TOREROS RALLY TO GET BACK IN PFL WIN COLUMN BY BEATING STETSON

There was a dropped pass on the goal line that should have been a touchdown.

There were three firsthalf turnovers, all in the red zone, and by late in the third quarter Saturday afternoon, the USD football team found itself trailing winless Stetson.

A dive into the record book showed the Toreros were in danger of suffering back-to-back home Pioneer Football League losses for the first time since 2009.

Said USD head coach Dale Lindsey, “Stetson came in playing like we were another bum in the street.”

But the Toreros sobered up, the offense pulled an about face and USD rallied to rout the Hatters 34-10 at Torero Stadium.

Stetson fell to 0-4 while USD improved to 4-1. DON NORCROSS

More local colleges

Shelby Thompson homered three times and had a combined six RBIS to lead the San Diego State softball team to a doubleheader sweep over Santa Barbara at Campus Diamond. The Aztecs (17-11) opened the day with a 10-0, six-inning run-rule victory before beating the Gauchos (8-20), 6-2, in the nightcap.

• The USD softball team (9-19, 1-1 WCC) split a doubleheader with visiting Pacific (11-11-1, 1-1). The Toreros lost the first game 2-1 but won the nightcap 5-2.

• The UC San Diego men’s volleyball team (3-9, 3-5 Big West) lost at Long Beach State (5-3, 5-3), 25-20, 25-22, 25-15.

• The UCSD baseball team (9-16, 4-7 Big West) dropped both games of its doubleheader against host UC Irvine (19-9, 13-2) by scores of 11-1 and 9-3.

• The SDSU baseball team split a doubleheader with visiting Nevada. The Aztecs won the first game 15-7 and lost the second 10-6.

• The USD baseball team scored a 6-0 victory at Loyola Marymount behind five shutout innings from Carter Rustad.

Motorsports

Rain forced the postponement of the NASCAR Cup Series race at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway after just 42 laps Saturday night, setting up a doubleheader today.

The day will start at 9 a.m. PDT with the completion of an Xfinity Series race that was suspended after 91 laps Friday night. That race has 159 laps to complete, and the Cup completion will begin at 1 p.m. in conditions that weather forecasts suggest will be sunny and in the mid-70s.

Soccer

The United States’ 16match winning streak was snapped in a 1-1 draw with Sweden at Stockholm in Carli Lloyd’s 300th national team appearance. Lina Hurtig put Sweden ahead off a set piece in the 38th minute before Megan Rapinoe’s penalty kick pulled the United States even in the 87th. The draw extended the U.S. team’s unbeaten streak to 38 games. Rapinoe’s goal was her sixth this year to lead the team.

• A day of dramatic finishes in England’s Premier League began with Manchester City losing 2-1 to 10man Leeds, whose winning goal — scored by Stuart Dallas for his second of the match — came from a breakaway in the first minute of added-on time at Etihad Stadium. At Anfield, Liverpool was heading for another disappointing result at home when right back Trent Alexander-arnold curled a stunning effort into the corner also in the first minute of stoppage time to secure a 2-1 win against Aston Villa.

Tennis

Veronikia Kudermetova of Russia and Danka Kovinic of Montenegro will play for their first WTA title today in the Volvo Car Open championship at Charleston, S.C. Kudermetova, the 15th seed, rolled past Spain’s

Paula Badosa 6-3, 6-3, continuing a run at the year’s opening clay-court tournament where she hadn’t lost a set in four matches this week.

• Lorenzo Sonego is one step away from becoming the first Italian for 15 years to capture an ATP tour claycourt title on home soil after beating second-seeded Taylor Fritz, a San Diego native, to reach the final of the Sardegna Open in Cagliari, Sardinia. Third-seeded Sonego held off a spirited comeback from Fritz to prevail 6-4, 5-7, 6-1.

Also

After Friday’s wild 8-6 victory, the San Diego Gulls fell flat in a 4-1 AHL loss at Tucson on Saturday night.

• The San Diego Legion were beaten by the Houston Sabercats 34-32, dropping their record to 1-3 in the 2021 MLR season.

• Filip Lindberg had 25 saves, Aaron Bohlinger scored his first career goal, and Massachusetts beat St. Cloud State 5-0 at Pittsburgh to win the program’s first NCAA title.