Orlando City advances to MLS tourney title game
Nani scored two firsthalf goals and Orlando City advanced to the MLS is Back tournament title match with a 31 victory over Minnesota United on Thursday night in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.
Orlando will play the Portland Timbers, who defeated the Philadelphia Union 21 in the other semifinal Wednesday night, in the championship game Tuesday.
Mason Toye cut Minnesota’s deficit to 21 with his first goal of the season in the 83rd minute, but the Lions withstood United’s attack down the stretch before Benji Michel’s goal late in stoppage time for the final margin. College football: Penn State linebacker Micah Parsons, Purdue wide receiver Rondale Moore and Miami defensive end Gregory Rousseau all announced that they are opting out of the upcoming season because of coronavirus concerns. All three will be eligible to enter the 2021 NFL draft. NHL: Scott Laughton had two goals as the Philadelphia Flyers beat the Washington Capitals 31 in Eastern Conference roundrobin play in Toronto. The Flyers play Tampa Bay on Saturday, with the winner earning the top seed in the East playoffs . ... In Western Conference roundrobin play in Edmonton, Alberta, Mark Stone scored the goahead goal in the third period as the Vegas Golden Knights beat the St. Louis Blues 64. Vegas can clinch the West’s No. 1 seed by beating Colorado on Saturday . ... In Edmonton, the Vancouver Canucks beat the Minnesota Wild 30 to take a 21 lead in their bestoffive West qualifier series . ... In Toronto, the Columbus Blue Jackets beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 43 in overtime for a 21 lead in the East qualifier series . ... The Anaheim Ducks resigned freeagent defenseman Jacob Larsson to a twoyear, $2.4 million deal. WNBA: In Bradenton, Fla., Breanna Stewart scored 27 points and the Seattle Storm went 25for27 from the foul line in a 9392 win over the Atlanta Dream. Rookie guard Chennedy Carter 93 scored 35 points for Atlanta . ... Brionna Jones scored 17 points as the Connecticut Sun beat the Dallas Wings 9168 . ... Diana Taurasi and Brittany Griner each scored 22 points and Phoenix beat the Chicago Sky 9686, giving the Mercury a fourgame winning streak. College basketball: Texas Tech fired women’s coach Marlene Stollings, whose team was 1811 this past season in her second year with the program, a day after a scathing newspaper report alleging a culture of abuse in her program.
Golf: Cormac Sharvin shot an 8underpar 63 to take a oneshot lead over six players in the European Tour’s English Championship in Ware.
Motor sports: Erik Jones, who is 18th in the NASCAR Cup standings, won’t return to Joe Gibbs Racing next season, Gibbs said. Jones, 24, is in his fourth NASCAR Cup season.
Tennis: Topseeded Petra Martic beat Liudmila Samsonova 57, 64, 62 to reach the Palermo (Italy) Ladies Open quarterfinals in the WTA’s first tournament following a fivemonth break because of the coronavirus. Also advancing were Aliaksandra Sasnovich, Anett Kontaveit and Camila Giorgi,