Lloyd gets tricky for U.S.
Carli Lloyd had her second straight three-goal game to lead the United States women’s national soccer team to an 8-0 victory over Haiti yesterday in a friendly in Birmingham, Ala.
Lloyd scored all three goals in the first half for her fifth hat trick and second in three days, then sat out the second half. She has 14 goals in her last eight matches as the Americans continue their Women’s World Cup victory tour that so far has been a series of routs. The Americans also pushed their home unbeaten streak to 100 matches. . . .
In MLS play, Tranquillo Barnetta scored his first MLS goal and had an assist to help the Philadelphia Union beat the Houston Dynamo, 2-0, in Chester, Pa., to pull within three points of sixth-place Montreal for the final Eastern Conference playoff spot.
Felipe and Damien Perrinelle scored three minutes apart late in the first half to help the New York Red Bulls to a 2-0 win over the host Portland Timbers to move back into first place in the Eastern Conference, one point ahead of Columbus and two above the Revolution.
In MLS news, the Chicago Fire, owners of the league’s worst record, fired coach Frank Yallop and hired MLS executive Nelson Rodriguez as general manager. Technical director Brian Bliss will serve as interim coach for the final five games. . . .
Lionel Messi scored a pair of goals and Neymar added another as Barcelona easily beat Levante, 4-1, to stay two points ahead of Real Madrid atop Spain’s La Liga. . . .
Martial scored twice to spearhead Manchester United’s 3-2 win over Southampton in the English Premier League. Danny Ings scored his first goal for Liverpool, but couldn’t prevent the Reds from extending their league winless streak to four games after a 1-1 draw against visiting Norwich.
NHL enforcer Ewen dead at 49
Todd Ewen, the former NHL enforcer called “The Animal” for his rugged play and fighting ability, died Saturday. He was 49. CTV Calgary reported the cause of death as a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, and that police are classifying his death as a suicide.
Ewen had 36 goals, 40 assists and 1,911 penalty minutes in 518 career games in 11 seasons with St. Louis, Montreal, Anaheim and San Jose. He helped Montreal win the 1993 Stanley Cup. . . .
The Edmonton Oilers signed defenseman Oscar Klefbom to a seven-year contract extension. The 22-year-old had 20 points, including two goals, in 60 games last season with Edmonton.
Misc.: Big Ten rules AP Top 25
Ohio State is No. 1 and Michigan State is No. 2 in The Associated Press college football poll, giving the Big Ten the top two teams in the rankings for the first time since 2006.
The Buckeyes received 40 first-place votes after a lackluster win over Northern Illinois. Michigan State has seven firstplace votes. No. 3 Mississippi made a big jump from 15 after winning at Alabama. The Tide dropped from No. 2 to No. 12.
TCU is tied for third with Ole Miss and Baylor is No. 5. Notre Dame is sixth, followed by LSU, Georgia, UCLA and Florida State. . . .
Notre Dame sophomore safety Drue Tranquill tore the ACL in his right knee while celebrating a pass breakup in the end zone against Georgia Tech, and became the sixth Irish player to suffer a season-ending injury. Tranquill will undergo surgery within two weeks. . . .
Britain and Belgium clinched 3-2 wins in tennis’ Davis Cup semifinals to set up a rematch of their final 111 years ago. Britain’s Andy Murray beat Australia’s Bernard Tomic, 7-5, 6-3, 6-2, to clinch their tie, while Belgium’s Steve Darcis took out Federico Delbonis of Argentina for that clincher. . . .
Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel won the Singapore Grand Prix and runaway championship leader Lewis Hamilton retired midrace, injecting new life into the fight for the Formula One auto racing title.