The Carolina RailHawks soccer club fell to the Puerto Rico Islanders 2-0 on Sunday at Bayamon, Puerto Rico, in the first leg of the USSF D2 championship finals.
The RailHawks return to WakeMed Soccer Park for the second leg at 7 p.m. Saturday, trailing 2-0 on aggregate. If the RailHawks lead by two goals after 90 minutes of play, the game will extend to a 30-minute overtime period. If necessary, penalty kicks will determine the champion.
After a scoreless first half, Sandy Gbandi put the Islanders ahead 1-0 in the 49th minute. The Islanders added the clincher in the 87th minute when Jonathan Fana split the RailHawks' defense and beat Eric Reed.
Islanders goalkeeper Bill Gaudette earned the shutout.
Tickets for Saturday's game can be purchased by calling the LGFCU Box Office at 919-859-5425 or by visiting www.carolinarailhawks.com.
Byrd's ace wins in Las Vegas
In a stunning finish in Las Vegas, Jonathan Byrd won a three-man playoff with a hole-in-one on the fourth extra hole.
Byrd, Martin Laird and Cameron Percy debated whether to keep playing the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospital for Children Open because of darkness. They all decided to go one more hole Sunday - the 204-yard 17th at TPC Summerlin.
Byrd's shot landed about 10 feet short of the flag and disappeared into the cup. It was so dark Byrd wasn't even sure it went in. All he had to do was wait for Laird and Percy to hit their shots for Byrd to come up with his first win of the year.
The three playoff participants finished at 263 after four rounds. Raleigh's Webb Simpson was a stroke behind.
Administaff Small Business Classic: Fred Couples shot a 9-under 63 on Sunday for a seven-stroke victory at The Woodlands, Texas.
Castello Masters: Matteo Manassero of Italy has become the youngest winner on the European Tour, shooting a 4-under 67 Sunday in Castellon, Spain, to win by four strokes.
Manassero, who is 17 years, 188 days old, eclipsed the record of Danny Lee of New Zealand, who was 18 years, 113 days old when he won the Johnnie Walker Championship in 2008.
Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia: Jimin Kang won the for her second LPGA Tour title, beating Juli Inkster by a stroke Sunday in Kuala Lumpur, when the 50-year-old Hall of Famer bogeyed the final hole.
Report on swimmer's death
United Arab Emirates swimming officials said Sunday that "overexertion" led to the death of U.S. national team swimmer Fran Crippen and denied reports that the American had a heart attack during a race the day before.
Race officials said a medical report has been completed but declined to release it to the media Sunday.
Crippen, 26, died Saturday while competing in the FINA Open Water 10-kilometer World Cup at Fujairah, east of Dubai. He failed to finish and was found in the water two hours later, organizers said.
Swimmers complained of the warm water temperatures, but Ayman Saad, executive director of the UAE swimming association, played down heat as a factor, saying that the water temperature was 84 degrees at the start of the race. He also said that FINA rules only require a minimum water temperature and state nothing about a maximum.
Federer matches Sampras
Roger Federer tied Pete Sampras for career titles on Sunday, earning his 64th crown with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Florian Mayer of Germany in the Stockholm Open final.
Federer claimed his third title of the year at the Royal Tennis Hall to match Sampras for fourth on the all-time list.
Kremlin Cup: Victor Troicki of Serbia claimed his first title, and Victoria Azarenka of Belarus won her fifth women's crown Sunday in Moscow.
The 43rd-ranked Troicki rallied to beat fourth-seeded Marcos Baghdatis 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, while Azarenka downed Russian doubles partner Maria Kirilenko 6-3, 6-4.
Gymnast adds silver medal
All-around champion Aliya Mustafina won her fifth medal Sunday, taking silver on the floor at the world gymnastics championships in Rotterdam, Netherlands.
Lauren Mitchell of Australia swept past co-leaders Mustafina and Romania's Diana Chelaru on the last performance, leaving the Russian with two gold and three silver medals in six events.
All-around champion Kohei Uchimura won his fourth medal, finishing behind China's Feng Zhe and Teng Haibin on the parallel bars. Uchimura also won gold in the all-around and silver medals in the team event and the floor.
Ana Porgras of Romania won the beam, ahead of American Rebecca Bross and defending champion Deng Linlin, who shared silver.
In the men's vault, Olympic runner-up Thomas Bouhail of France beat Anton Golotsutskov of Russia.
Alonso wins Korean GP
Ferrari's Fernando Alonso won the rain-splashed Korean Grand Prix on Sunday in Yeongam, South Korea, to take the Formula One championship lead, while both rival Red Bull drivers failed to finish.
Red Bull's Mark Webber led the standings entering the race but spun out soon after racing belatedly began, while teammate Sebastian Vettel led from pole position until his engine failed 10 laps from the finish.
McLaren's Lewis Hamilton finished second to keep his title chances alive, and Ferrari's Felipe Massa was third.
With two races left, Alonso has an 11-point lead over Webber and a 21-point margin over third-place Hamilton. Vettel dropped 25 points back, all but ending his championship chances.
Associated Press
