I Dig Sports
NORWALK, Ohio – Bob Tasca III picked up back-to-back Funny Car wins for the first time in his career on Sunday during the 13th annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park.
Steve Torrence (Top Fuel), Chris McGaha (Pro Stock) and Andrew Hines (Pro Stock Motorcycle) were also winners at the 12th of 24 events during the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season.
Tasca, who won for the first time in nearly seven years last weekend in Bristol, waited just seven days to pick up his next victory, making it two in a row by going 4.383-seconds at 245.09 mph in the final round in his Motorcraft/Tasca Parts Ford Shelby Mustang.
It is the sixth career win for Tasca, who reached his 14th career final round with wins against Matt Hagan, Paul Lee and John Force before knocking off Jack Beckman for the victory.
“I worked a lot of years to get to this place and there were days I never thought I would get back here, but I never gave up and I thank the people that never gave up on me,” Tasca said. “I always knew if I could get the right car under me we could do great things.
“I woke up this morning and was as confident as I ever was, and when you make four runs in the 3.00s in very challenging conditions, there was no reason why we couldn’t have won,” Tasca added. “I’m glad we got it done.”
Beckman, who slowed to an 11.764 at 77.85 in the finals, knocked off Jonnie Lindberg, Shawn Langdon and Tommy Johnson Jr. to reach his 59th final round.
In Top Fuel, defending world champ and current points leader Torrence continued his dominant stretch, powering to his sixth win in the last seven races and 33rd in his career with a run of 3.832 at 323.27 in his Capco Contractors dragster.
Torrence beat Pat Dakin’s 3.909 at 301.40. The Texan, who was nominated last week for Best Driver at the 2019 ESPY Awards, reached his seventh straight final round by beating Jordan Vandergriff, Doug Kalitta and Brittany Force.
Sunday’s semifinal win gave Torrence his 300th career round win.
“Some days you come out here and you just feel really on top of your game and some days you’re a little slower and today was one of those slow days,” said Torrence, who won for the second time in Norwalk. “But my guys had my back and we went down the track four laps in a row. This is completely a team sport and without those guys working on the car, it’s nothing. I’m just proud to drive it.”
Dakin, who advanced to his first final round since 1998 and was looking for his first Top Fuel victory since 1973, reached the finals after beating Mike Salinas, Terry McMillen and Leah Pritchett.
Pro Stock’s McGaha picked up his first win of 2019 and eighth in his career with his winning run of 6.620 at 210.11 in his Harlow Sammons Chevrolet Camaro to beat Alex Laughlin’s 6.668 at 208.75.
McGaha reached his 11th final round thanks to wins against Wally Stroupe, Greg Anderson and points leader Bo Butner.
“We just kept taking the same car up there all four rounds,” McGaha said. “I had a bad light in the first round and in the second round, I was a little better on the tree. I botched the burnout really bad in the semifinals and I’m sure everybody thought we were done, but next thing you now we let it rip and won that round.”
Laughlin earned a berth in his fifth final round by topping Rodger Brogdon, Jason Line and Jeg Coughlin.
Five-time Pro Stock Motorcycle world champion and points leader Hines rolled to his fifth win of the season and class-best 53rd career win, going 6.895 at 196.99 on his Screamin’ Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson to beat teammate Eddie Krawiec’s 6.967 at 196.64.
It was the 26th time the standout teammates have met in the final round, with Hines winning for the 12th time.
Hines’ day started with round wins against Marc Ingwersen, Angelle Sampey and defending world champion Matt Smith, while Krawiec reached the final round for the 83rd time by knocking off Michael Ray, John Hall and Scotty Pollacheck.
“We had different conditions today than the rest of the week, but for some reason my bike tends to work well on a greasy track,” said Hines, who won for the fifth time in Norwalk. “The competition is tough and you have to earn it each round. Our guys do a great job making sure we have phenomenal motorcycles.
“(Racing Krawiec) has brought out the best in both of us. That’s probably why we have as many wins as we have. We push each other to be that much better.”
Tagged under
LOUDON, N.H. – Eddie MacDonald barely held off a hard-charging Mike Hopkins to win Sunday’s 50-lap Pro All Stars Series super late model main event, the headliner of the third annual New England Short Track Showdown at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
For MacDonald it was his 11th win at the Magic Mile, including scores in both PASS super late model races ever contested at the 1.058-mile oval.
He beat Hopkins to the line by maybe a foot, or .026 seconds according to electronic scoring, aboard his Hancock Electric-Grimm Construction No. 17.
Hopkins, a winner at the three-quarter-mile Richmond Raceway in Virginia to open the Pro All Stars Series season, solidified his position atop the Pro All Stars Series national standings with his runner-up finish.
Derek Griffith, the defending PASS Super Late Model national champion, swapped positions in front of the pack with both MacDonald and Hopkins before settling for a third-place finish, following up his win in the previous week’s race at Speedway 95 and injecting the LCM Motorsports operation right back into the PASS North title chase.
Canadian teenager Austin MacDonald posted an impressive fourth-place finish in his New Hampshire Motor Speedway debut, while five-time PASS national champion Ben Rowe rebounded with a top-five finish after nearly slapping the wall during qualifying.
Ryan Kuhn just missed out on a top-five finish, crossing sixth, while Alan Tardiff, DJ Shaw, Reid Lanpher and Johnny Clark rounded out the top 10.
The finish:
Eddie MacDonald, Mike Hopkins, Derek Griffith, Austin MacDonald, Ben Rowe, Ryan Kuhn, Alan Tardiff, DJ Shaw, Reid Lanpher, Johnny Clark, Mike Rowe, Dillon Moltz, Brandon Barker, Cory Casagrande, Nick Sweet, Jake Johnson, Bryan Kruczek, Bobby Therrien, Devin O’Connell, Gabe Brown, Travis Benjamin, Evan Hallstrom, Mike Scorzelli, Bill Penfold, Garrett Hall, Ray Christian III, Jon Lowinski-Loh, Nick Lascoula, Derek Ramstrom.
Tagged under
VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- With labor talks having already begun on an informal basis, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and union chief Don Fehr are in favor of rebooting the World Cup of Hockey tournament and holding it every four years.
The stumbling block to laying out a long-term calendar of international competition, however, revolves around the hot-button topic of the NHL competing at the Winter Olympics after skipping out on South Korea last year.
"One of the things I hope we will have is an agreement to establish the long-term schedule for international events which would include World Cups of Hockey,'' said Fehr, stressing the plural "Cups'' during an interview with The Associated Press at the league's draft festivities in Vancouver, British Columbia, this past weekend. "That's a stand-alone event. It should not be seen as competing with or replacing the Olympics. It can be done.''
Bettman is on board when it comes to the World Cup.
"We think that's a great event and it's something we've been trying to work out for more than two years,'' he said. "We're all in favor of setting an international calendar, and it takes two to tango, so to speak.''
There's a caveat, of course, and the reason why the two sides aren't tangoing just yet.
"We think the World Cup of Hockey can be a wonderful event, particularly if we don't go to the Olympics,'' Bettman said.
Though resolving a way to reduce the percentage of players' salaries being held back annually in an escrow fund is the NHL Players' Association's most pressing concern with the collective bargaining agreement, international competition is also on the list. And that's where the World Cup -- revived in 2016 -- and Olympic Games participation will play a role once formal negotiations begin this summer leading up to September deadlines in which either side can choose to opt out and terminate the current CBA by the fall of 2020.
The owners have until Sept. 1 and players on Sept. 15 to reach their decisions and set the clock ticking toward another potential work stoppage.
"There have been a series of discussions. I don't think I would call them formal negotiations yet,'' Fehr said. "And if your next question's going to be how it's going to end up, I'm going to tell you, ask me in the middle of August because I don't know yet.''
Players are unhappy with the league's decision to skip the most recent Winter Games after having participated in the previous five. Shutting down the regular season for two weeks is an issue for owners, as was the time difference regarding South Korea, with games being played in the early morning for North American audiences.
The union sides with the league involving other issues regarding Olympic participation such as players' medical insurance coverage and marketing rights. None of those apply when it comes to the World Cup because it's jointly controlled by the league and union, with both sides splitting the revenue.
The World Cup's return was greeted with a tremendous amount of fanfare when Bettman and Fehr shared the podium at the 2015 All-Star game festivities in Columbus, Ohio, to announce the eight-team event would be held in Toronto the following year.
There was even discussion -- but no resolution -- of having it held every four years. The World Cup was previously played in 1996 and 2004, and succeeded the Canada Cup, which was held five times from 1976-91.
Speaking only for himself and not the union, Fehr said he would prefer the NHL compete at the Olympics and then have the World Cup held every four years -- with two years separating the events.
"If it was up to me, I'd do it all sooner rather than later, but we'll see,'' Fehr said. "The question is, can we get the agreement on all the intervening pieces.''
Fehr noted the union and NHL can't resolve the Olympic participation question alone in labor talks because outstanding issues must also be negotiated with the International Ice Hockey Federation and International Olympic Committee.
Bettman doesn't see why the two sides can't reach a deal on the World Cup, given they're both in favor.
"Yes, so it should get done,'' Bettman said. "We're going to ultimately come together and figure out something that everybody's comfortable with.''
Tagged under
It wasn't as easy as he hoped, but in the end Chez Reavie still had enough to end a decade-long victory drought. Here's how things looked at the Travelers Championship, where Chez Reavie fought off a late challenge to win the Travelers Championship by four shots:
Leaderboard: Chez Reavie (-17), Keegan Bradley (-13), Zach Sucher (-13), Vaughn Taylor (-12), Paul Casey (-11)
How it ended: After Reavie built a six-shot lead through 54 holes, he seemed to have one sleeve inside the blue blazer that goes to the winner. But the final round was hardly a coronation, as Bradley got to within a shot with three holes to go. But No. 17 proved pivotal, as Bradley stumbled to a double bogey while Reavie made birdie to put the trophy on ice.
What it means: For Reavie, it's his second PGA Tour win, his first since the 2008 RBC Canadian Open, and comes on the heels of a T-3 finish last week at the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach. As a New England native, Bradley will likely rue his tee shot on No. 17 that found the fairway bunker and led to a double bogey that ended his chances to win the Tour event that's closest to his hometown. Sucher, who tied for second after chipping in for par on the 72nd hole, likely did enough this week to secure his Tour card for 2020.
Round of the day: Abraham Ancer had the best round of the day by two shots, shooting a 7-under 63 to move up more than 30 spots on the standings into a tie for eighth. Ancer closed with five birdies over his final eight holes, bouncing back from his lone bogey on the day at No. 10 to notch his first top-10 finish on Tour since the CIMB Classic in October.
Best of the rest: Taylor made a big move into fourth position after shooting a 5-under 65 in the final round. Taylor closed in a flurry, with six birdies over his final eight holes including five in a row from Nos. 14-18, and this marked his first top-5 finish on Tour since his surprise victory at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am back in 2016.
Shot of the day: Reavie knew he'd likely take at least a two-shot lead to the final tee, but when he rolled in a 14-footer for birdie on No. 17 he essentially put the tournament on ice. A short miss from Bradley followed, but it was on the penultimate green that Reavie put to bed any notion that he might join the infamous short list of players to cough up at least a six-shot lead after 54 holes.
Quote of the day: "It means everything. I started from the ground up ... just slowly built my foundation, and here we are." - Reavie
Tagged under
Green holds on for wire-to-wire win at Women's PGA Championship
Published in
Golf
Sunday, 23 June 2019 11:09
CHASKA, Minn. - Hannah Green held her nerve and saved par from the bunker with a 5-foot putt on the final hole to win the KPMG Women's PGA Championship on Sunday for her first major championship, and the first by an Australian in 13 years.
Green closed with an even-par 72 at Hazeltine for a one-shot victory over defending champion Sung Hyun Park, whose 18-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole gave her a 68 and put the pressure on the 22-year-old Australian.
Green pulled a 6-iron into the bunker, blasted out to 5 feet and made the biggest putt of her life.
Among those to celebrate with her was Australia's most prolific major champion, Karrie Webb, which was meaningful in many ways. Webb was the last Aussie to win an LPGA Tour major in 2006 at the Kraft Nabisco. She also supports junior girls in Australia, bringing two scholarship winners to America each year.
Green was one of those recipients four years ago.
Now she's a major champion.
"I'm speechless," she said through the tears. "I was really nervous playing the last five holes."
She finished at 9-under 279 and won $577,500.
In only her second full year on the LPGA Tour, Green became the first wire-to-wire winner of this major since Yani Tseng in 2011. She also is the third player in the last five majors to make it her first LPGA Tour victory.
It was hard work, even though she never surrendered the lead on a cloudy day at Hazeltine with some light drops of rain at the end.
Green rolled in a 5-foot birdie putt on the par-5 seventh for a four-shot lead. With the group ahead still waiting to tee off, a 7-year-old girl handed her a blue sheet of paper - a poem she wrote to Green, who had given her a golf ball at the ANA Inspiration this year. Green read the poem and hugged the girl, Lily Kostner, and drilled another tee shot to birdie range.
But as she approached the turn, the nerves began to kick in.
She hit a poor lag putt from 45 feet on the ninth that led to a three-putt bogey. She missed an 8-foot birdie attempt at the 10th, a 5-foot par putt on the 11th and she came up woefully short on a standard chip from the collar of the rough short of the 12th. That was her third bogey in four holes, dropping her to 8 under.
Just like that, her lead was down to one shot, and suddenly a half-dozen players had a chance.
Mel Reid closed with a 66 and posted at 6-under 282.
Nelly Korda was within one shot until a soft bogey on the par-5 15th. Park birdied that hole to get to 7 under, and Green couldn't afford any mistakes. It looked as if she had it wrapped up when she made a 15-foot birdie putt on the 16th, the signature hole at Hazeltine, followed by a par on the 17th.
Park wasn't finished, however, and she hit her tee shot so hard on the 18th that it went through the corner of the rough into the fairway, setting up a tidy approach to the back pin position and one last birdie.
Green answered her final challenge with the bunker save, and the celebration was on.
"I really didn't want to play that hole again," Green said.
The two Karrie Webb Scholarship winners, draped in Australian flags, were on the green spraying Green with beer, along with a representative of Golf Australia and Green's boyfriend, Jarryd Fenton, who plays on the PGA Tour of Australasia.
"I always wanted to win in front of an Aussie crowd," Green said. "That's what it was like today. I'm over the moon."
Korda (71) and Reid tied for third, while Lizette Salas (72) and Danielle Kang (70) were four shots behind.
The surprise was Ariya Jutanugarn, who started the final round one shot behind on a course that measured nearly 6,800 yards, perfect for her power. Jutanugarn, a two-time major champion, failed to make a birdie and closed with a 77.
Green becomes the 11th player to win the last 11 majors on the LPGA Tour, a sign of growing parity.
Tagged under
Travelers purse payout: Reavie racks up nearly $1.3 million
Published in
Golf
Sunday, 23 June 2019 12:08
Prize money and FedExCup breakdowns for Travelers Championship winner Chez Reavie and the rest of the players who made the cut at TPC River Highlands:
| Finish | Player | FedEx | Earnings ($) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chez Reavie | 500 | 1,296,000 |
| 2 | Keegan Bradley | 245 | 633,600 |
| 2 | Zack Sucher | 245 | 633,600 |
| 4 | Vaughn Taylor | 135 | 345,600 |
| 5 | Paul Casey | 100 | 262,800 |
| 5 | Joaquin Niemann | 100 | 262,800 |
| 5 | Kevin Tway | 100 | 262,800 |
| 8 | Abraham Ancer | 75 | 194,400 |
| 8 | Jason Day | 75 | 194,400 |
| 8 | Bryson DeChambeau | 75 | 194,400 |
| 8 | Roberto Díaz | 75 | 194,400 |
| 8 | Brian Harman | 75 | 194,400 |
| 13 | Tommy Fleetwood | 59 | 144,000 |
| 13 | Kyoung-Hoon Lee | 59 | 144,000 |
| 15 | Patrick Cantlay | 51 | 115,200 |
| 15 | Wyndham Clark | 51 | 115,200 |
| 15 | Kevin Kisner | 51 | 115,200 |
| 15 | Ryan Moore | 51 | 115,200 |
| 15 | Kevin Streelman | 51 | 115,200 |
| 20 | Alex Prugh | 45 | 93,600 |
| 21 | Cody Gribble | 36 | 65,760 |
| 21 | Sungjae Im | 36 | 65,760 |
| 21 | Russell Knox | 36 | 65,760 |
| 21 | Martin Laird | 36 | 65,760 |
| 21 | Marc Leishman | 36 | 65,760 |
| 21 | Adam Long | 36 | 65,760 |
| 21 | Brendan Steele | 36 | 65,760 |
| 21 | Robert Streb | 36 | 65,760 |
| 21 | Harold Varner III | 36 | 65,760 |
| 30 | Freddie Jacobson | 24 | 43,740 |
| 30 | Stephan Jaeger | 24 | 43,740 |
| 30 | Peter Malnati | 24 | 43,740 |
| 30 | Patrick Reed | 24 | 43,740 |
| 30 | J.J. Spaun | 24 | 43,740 |
| 30 | Nick Watney | 24 | 43,740 |
| 36 | Collin Morikawa | 0 | 32,451 |
| 36 | Louis Oosthuizen | 17 | 32,451 |
| 36 | C.T. Pan | 17 | 32,451 |
| 36 | Kyle Stanley | 17 | 32,451 |
| 36 | Josh Teater | 17 | 32,451 |
| 36 | Justin Thomas | 17 | 32,451 |
| 36 | Ryan Blaum | 17 | 32,451 |
| 43 | Sangmoon Bae | 10 | 21,924 |
| 43 | Sam Burns | 10 | 21,924 |
| 43 | Joel Dahmen | 10 | 21,924 |
| 43 | Cameron Davis | 10 | 21,924 |
| 43 | Tyler Duncan | 10 | 21,924 |
| 43 | Andrew Landry | 10 | 21,924 |
| 43 | Chip McDaniel | 0 | 21,924 |
| 43 | Brandt Snedeker | 10 | 21,924 |
| 51 | Mackenzie Hughes | 8 | 17,328 |
| 51 | Hank Lebioda | 8 | 17,328 |
| 51 | Sam Ryder | 8 | 17,328 |
| 54 | Ryan Armour | 6 | 16,560 |
| 54 | Viktor Hovland | 0 | 16,560 |
| 54 | Bubba Watson | 6 | 16,560 |
| 57 | Brooks Koepka | 5 | 16,128 |
| 57 | Francesco Molinari | 5 | 16,128 |
| 57 | Andrew Putnam | 5 | 16,128 |
| 60 | Scott Brown | 5 | 15,480 |
| 60 | Bronson Burgoon | 5 | 15,480 |
| 60 | Emiliano Grillo | 5 | 15,480 |
| 60 | Brandon Harkins | 5 | 15,480 |
| 60 | Kramer Hickok | 5 | 15,480 |
| 60 | Richy Werenski | 5 | 15,480 |
| 66 | Scott Langley | 4 | 14,904 |
| 66 | Seamus Power | 4 | 14,904 |
| 68 | Brady Schnell | 3 | 14,688 |
| 69 | Seth Reeves | 3 | 14,544 |
| 70 | Sam Saunders | 3 | 14,400 |
| 71 | Harris English | 3 | 13,824 |
| 71 | Jim Herman | 3 | 13,824 |
| 71 | Matt Jones | 3 | 13,824 |
| 71 | Troy Merritt | 3 | 13,824 |
| 71 | Shawn Stefani | 3 | 13,824 |
| 71 | Nick Taylor | 3 | 13,824 |
| 71 | Cameron Tringale | 3 | 13,824 |
| 78 | Beau Hossler | 2 | 13,176 |
| 78 | Sung Kang | 2 | 13,176 |
| 80 | Tom Hoge | 2 | 12,888 |
| 80 | Matthew Wolff | 0 | 12,888 |
| 82 | Alex Cejka | 2 | 12,672 |
Tagged under
Second is the best: Sucher resurrects career with 'life-changing' T-2 at Travelers
Published in
Golf
Sunday, 23 June 2019 13:23
CROMWELL, Conn. – On multiple occasions Sunday afternoon, Zack Sucher couldn’t find the words.
The happy-go-lucky guy who gushed all week about how excited he was to be contending in a PGA Tour event was suddenly speechless.
Trying to answer questions behind the clubhouse at TPC River Highlands, he used his finger to dab a spot under his left eye.
“It's life changing, to be honest,” he said.
With birdies on four of his last six holes, a chip-in to save his par at the 18th and a 3-under 67, Sucher recorded his best ever finish on the PGA Tour, a tie for second at the Travelers Championship, and his biggest payday.
“By a lot,” he said. “Doubles my earnings, I think.”
Just about.
Sucher’s T-2 finish netted him $633,600. Prior to Sunday, he had earned a total of $856,017 in six years spent predominantly on the Korn Ferry Tour. He racked up about $90,000 of that in just the last few months.
Considering the amount of money PGA Tour pros play for – and the fact that they play golf for a living – casual observers don’t often associate Tour life and hard times. The assumption is that these guys are insulated from some of the real-life concerns of society at large. That’s because a lot of them are.
But not all of them. And not Sucher.
Playing his second season on the PGA Tour in 2017, he missed 11 of 14 cuts as he fought through ankle issues that had gotten so bad they were compromising his knee. It was after this very tournament, the Travelers, that year that he opted for surgery and a medical extension.
He wouldn’t be cleared to swing a golf club for 13 months. And for a total of 210 days, until a PGA Tour disability policy kicked in, he and his family were without his income. It was when he discussed that period in his life that he started lose his typically effortless ability to talk.
“We had seven months with no income at all coming in two years ago,” he said. “During that, we had to take out some credit cards.”
When it was time for a return to golf, Sucher was armed with six starts to make up 347 FedExCup points – no easy task for even a healthy, competitively sharp pro. And then there was the matter of the early-season Korn Ferry Tour schedule, when Sucher played events in Colombia and Panama. You can make a lot of money on Tour, and you can spend a lot, too. Players are responsible for their own travel and food and lodging, plus whatever arrangements they’ve worked out with their caddies.
Sucher hadn’t earned a check on Tour in over a year, but he had to go play.
“We decided to bet on ourselves,” he said.
It was only three weeks ago that he achieved some much-needed job security. A runner-up finish at the Rex Hospital Open locked up his Korn Ferry Tour card for next year. So he set his sights on a bigger prize, reclaiming his PGA Tour status.
Considering all he’s gone through this week, it’s easy to forget Sucher wasn’t guaranteed a spot in the field. Last Friday, as he was missing a cut on the Korn Ferry, he was steadily advancing his way up the Travelers alternate list. He was double committed to this event and a KF stop in Wichita, Kansas. When he did crack the field and arrive outside Hartford, he had just three starts left on his extension and still needed to make up 322 FedExCup points.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, he built himself a two-shot lead through 36 holes and pushed his advantage to a whopping five shots when he played the front nine in 4 under Saturday. Then disaster struck. He stumbled through Nos. 10-12 in 5 over par with a bogey and two doubles. In nine holes, he went from five in front to six back.
“It's been a lot of highs and lows,” he said. “You know, honestly, I can't wrap my head around it.”
Fighting for dollars, FedExCup points, and Tour status, Sucher fired a back-nine 30 in the final round, staying tied for second with a hole-out for par on 18.
“Oh, man, that was pretty cool,” he said. “I mean, the first [pitch] was awful, but that's way better than a regular up-and-down.”
In addition to nearly doubling his career earnings, Sucher picked up 245 FedExCup points Sunday. That puts him 126th in the season-long points race and inside Nos. 126-150 re-shuffle on the priority ranking, which will give him an avenue to make additional starts after his medical extension is exhausted. Sucher said earlier this week that he’ll use his last two starts at the Rocket Mortgage Classic and the John Deere Classic. He’ll need 77 more points to satisfy the extension.
But this week has already changed his season and, as he said, his life.
“To be honest, I'm not sure what all this does for points-wise, for next year,” Sucher said. “I don't even know how that works.
“I know that like two months ago we had credit card debt. So I know we don't have that anymore.”
Tagged under
France captain Amandine Henry scored in extra time as the hosts beat Brazil 2-1 at the Women's World Cup in Le Havre on Sunday night to send Les Bleues into the quarterfinals of the tournament.
Henry found the back of the net in the 107th minute of a tense game at the Stade Oceane after Thaisa had cancelled out Valerie Gauvin's second-half opener.
Les Bleues struggled to make their early domination count due to the lack of a killer instinct that prevented them wrapping up victory inside 90 minutes.
- FIFA Women's World Cup: All you need to know
- Full Women's World Cup fixtures schedule
The U.S. take on Spain in Reims on Monday with the winner playing France, who reach the last 8 for third consecutive World Cup, in the quarterfinals.
"It was a tense, very tense game against a formidable opponent but we did not give up and we wore them down," said France coach Corinne Diacre.
"I would have liked us to play more in the first half so the second half would have been easier but I guess this will be freeing us for the remainder of the tournament."
With Brazil's veteran Formiga returning to the starting lineup, the South Americans appeared to suffer physically as France stamped their authority on a foul-ridden match.
Les Bleues, however, lacked sharpness up front until the 26th minute when Gauvin fired home from Kadidiatou Diani's cross, but the goal was disallowed after a VAR review ruled the striker headed the ball out of goalkeeper Barbara's hands.
The decision deflated France and Diacre's players were less aggressive, allowing Brazil to grow into the game.
The French were back in business after the break though and the Diani-Gauvin duo struck again with the Montpellier forward latching onto a cross from the winger to open the scoring in the 52nd minute.
Brazil came close to an equaliser four minutes later when France keeper Sarah Bouhaddi tipped a Cristiane header onto the bar.
But the leveller came in the 63rd when Thaisa beat Bouhaddi with a low cross-shot, the goal being allowed following a VAR review after first being denied by referee Marie-Soleil Beaudoin.
Brazil had the upper hand but France, who still threatened through Diani, held on to force extra time.
Les Bleues now looked fresher but at the end of a quick counter-attack by Brazil, Debihna shot past Bouhaddi, only for Griedge Mbock to clear the ball away from the line.
Shortly after the restart in the extra period, Diani won a free kick on the left flank which was whipped into the box by Amel Majri and diverted into the net by Henry for the winner.
Brazil's Marta said: "I'm proud of our performance, the grit that we showed until the end. That's the feeling that I will keep with me.
"Those are the kind of matches that will help women's football to continue to grow."
Tagged under
Cameroon manager Alain Djeumfa accused officials of a "miscarriage of justice" in Sunday's Women's World Cup loss to England, citing frustration with multiple video replay decisions while defending his players' protest of the calls.
At times during the incident-filled game, the Cameroon players looked like they might refuse to resume playing, leading England manager Phil Neville to say he was "ashamed" of his opponents' behavior.
Asked whether he thought the calls against Cameroon were racially motivated, Djeumfa reiterated that the officiating "was a miscarriage of justice."
"I won't go anything further than that," Djeumfa said. "It's a game, it's a sport. The referee made a lot of mistakes tonight."
The 3-0 loss was marked by three decisions that Cameroon, who were eliminated from the World Cup, felt aggrieved by with two involving the video assistant referee. The first incident was a call to award England an indirect free kick for a back pass in the 13th minute that led to Steph Houghton's opening goal.
Ellen White gave England a 2-0 lead in the fourth minute of first-half stoppage time with a goal awarded after an offside call was correctly overruled by VAR. Cameroon vehemently protested the call, having seen it replayed on the video screen.
Rather than immediately restarting play after the goal, the Cameroon players all gathered together in a huddle and spoke to each for a few minutes before finally taking the kickoff.
Cameroon players were angered again at the start of the second half when Ajara Nchout's goal was denied because of another VAR review for offside. Cameroon's players came to the touch line and were visibly upset at the call, and play was temporarily halted again.
"[White] was offside," Cameroon's Raissa Feudjio said. "But the referee did not even go to check the goal. She gave the goal.
"But then our goal was disallowed and we found ourselves in a difficult situation, where most of us do not want to play. We didn't want to play anymore. We just wanted the game to be over. But because we were playing for our country, we decided to go on.
"We were really disappointed. The coach said: 'Don't worry, the referee wants England to win today.' Don't worry about this. Your job is to represent your country. So you have to go back out and play."
- FIFA Women's World Cup: All you need to know
- Full Women's World Cup fixtures schedule
Djeumfa told reporters he felt the game was "slipping away" after the back-pass call went against them.
"The officials wanted something else, but then the girls lost some tempo and we need to take our hat off despite the refereeing mistakes for their performance," he said.
Djeumfa also said his players were not refusing to play over the calls.
"That's your feeling that the players refused to play, but ultimately we didn't stop and refuse to play," he said. "My players were examples, and occasionally when you are in a state of shock, you can lose your cool.
"But the players never really refused to play the game. They showed professionalism, and I take my hat off to them for that."
England's players said they were unsure why the game was twice halted, and Neville was critical of Cameroon's behavior.
"I sat through 90 minutes of football there and completely felt ashamed of the opposition," Neville said. "I did not enjoy the game for that reason apart from the fact we're in the quarterfinal and have momentum. All those young girls and boys watching the game back in England -- we had 5, 6, 7 million people watching England play an international game against Cameroon with that kind of behavior.
"I think it's pretty sad. I can't gloss over it and fudge it, and I've got to tell the truth to everybody."
Neville said he was proud of his players and added that if any of them had behaved like the Cameroon team, he would never pick them again.
Neville also addressed Toni Duggan's reaction after it appeared she was spat on by a Cameroon player in the first half.
"It's pretty clear. It's unacceptable," Neville said. "I will praise Toni Duggan because that's the worst thing you can do on a pitch. There's no place for it. Toni handled it fantastically. She just wiped it off and got on with playing football."
Houghton suffered an ankle injury late in the game on a robust challenge, and her status for England's quarterfinal showdown Thursday with Norway is in doubt.
Tagged under
REIMS, France -- The United States will need to overcome both Spain and scheduling disadvantages when it plays its first knockout-round game Monday in the FIFA Women's World Cup.
The U.S. was the tournament's most dominant team in winning all three of its games in the group stage. The Americans set a World Cup group-stage record by scoring 18 goals while not allowing any in wins against Thailand, Chile and Sweden. But in addition to being one of only two group winners that plays a second-place finisher in the initial knockout round instead of a third-place finisher, the U.S. will play Spain with considerably less rest than its opponent.
While the U.S. played Sweden in its final group game on Thursday, Spain played its final group game against China on Monday. Both the U.S. and Spain played those games in Le Havre.
- FIFA Women's World Cup: All you need to know
- Full Women's World Cup fixtures schedule
U.S. coach Jill Ellis downplayed the effects and noted that her team hosted tournaments like the annual SheBelieves Cup and Tournament of Nations with an eye toward this sort of scenario.
"We're very used to a three-day rhythm," Ellis said Sunday. "It's what we've done in certain tournaments, specifically for [that] purpose of having a consistent rhythm in what we do. And we can't control, obviously, what our opponent has."
In this year's SheBelieves Cup, for example, the U.S. played Japan on Feb. 27, England on March 2 and Brazil on March 5, traveling at least 700 miles between each game. But its opponents in that and similar tournaments had identical travel and recovery periods.
Complicating matters ahead of Monday's game, temperatures in Reims are expected to peak at 90 degrees in the hour before the 6 p.m. local kickoff, the hottest weather the U.S. has experienced in France.
"I haven't paid attention to the weather report," Ellis said. "But for us, everything has been about making sure our recovery was happening the night of the Sweden game. After the huddle, I just said to them, 'The MVP right now is going to be your recovery and your hydration and your attention to detail,' in terms of making sure they do that. I think our players are fantastic with that, in terms of knowing that the next game starts as soon as that game is over."
Four years ago, the U.S. had five days off between its final group game and first knockout-round game against Colombia, which was ranked 28th in the world at the time. Spain is currently ranked 13th.
The oldest team in this World Cup, the U.S. already faced a condensed schedule by virtue of being one of the final two teams to play its opening game. If it reaches the final in Lyon on July 7, it will play seven games in 27 days.
"I would have taken an extra day or two," Kelley O'Hara said of the Spain game. "But no, it doesn't matter. It's all about getting the job done, whoever we're playing, focus on that."
The winner of Monday's game plays again on Friday in Paris against the winner of Sunday's game between France and Brazil.
Tagged under
Phone: (800) 737. 6040
Fax: (800) 825 5558
Website: 
Email: 
