GROUP 1 FINAL STANDINGS TEAM GP W T L GF GA P *Russia 10 7 2 1 18 5 23 **Slovenia 10 5 5 0 17 9 20 Yugoslavia 10 5 4 1 22 8 19 Switzerland 10 4 2 4 18 12 14 Faeroe Islands 10 2 1 7 6 23 7 Luxembourg 10 0 0 10 4 28 0 *Qualifies for Korea/Japan 2002. **Meets Romania in playoff. RESULTS Sept. 2 in Zurich Switzerland 0 Russia 1 (Beschastnykh 74). Sept. 3 in Toftir Faeroe Islands 2 (Arge 87, O.Hansen 90) Slovenia 2 (Udovic 25, Osterc 85). …

The Los Angeles Galaxy is the 2001 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup champion. It downed the New England Revolution, 2-1, on a golden goal in the final on Saturday in front of 4,195 fans in Fullerton, Calif. The Los Angeles victory comes one week after losing the MLS final to San Jose, 2-1, on a golden goal. That Galaxy loss was especially bitter because it marked Los AngelesÆ third loss in the league final in three appearances. In the Open Cup final -- which also marked Paul CaligiuriÆs last professional game after one of the most illustrious careers by an …

What: Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup final. Who: Los Angeles Galaxy vs. New England Revolution. When: Saturday, Oct. 27, 2 p.m. PT (5 p.m. ET). Where: Cal State Fullerton (Titan Stadium). TV: Fox Sports World (live). Tickets: Available (714-278-2783). Injuries: Los Angeles -- None, but F Luis Hernandez is suspended by U.S. Soccer from the competition for an incident with Peter Nowak in last year's U.S. Open Cup semifinal. New England -- D Yari Allnutt, out (foot surgery), D Rusty Pierce, questionable, (L hamstring), D Ted Chronopolous, probable (L hamstring). By The Numbers: 0 Number of Open Cup matches …

Playoff RESULTS First Leg Oct. 25 in Tehran Iran 1 (Bagheri 45) UAE 0. SCHEDULE Second Leg Oct. 31 in Abu Dhabi UAE-Iran Group A RESULTS Oct. 21 in Riyadh Saudi Arabia 4 (Al-Shaihan 40, Al-Jamaan 50, Al-Jaber pen. 66, Al-Harbi 73) Thailand 1 (Tananchai 48). Oct. 21 in Manama Bahrain 3 (Al-Marzouqi 8, A.Hussain 45, M.Hussain 90) Iran 1 (Daei 83). Oct. 16 in Bangkok Thailand 1 (Srimaka 21) Bahrain 1 (Ali Ahmed 90). Oct. 12 in Tehran Iran 2 (Mahdavikia 27, Karimi 71) Iraq 1 (Drain 52). Oct. 5 in Amman Iraq 1 (Aboulheil 31) Saudi Arabia 2 …

Bubba Garcia scored off the opening kickoff, just 38 seconds into the game, and No. 14 UAB hung on to beat No. 3 Saint Louis, 1-0, Wednesday in Birmingham, Ala. The loss ended the Billikens' 10-game unbeaten streak, their longest streak to start the season in 20 years. The game also marked the first time senior transfer Dipsy Selolwane didn't score for SLU. No. 2 Virginia's 2-0 win over East Carolina gave the Cavs 12 straight wins and nine shutouts in their last 10 games. In weekend action, No. 4 Washington travels to No. 6 Stanford in a Pac-10 showdown. …

U.S. Soccer officials will assess their efforts in wake of U-17, U-20 World Cup failures. If the U.S. under-17 team's ride to the semifinals two years ago, followed by the Olympians' just-out-of-the-medals finish in Sydney, seemed to augur well for the future of American soccer, then what do this summer's failures by the U-20s in Argentina and U-17s in Tobago portend? Are the results of under-age championships reasonable barometers for player development? Is the U-17 residency program in Bradenton, Fla., where John Ellinger has been schooling groups of 20 or so players since January 1999, paying dividends? …

BY PAUL KENNEDY According to U.S. Soccer reports for fiscal year 2001-02, the U.S. men's national team will earn $12,065,000 in bonuses if it wins every game at the 2002 World Cup. The pool includes $900,000 as a qualifying bonus and $575,000 as a roster bonus. U.S. Soccer has budgeted a bonus of $110,000 per point in the first round and a bonus of $1,850,000 for reaching the second round. U.S. Soccer is expected to receive $3 million ($1 million a game) from FIFA for showing up for the 2002 World Cup. It will receive an estimated $1 million for …

The MetroStars lost control of the Merconorte CupÆs Group B with a 2-1 loss in Caracas, Venezuela, to Deportivo Italchacao in their penultimate first-round game. The Venezuelan club moves into first place on 12 points. The last Group B game pits the MetroStars against Millonarios -- both on nine points -- in Giants Stadium Oct. 31. A winner of that game -- because either would have a better goal difference than the Venezuelans -- will qualify for the second round. Defender Daniel Diez scored both Deportivo Italchacao goals, including an 89th-minute gamewinner. The MetroStarsÆ goal came on an own goal …

U.S. midfielder John OÆBrien started and played 90 minutes on Wednesday in Ajax AmsterdamÆs first loss in the Dutch League this season. It fell, 5-1, to Heereveen. Chile-based American goalkeeper Jonny Walker celebrated a win in the quarterfinals of the Mercosur Cup when Universidad Catolica beat BrazilÆs Corinthians, 2-1, in their first-leg quarterfinal clash in Santiago. The second leg is next Wednesday in Sao Paulo.

The Columbus Crew General and head coach Greg Andrulis have agreed to terms on a new two-year contract, which will keep him at helm through the 2003 MLS season. Andrulis, 43, who joined the Crew during its inaugural 1996 season and served as Tom Fitzgerald's top assistant for more than four years, was promoted to interim head coach on May 17. Andrulis then guided Columbus to a 12-4-4 record -- which included a club-record nine-game unbeaten streak (7-0-2) -- and the No. 4 seed in the playoffs, where it was swept by San Jose in the quarterfinals. "I am grateful …

(Through Oct. 21) POINTS PER GAME Player, School Class GP G A P PPG 1 Dipsy Selolwane, St. Louis Sr. 10 15 3 33 3.3 2 Luchi Gonzalez, SMU Sr. 12 14 8 36 3.0 3 Attila Vendegh, Old Dominion So. 12 14 6 34 2.83 4 Alon Lubezky, Hartford Fr. 14 17 5 39 2.79 5 Joachim Kaland, Boston U. Sr. 13 15 5 35 2.69 6 Kirk Johnson, Syracuse So. 12 11 7 29 2.42 7 Everson Maciel, Quinnipiac So. 13 14 3 31 2.38 8 Alfonso DeMares, Towson Sr. 13 11 8 30 2.31 …

(Through Oct. 21) POINTS PER GAME Player, School Class GP G A P PPG 1 Ranieka Bean, Howard Fr. 12 16 4 36 3.0 2 Aly Wagner, Santa Clara Jr. 14 13 14 40 2.86 3 Abby Wambach, Florida Sr. 13 15 7 37 2.85 4 Christie Welsh, Penn St. Jr. 15 16 10 42 2.8 5 Beth Liesen, Eastern Ill. So. 14 15 5 35 2.5 - Rosie Luzak, Niagara So. 14 15 5 35 2.5 7 Marilyn Marin, North Texas So. 13 15 2 32 2.46 8 Linsey Johnson, Texas A&M Fr. 12 11 5 …

G CHRIS SAWYER (Notre Dame) (1) Picks up a pair of shutouts against No. 6 Indiana (1-0) and Boston College (2-0) D PETER FINN (Georgetown) (1) Anchors Hoyas' defense that limits No. 9 UConn to six shots in 1-0 win D ZACH SCOTT (Gonzaga) (1) Has fifth hat trick in Zag history -- all on headers -- in 4-1 win over No. 17 Loyola Marymount M SCOTT BUETE (Maryland) (1) Scores game-winning goal in 1-0 victory at No. 12 South Carolina M AARON McHARDY (Oregon State) (1) Has OSU's first hat trick in six years in 5-0 win over Western …

BY SCOTT FRENCH Michelle Akers' not unexpected announcement earlier this month that her playing days were behind her brings to an end the most significant career in women's soccer, one that may never be matched. Akers' dominance of the sport, bookmarked by the Americans' triumphs in the 1991 and 1999 Women's World Cups, was nearly total. She was a complete player who combined skill, strength, size and savvy, gargantuan effort and a physical dimension no other player has approached. Nobody battled as hard as Akers, a sublime finisher (with 12 goals, the record, in WWC play), gifted playmaker and inspirational …

G JULIE PODHRASKY (Massachusetts) (1) Senior's 17 saves prod Minutewomen to shutout victories over St. Joseph's and Temple D A.B. ROBBINS (Wake Forest) (1) Sophomore scores twice in victory over Florida State, leads defense in narrow loss to Clemson D DANIELLE SLATON (Santa Clara) (1) Olympian strikes first against UCLA, sparks defense in shutouts over Bruins, St. Mary's D ERIKA WEBSTER (George Mason) (1) Senior nets a pair in romp over George Washington, assists on winner vs. Old Dominion, battles to keep Patriots close in loss to West Virginia D CASEY ZIMNY (Connecticut) (1) Senior's free kick for first goal, …