FIU takes on No. 1 Marshall in C-USA soccer battle
Both men’s soccer teams that train at FIU have big games this weekend. Miami FC is on the road for a USL playoff quarterfinal against Louisville City.
Fans who want to see live soccer can head to FIU at 7 p.m. Friday for a big college matchup between No. 1-ranked Marshall, the defending national champion, and No. 19 FIU. The Conference USA title is on the line.
Marshall features nine Brazilian players, four Germans, two each from England, Kenya and Ghana, and one Argentine. The Thundering Herd (11-1-3) are led by Pedro Dolabella, a 6-4 Brazilian midfielder who leads Conference USA with 10 goals. They have not lost since the second game of the season and have won seven games in a row. FIU is 11-2-2.
“The boys worked hard and earned this opportunity to play for the Conference USA title against Marshall,” said FIU coach Kyle Russell.
“Every time our fans have come, we’ve been better for it, so we hope our students and alumni come out so we can create a difficult place for Marshall to play.”
Miami FC enters the USL Championship playoffs as the No. 4 seed and faces a big test against top-seeded Louisville City, which won back-to back-titles in 2017 and 2018. Three Miami players came from Louisville City — Devon “Speedy” Williams, Paco Craig and Richard Ballard. The game will be televised on ESPN+.
— MICHELLE KAUFMAN
FIU BASEBALL CAMP
Kansas City Royals star prospect MJ Melendez,
the son of FIU baseball coach Mervly Melendez,
will hold a baseball camp for kids ages 6 through 12 on Dec. 11. For more information on the camp, which will be held at FIU, call 386-547-2420.
— WALTER VILLA
ETC.
Soccer:
Christian
Pulisic will return to the U.S. men’s national soccer team for a 2022 World Cup qualifying showdown with Mexico next week, but Sergiño Dest has been lost to a back injury . ... Tottenham held on for a 3-2 home win over Vitesse Arnhem in the Europa Conference League after nearly giving
up a three-goal lead in Antonio Conte’s coaching debut . ... Lyon and Eintracht Frankfurt became the first teams to advance to the knockout rounds of the Europa League after both earned victories.
College basketball: If sidelined Florida basketball star Keyontae Johnson is unable to pursue a professional career because of health concerns, he still could have lifetime financial security after he leaves the Gators. The Associated Press reported late Wednesday that Johnson holds a $5 million insurance policy through the NCAA to guarantee future earnings in case injury ended his promising career before he profited professionally. Johnson has not played basketball and his physical activities have been strictly limited by doctors since his Dec. 12, 2020, collapse on the court at Florida State.
Tennis: Defending champion Daniil Medvedev rallied to beat unseeded American Sebastian Korda 4-6, 6-1, 6-3 and book a spot in the Paris Masters quarterfinals. Topranked Novak Djokovic is earlier advanced without playing a point because Gael Monfils pulled out injured. Medvedev next faces French qualifier Hugo Gaston, who rallied from 5-0 down in the second set to win 6-4, 7-5 against 18-year-old Spaniard
Carlos Alcaraz . ... Switzerland won the decisive doubles to clinch the last spot in the semifinals of the Billie Jean King Cup with a 2-1 comeback victory over the Czech Republic in Prague. Olympic singles champion Belinda Bencic
teamed up with Jil Teichmann to cruise past Lucie Hradecka and Tokyo doubles champion Karolina Siniakova 6-3, 6-3.
Golf: Matthew Wolff
ripped off a 10-under 61 to match his career low on the PGA Tour and has a twoshot lead over Aaron Wise
at World Wide Technology Championship at Playa del Carmen, Mexico . ... Nino Bertasio shot a 10-under 61 for the lowest European Tour round of his career to take a four-shot lead after the first round of the Portugal Masters . ... Oklahoma State sophomore Bo Jin
made five birdies over his last eight holes for a 7under 64, giving him a one-shot lead in the AsiaPacific Amateur Championship at Dubai, United Arab Emerites.