Jones’ Goal Rescues U.S. in 1-1 Tie With Panama
Cobi Jones scored two minutes into second-half injury time, and the United States escaped with a 1-1 tie against Panama in a North and Central American and Caribbean region World Cup qualifier Wednesday night at Panama City.
Roberto Brown’s goal in the 69th minute had put 106th-ranked Panama on track for a huge upset against the 10th-ranked Americans.
Jones beat goalkeeper Donaldo Gonzalez from eight yards for his 15th goal in 163 international appearances.
“It was not a perfect performance,” Coach Bruce Arena said, “but we are on the road and we took away two points from the home team.”
The U.S. extended its unbeaten streak to 10 since a February loss to the Netherlands in an exhibition game.
The U.S. (1-0-2) leads Group A with five points, one ahead of Jamaica (1-1-1) and Panama (1-1-1) and two in front of El Salvador (1-2).
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In other World Cup qualifiers, England beat host Poland, 2-1, at Katowice. Jermain Defoe scored in the 36th minute, and Maciej Zurawski tied it in the 48th. Michael Owen pressured Arkadiusz Glowacki into an own goal in the 58th minute.
Mexico used two goals by Jose De Jesus Arellano and one by Jared Borgetti to win at Trinidad and Tobago, 3-1, and host Jamaica defeated El Salvador, 3-0.
Italy won at Moldova, 1-0; France won at the Faeroe Islands, 2-0; and the Netherlands beat the Czech Republic, 2-0, at Amsterdam on goals by Pierre van Hooijdonk.
European champion Greece tied with Turkey, 0-0, at home; Spain was held to a 1-1 tie at Bosnia-Herzegovina; host Portugal scored four times in the last 15 minutes to beat Estonia, 4-0; and Croatia defeated host Sweden, 1-0.
Japan beat host India, 4-0, at Calcutta, and China won at Malaysia, 1-0, to remain undefeated in their Asian pools.
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Tony Sanneh’s goal helped the Columbus Crew extend its unbeaten streak to 12 games with a 1-0 Major League Soccer victory over the Earthquakes at San Jose.
Sanneh, who played the last six years in Germany, scored 56 seconds into stoppage time.
College Sports
Brigham Young revamped its athletic department but said the move was made after a months-long internal review rather than as a reaction to recent sexual-assault allegations.
The contracts of Val Hale, men’s athletic director, and Elaine Michaelis, women’s athletic director, were not renewed. They were replaced by a team of department officials, and the school plans to merge the two jobs.
K. Fred Skousen, the school’s advancement vice president, said during a news conference that the changes were not related to a continuing investigation by the Utah County Attorney’s office into a 17-year-old girl’s claim that she was gang-raped Aug. 8 by people she believed to be Brigham Young football players.
Pro Volleyball
The Assn. of Volleyball Professionals has moved its season-ending Oct. 15-17 tournament from the Home Depot Center in Carson to West Beach in Santa Barbara.
AVP Commissioner Leonard Armato said the move was necessary because of logistical and scheduling conflicts stemming from the Olympics and because the AVP should conclude its season on a real beach.
Last year, the AVP held a tournament at the Home Depot Center in conjunction with FIVB, the sport’s international governing body. It required trucking in 4,000 tons of sand.
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The AVP’s Nissan Series continues today through Saturday with the Aquafina Shootout at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.
The two U.S. Olympic women’s teams and one of the men’s teams are playing in the limited-field, single-elimination tournament.
Miscellany
The Mighty Ducks signed center Tim Brent to a three-year contract. He was the team’s third-round pick in the NHL draft in June.
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Dave Lageschulte, owner of the Indiana Firebirds, said the Arena Football League franchise has been shut down after four seasons in Indianapolis.
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The Florida Derby, usually run at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale, Fla., the second weekend in March, will be held April 2 and will compete for top horses with prominent Kentucky Derby preps on April 16 -- the Arkansas Derby, Blue Grass Stakes and Wood Memorial.
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Fullerton and Long Beach are among eight cities that will field teams in the independent Golden Baseball League, which will start its inaugural season in May.
