Mexico defeats Nicaragua
Luis Miguel Noriega scored his first international goal on a penalty kick in the 45th minute of his national team debut, and Mexico defeated Nicaragua, 2-0, on Sunday at Oakland in the first round of Gold Cup play in Group C.
Pablo Barrera, a second-half substitute, added a goal for El Tri in the 86th minute. He one-touched the ball into the net from seven yards after a perfect cross from Alberto Medina on the right flank.
The young and inexperienced Mexican team will use this tournament -- a 12-team regional championship of North American, Central American and Caribbean countries -- to try to find consistency leading up to a key World Cup qualifier Aug. 12 against the United States in Mexico City.
Noriega was on the roster for a pair of friendlies late last month, but this marked his first official match.
In another Gold Cup opener at Oakland, Loic Loval scored one goal and assisted on another to lead Guadeloupe to a 2-1 win over Panama.
--
Sol 1, Washington 0
The Sol rallied in the closing moments to break a scoreless tie and defeat the Freedom in a Women’s Professional Soccer game in front of 5,143 at the Maryland SoccerPlex in Boyds.
The teams traded scoring chances for the first 90 minutes of the match before three-time FIFA world player of the year Marta found the back of the net in stoppage time for the Sol.
In the 91st minute, Marta collected a pass left of the area from Aya Miyama, touched it and immediately drilled a shot toward the far post to give the Sol its fourth consecutive victory and extend its unbeaten streak to 11 games.
