy Top-seeded Belinda Bencic niacki of Denmark during the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy-2016
dispute between the Dan- overcame serving issues tennis tournament match in St.Petersburg, Russia, Thursday, Feb. reer goal in the 15th min-
ish player and the um- earlier in the day to defeat 11, 2016.
pire. Despite not getting Annika Beck of Germany ute, standing at the goal
the point, the controversy 7-6 (3), 6-3. Associated Press
seemed to fire up Woz- Bencic was broken four line as she followed her
niacki, who saved four times in a chaotic first set
match points and broke in which she recorded six own saved shot.
double faults, including a little bit off.” U.S. goalkeeper Hope Solo
one on break point that Bencic, who had a first-
allowed Beck to serve for round bye, next plays a was never seriously chal-
the set at 6-5. However, the quarterfinal against fifth-
Swiss recovered to break seeded Anastasia Pavly- lenged. She made two
Beck and dominate both uchenkova of Russia, who
the resulting tiebreak and won 6-1, 7-5 against Carina saves during the first half on
second set. Witthoeft of Germany.
“I had some trouble in the Earlier, Hungary’s Timea Ba- long free kicks.
start and I think the court bos defeated ninth-seed-
was very slow,” the 18-year- ed Monica Niculescu of The United States has nev-
old Bencic said in televised Romania 4-6, 6-1, 6-3 in her
comments. “My timing was second-round match.q er lost a qualifying match
and is 13-0 against Costa
Rica.
The U.S. team will face
Mexico on Saturday and
close group play against
Puerto Rico on Monday
night.q
