The United States fell to Brazil, 1-0, Thursday night in the final of the Torneo Internacional de L'Alcunia in Spain.Tavares beat all-tournament goalie Steve Cronin for the only goal in the ninth minute.It was the fifth game in six nights for the team and fourth in four days. Brazil beat the United States, 2-1, on the opening day. The Americans, who led the tournament with 11 goals, recovered to win three straight games and advance to the final in what is considered the top summer under-20 tournament in the world.Six Brazilians received yellow cards, bringing the total number of cards …

University of Texas All-American Kelly Wilson netted her eighth and ninth goals of the competition and the United States overcame a shaky start on Thursday to earn its spot in the final of the first FIFA U-19 Women's World Cup with a 4-1 semifinal triumph over Germany.University of North Carolina freshman Lindsay Tarpley's 28th-minute goal answered an earlier strike by Germany's Linda Bresonik, and Wilson followed with tallies in the 30th and 45th minutes as the Americans took control of the match.The United States will take CONCACAF rival Canada, which advanced to the final on penalty kicks after playing Brazil …

Former Swedish standout Pia Sundhage, who as Mark Krikorian's assistant coach has helped the Philadelphia Charge reach the WUSA semifinals in both seasons, was hired Thursday as head coach of the Boston Breakers.Sundhage, who also was courted for the vacant San Diego Spirit job, replaces former U.S. Soccer staff coach Jay Hoffman, who was released after the Breakers failed to reach the playoffs for the second successive year.Sundhage scored 71 goals in 146 international appearances for Sweden before retiring in 1996. She coached at the club level in Sweden and was in charge of several Swedish underage national teams before …

After helping Sunderland defend a precarious 1-0 victory at Leeds, U.S. midfielder Claudio Reyna voiced his support for his embattled coach, Peter Reid. In Chile, meanwhile, goalkeeper Jonny Walker's team was eliminated from one tournament and faces a possible work stoppage in league play.England* Brad Friedel (Blackburn, PL) vs. Liverpool, 2-2.Started: 90 minutes. An 83rd minute goal by substitute Corrado Grabbi salvaged the point at home for Blackburn. Damien Duff, one of Rovers' top players, quashed rumors that he was to be signed by Liverpool, saying that he planned to extend his contract that night. ''It'll be a long night …

Aug. 28 in Foxboro, Mass.New England 3 Colorado 1. Goals: Twellman (Franchino, Griffiths) 27, Hernandez 39, Twellman (Ralston, Heaps) 39; Chung (Henderson, Valderrama) 75.Colorado -- Kramer, Fraser (Herdsman 46), Stewart, Hart (Kotschau 46), Titus (Trembly 62), Chung, Palacios, Valderrama, Kingsley, Carrieri, Henderson.New England -- Brown, Llamosa (Pierce 11), Kante, Franchino, Heaps, Cullen, Ralston, Griffiths (Kamler 36), Hernandez, Harris, Twellman (Downing, 89).Yellow cards: Colorado -- Titus 34, Stewart 36, Kotschau 61, Palacios 65.Referee: Rich Grady.Att.: 13,210.

The United States reached the final of Spain's Torneo Internacional de La Alcudia, considered the top under-20 summer tournament in the world, with a 3-1 win over Uruguay Wednesday.The Americans play Brazil, which beat them, 2-1, in their opening game, in Thursday's final.The Americans played the last 28 minutes with 10 men after Devan Barclay's red card but prevailed thanks to an own goal, Indiana sophomore Ned Grabavoy's penalty and a sensational goal by Dallas Burn striker Eddie Johnson, who beat three defenders and scored from 30 yards.The all-college defense of C.J. Klaas (Washington), Chad Marshall (Stanford), Ryan Cochrane (Santa …

1. North Carolina (24-1-0) 8/30 at Nebraska; 9/1 vs. USC at Nebraska2. Portland (20-4-0) 8/30 at BYU; 9/1 at Utah3. Santa Clara (23-2-0) 8/30 vs. Stanford4. Virginia (17-4-2) 8/31 vs. St. Joseph's5. Texas (14-6-0) 8/30 vs. New Mexico; 9/1 vs. Duke6. Penn State (21-4-1) 9/1 vs. Pittsburgh7. Stanford (15-4-2) 8/30 at Santa Clara8. Notre Dame (17-3-1) 8/30 at Providence; 9/1 vs. Virginia Tech9. UCLA (20-3-0) 8/30 vs. San Diego10. Texas A&M (17-4-1) 8/30 vs. Rice; 9/1 vs. SMU11. Nebraska (17-5-1) 8/30 vs. North Carolina; 9/1 vs. Wisconsin12. Washington (13-5-2) 8/30 vs. Arkansas; 9/1 vs. Colorado College13. Florida State (15-8-1) 8/30 …

German First Division club Energie Cottbus is interested in signing U.S. center back Gregg Berhalter, who has fallen out of favor with English First Division club Crystal Palace.Cottbus, in the former East Germany, is looking for a replacement for Hungarian sweeper Vilmos Seboek, who took blame for Cottbus' bad start to the season -- 5-0 and 4-0 losses to Bochum and Hansa Rostock.Berhalter played well in the USA's 1-0 loss to Germany in the quarterfinals of the 2002 World Cup.

After almost four years with German First Division club Bayer Leverkusen, U.S. outside back Frankie Hejduk is moving to Swiss First Division club St. Gallen.Hejduk, 28, played 19 league games for Bayer Leverkusen during his stint in Germany. Last season, when Leverkusen finished runner-up in the league, German Cup and European Champions League, Hejduk didn't see time in any of the competitions.Reuters news service reported that Hejduk's move to Switzerland is on a free transfer. Before the transfer went through, a German wire service reported that Bayer Leverkusen was hoping for a $240,000 transfer fee.

GOALKEEPER Josh Lynk (Indiana) * Seven saves in 0-0 tie against CharlestonDEFENDERS Dwayne Demmin (Charlotte) * Gamewinner in 1-0 win over RichmondBrent Sancho (Portland) * Solid in pair of road winsJoe Mattachione (Toronto) * Goal in 2-1 win over RochesterMIDFIELDERS Andy McDermott (Charlotte) * Two goals in 4-2 win at RichmondHenry Gutierrez (Pittsburgh) * Two goals in 3-2 overtime win at AtlantaJohn Jones (Charleston) * Goal, assist in 3-0 win at El PasoLeighton O'Brien (Seattle) * Two goals in 4-0 win over CalgaryPatrice Bernier (Montreal) * Goal, four assists in pair of road winsFORWARDS Johnny Menyongar (Minnesota) * Two goals, …

JUST ONE SPOT LEFT: The Milwaukee Rampage's 6-1 win over Cincinnati on Tuesday night qualified El Paso and Vancouver for the A-League playoffs, and Portland clinched last weekend. With Seattle, Minnesota and Milwaukee, the Western Conference's six-team postseason field is complete. The rest of the regular season, which ends Sept. 2, will determine the seedings.Toronto and Charlotte remain in a battle for the sixth and final playoff spot from the Eastern Conference, where Charleston, Rochester, Montreal, Richmond and Atlanta have clinched.MINNESOTA READY FOR BASEBALL STRIKE. The Minnesota Thunder is reaching out to baseball fans as Friday's deadline for a Major …

The decisions made under duress at this year's MLS All-Star Game were hardly as appalling as some media outlets portrayed them. Considering the awful luck of the day, the solutions were reasonable. The simple fact is that the field was unplayable immediately after the storm. The 10 minutes attempted at that point were laughable. Simply put, Paulina Rubio's performance allowed the field to drain. And as much as sports ''purists'' might hate such realities, a league thirsting for sponsors cannot afford to dismiss a giant like Pepsi. That settled, whither the All-Star Game from here? Clearly this was the …

SCHEDULE and RESULTS (Aug. 30-Sept. 2)Rank Team (2001 Final Record)1. Indiana (18-4-1)8/30 -- Rutgers; 8/31 -- Clemson.2. Virginia (17-2-1)8/30 -- Kentucky; 9/1 -- Rhode Island.3. North Carolina (21-4-0)8/30 -- Akron; 9/1 -- Saint Louis.4. Stanford (19-2-1)8/31 -- Sacramento State.5. Connecticut (15-5-2)8/30 -- at Seton Hall.6. St. John's (17-3-3)9/1 -- Boston College.7. Washington (13-6-0)8/31 -- Central Florida (at Portland); 9/2 -- DePaul (at Portland).8. Clemson (19-5-0)8/30 -- Butler (at Indiana); 8/31 -- at Indiana.9. Rutgers (15-7-3)8/30 -- at Indiana; 8/31 -- Butler (at Indiana).10. UAB (15-6-0)8/31 -- at UC Irvine; 9/2 -- San Diego (at UC Irvine).11. Saint Louis (18-2-0)8/30 -- …

In 1916, two Mexico City clubs, Record FC and Colon FC, decided to unite. Representatives of Colon - the Spanish version of the name Columbus, as in Christopher - noted that the merger was going through on Oct. 12, the date in 1492 that Columbus landed in the New World. They proposed the name ''America.'' With a map of the Americas on its jerseys, Club America has been striving to earn a reputation as one of the world's great clubs. Last May, Club America won its first title since the Mexican League went to a split-season format in …

The term ''relegation'' once carried with it a foreboding sense of doom quite overstated, even in the hyperbolic, sometimes hysterical tone of sports coverage. ''Safety'' and ''survival'' were the rewards if ''the ax'' didn't fall and thus ''the drop'' could be avoided. In ancient times, which date back at least three or four years, dropping out of the English Premier League meant sharp losses of revenue and prestige, yet a club's very existence was seldom at risk. But the landscape has changed. Below the rich Premier League is a nether world of crisis. Along with the …