Dest makes immediate impact as U.S. rebounds
Sergiño Dest set up a goal in the second minute of his American competitive debut, Gyasi Zardes scored twice, and the United States overwhelmed Canada early in a 4-1 CONCACAF Nations League match on Friday night in Orlando, Florida.
A month after Canada embarrassed the Americans with a 2-0 victory at Toronto for its first win over the Americans since 1985, Jordan Morris, Zardes and Aaron Long scored as the U.S. built a 3-0 halftime lead.
Steven Vitória cut Canada’s deficit in the 72nd minute, and Zardes got his 12th international goal in the 89th, capping a victory that may lessen some of the criticism of U.S. coach Gregg Berhalter and his playfrom-the-back system.
The U.S. (2-1) would finish ahead of Canada (3-1) to win the group and advance to the semifinals of the first CONCACAF Nations League if it beats Cuba (0-3) on Tuesday in a match moved to George Town, Cayman Islands, because of issues with the stadium lights in Havana. The Americans overtook the Canadians in goal difference, plus-eight to plussix, and Canada has completed group play.
Dest started at right back, an appearance that tied him to the American program. The 18-year-old defender has become a regular for Ajax this season and played in a pair of exhibitions for the U.S. in September. The son of a Surinamese-American father and Dutch mother, he played for the U.S. at the Under-17 and Under-20 World Cups but was recruited this fall by the Netherlands national team and skipped last month’s Nations League games while deliberating over his decision.
Because Nations League games are competitive matches, Dest now is unable to switch affiliation to the Dutch.
Before a sparse crowd of 13,103, Morris, the former Stanford player, put the U.S. ahead with his eighth international goal, a 6-yard right-footed volley after Dest flicked on Sebastien Llleget’s corner kick.
Paul Arriola set up the second goal in the 23rd minute with a cross-field pass to Morris on a counterattack, and Morris’ left-footed cross was headed by Zardes past goalkeeper Milan Borjan from 3 yards. Long scored in the 34th with a 9-yard header from Tim Ream’s free kick.
Tennis
ZVEREV ADVANCES, WHILE NADAL ENDS YEAR NO. 1 >> Defending champion Alexander Zverev secured the last semifinal spot at the ATP Finals in London, eliminating Rafael Nadal in the process.
Zverev beat already eliminated Daniil Medvedev 6-4, 7-6 (4) at the O2 Arena to finish second behind Stefanos
Tsitsipas in the group and set up a semifinal against Dominic Thiem.
Earlier, Nadal stayed in contention by rallying to beat Tsitsipas 6-7 (4), 6-4, 7-5 for his second win of the round-robin stage.
But Zverev’s win left him, Nadal, and Tsitispas with identical 2-1 records — with the top-ranked Spaniard eliminated based on the tournament’s tiebreaker rules.
After the match, Nadal was presented with a trophy on court for having secured the year-end No. 1 ranking.
It’s the fifth time that the 19-time Grand Slam winner ends the year atop the rankings, tied for second on the all-time list with Djokovic, Federer and Jimmy Connors. Pete Sampras did it six times.
Women’s college soccer
STANFORD ADVANCES IN NCAAS >> Catarina Macario scored four goals, and Sophia Smith and Bianca CaetanoFerrara added three to lead the host Cardinal past Prairie View A&M 15-0 in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
NHL
CANADIENS RESPOND TO OVECHKIN’S HIT ON DROUIN >> Shea Weber scored to extend his point streak to five games, Carey Price made 25 saves, and the Montreal Canadiens responded to a big hit by Alex Ovechkin on Jonathan Drouin, beating the Washington Capitals 5-2 on the road.
Phillip Danault, Weber, Jordan Weal and Nick Suzuki scored after Ovechkin flattened Drouin with an open ice hit that knocked him out for the rest of the second period. Drouin returned for the third. WERENSKI’S OT GOAL LIFTS BLUE JACKETS OVER BLUES 3-2 >> Zach Werenski scored 3:34 into overtime to give the Columbus Blue Jackets a 3-2 home win over the St. Louis Blues. Mackenzie McEachern and Brayden Schenn scored for the Stanley Cup champion Blues, who lost a second consecutive game in overtime.
FLAMES’ BRODIE HOME AFTER COLLAPSING AT PRACTICE >> Calgary Flames defenseman TJ Brodie is home from the hospital after falling to the ice and convulsing at practice. General manager Brad Treliving said Friday that Brodie was “feeling good” and neurological tests came back negative. He’ll undergo more tests.
Practice was halted Thursday when Brodie collapsed and was taken to a hospital.
LEAFS’ KERFOOT OUT INDEFINITELY >> The Toronto Maple Leafs announced that center Alexander Kerfoot will be out indefinitely after undergoing surgery to repair facial dental fractures. Kerfoot, who signed a four-year, $14 million deal with the Leafs in July, suffered the injury in a Nov. 5 game against the Los Angeles Kings.
Golf
LEE’S BLISTERING FRONT NINE SECURES ONE-SHOT LEAD IN MEXICO >> Danny Lee’s sizzling start propelled the New Zealander to a one-stroke lead in the rain-delayed Mayakoba Golf Classic in Mexico. Lee put together five birdies and an eagle in his first eight holes while shooting nine-under 62 to lead Brendon Todd and Adam Long, who had 63s, as the weather improved in Playa del Carmen after Thursday’s first-round washout.
Vaughn Taylor, Mark Hubbard, Zach Johnson and Chris Baker shared fourth after shooting 7-under-par 64s. LOMBARD MOVES AHEAD AT SUN CITY >> Zander Lombard shot a 7-under-par 65 to overtake fellow South African Louis Oosthuizen and take a two-shot lead after two rounds at the Nedbank Golf Challenge in Sun City, South Africa.
Oosthuizen led by three after a first-round 63 despite struggling with kidney stones. He couldn’t take that momentum into the second round. He made three birdies and three bogeys for a par 72 to slip two shots behind.
Motorsports
FERRARIS DOMINATE BRAZILIAN GP PRACTICE SESSIONS >> Ferrari drivers Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc dominated free practice at Interlagos in Sao Paolo for the Brazilian Grand Prix. Vettel clocked the fastest lap of the day in the afternoon session, and Leclerc was 0.021 seconds behind.
The Brazilian GP on Sunday is the penultimate race of the season. CRAFTON GRABS TRUCK SERIES CHAMPIONSHIP >> Matt Crafton won a championship without winning a race. Crafton finished second in Friday night’s Truck Series finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway — good enough for his third series title. The champion needed only to finish highest of the foursome of Crafton, reigning series champion Bret Moffitt, Stewart Friesen and Ross Chastain to win the title.