Pulisic’s 1st hat trick leads US to win, Cup brink
Christian Pulisic hugged his parents at the front of the stands, all three euphoric after his first international hat trick.
Out on the field, American players unfurled a red-and-blue banner with “QUALIFIED” in bold, white letters.
Not quite. But close. “We know we’re not there yet, despite what that banner might have said,” U.S. coach Gregg Berhalter maintained Sunday night after a 5-1 rout of Panama.
Pulisic converted two penalty kicks during a four-goal burst in the first half that also saw Paul Arriola and Jesús Ferreira score, then boosted the lead to 5-0 on a memorable goal with two brilliant touches that evaded a pair of defenders.
With fans fretting after the Americans’ failure to reach the 2018 World Cup, the U.S. assumed a commanding position to qualify for the November tournament in Qatar.
Only a loss of six or more goals Wednesday night in the finale at Costa Rica would cause the Americans not to finish among the top three nations in North and Central America and the Caribbean and claim an automatic berth. They can finish no worse than fourth, which earns a June playoff, likely against New Zealand.
Motor sports
VERSTAPPEN OVERTAKES LECLERC » Red Bull driver Max Verstappen overtook Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari three laps from the end of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix for the defending champion’s first win of the Formula One season and 21st of his career.
The race under floodlights was held two days after an attack on a nearby oil depot by Yemen’s Houthi rebels.
Leclerc was aiming for back-to-back victories after winning the season-opener in Bahrain from pole position last Sunday, but Verstappen overtook him on Lap 47 of 50 after some thrilling wheel-to-wheel racing between them.
Golf SCHEFFLER WINS MATCH PLAY »
Six weeks after his first PGA Tour victory, Scottie Scheffler won the Dell Technologies Match Play for his third title in his last five starts, this one enough to move him to No. 1 in the world.
One year after losing in the championship match, Scheffler never trailed against Kevin Kisner, building a 3-up lead through six holes and giving him no chance to catch up. Scheffler closed him out with a par on the 15th for a 4-and-3 victory.
Scheffler never trailed in the semifinal win over Dustin Johnson or against Kisner — he went the final 57 holes at Austin Country Club without trailing — and he was so solid in the championship match that Kisner didn’t win a hole. RAMEY WINS PGA EVENT » Chad Ramey won the windswept Corales Puntacana Championship for his first PGA Tour title, beating Ben Martin and Alex Smalley by a stroke.
Ramey closed with a 5-under 67, completing a two-putt par on the par-4 18th after Martin missed a 6-foot birdie try that would have forced a playoff.
MLB COLE PITCHES FOR YANKEES »
Yankees ace Gerrit Cole felt his first spring training start was better than his pitching line.
Cole allowed four runs and four hits with five strikeouts and a walk over two-plus innings in New York’s 7-4 exhibition win over the Pittsburgh Pirates.
The right-hander gave up homers to Diego Castillo and Cole Tucker. METS ACES COMBINE » Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer teamed up to give the New York Mets a complete performance.
After deGrom started and pitched three innings, Scherzer relieved and threw the final six innings in a 7-3 win over the St. Louis Cardinals.
DeGrom had only had one regret: He couldn’t stick around to see his new teammate work. Instead, deGrom had to go through his post-start routine.
Soccer
CANADA ADVANCES TO WORLD CUP » Cyle Larin, Tajon Buchanan and Junior Hoilett scored and Canada secured its first World Cup berth in 36 years with a 4-0 victory over Jamaica.
Canada has been to the World Cup just once before, in 1986.
Canada missed out on a chance to secure a spot in Qatar last week with a 1-0 loss to Costa Rica. It was Canada’s first loss in three World Cup qualifying rounds and it snapped a six-game winning streak.
Women’s basketball
ARIZONA STATE NAMES COACH » Arizona State has hired Natasha Adair to coach women’s basketball.
The school announced the former Delaware coach will replace Charli Turner Thorne, who retired earlier this month after 25 years leading the Sun Devils.
A former player at South Florida, Adair spent the past five seasons at Delaware, where she went 9558 with consecutive 20-win seasons. She was named the Colonial Athletic Association coach of the year after leading the Blue Hens to the WNIT semifinals and led the program to its first NCAA Tournament in nearly a decade this season.
Softball
HALL OF FAMER DIES » Florida Atlantic softball coach Joan Joyce, the only coach in the program’s 28-year history whose numerous claims to fame included once striking out Ted Williams, has died, the school announced.
Joyce died Saturday, the school said, without disclosing the cause. She was 81.
Joyce was inducted into the International Women’s Sports Hall of Fame in 1989. She spent 19 years as a member of the LPGA Tour — needing only 17 putts to get through a round in 1982 — and also served as FAU’s women’s golf coach from 1996 through 2014.