Sports
Paxten Aaronson's brace leads Colorado to rout of Sporting KC
Mar 21, 2026; Kansas City, Kansas, USA; Colorado Rapids midfielder Paxten Aaronson (10) celebrates with team mates after scoring against Sporting Kansas City during the second half of the match at Children’s Mercy Park. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images Paxten Aaronson scored a brace and Rafael Navarro added a goal and an assist to spark the Colorado Rapids to a 4-1 win over Sporting Kansas City in Kansas City, Kan., on Saturday.
Wayne Frederick scored the go-ahead goal in first-half stoppage time and Darren Yapi had an assist for the Rapids (3-2-0, 9 points).
Shapi Suleymanov found the back of the net on a Calvin Harris assist for Sporting KC (1-3-1, 4 points).
Just before halftime, Dante Sealy’s left-footed curling corner kick was turned away by SKC goalkeeper John Pulskamp’s punch save. But the SKC goalie fell off balance into the net and Frederick tapped in the rebound and Colorado took a 2-1 lead.
In the 12th minute, Aaronson chipped a Yapi pass over a diving Pulskamp as the Rapids took a 1-0.
Rapids’ goalkeeper Zack Steffen, who missed the previous two matches with a shoulder injury, was tested early when he made a kick save off a Dejan Joveljic shot from point-blank range in the 15th minute. In the 19th minute, the Rapids pulled Pulskamp out from the box but Yapi and Navarro had shots turned away.
Suleymanov netted the equalizer when he snuck a left footed shot inside the near post off a lead pass from Harris in the 44th minute.
Early in the second half, Steffen met another test when Suleymanov blasted a shot from just outside the box on a restart that the Colorado keeper turned away. Navarro’s sliding goal in the 71st minute extended the Colorado lead to 3-1.
Colorado poured it on when Navarro slipped a pass back to Aaronson for the brace in the 75th minute as the Rapids took a 4-1 lead .
The match got off to a chippy start, as Manu Garcia was issued a yellow card in the fifth minute as he lingered in front of a Colorado freekick. Even though the teams settled into a rhythm, each team was issued three yellow cards. Colorado racked up 21 fouls and SKC had 17. The Rapids held a 9-3 advantage in shots on goal.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Cole Caufield's hat trick leads Habs' demolition of Islanders
Mar 21, 2026; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Montreal Canadiens center Nick Suzuki (14) plays the puck against New York Islanders defenseman Adam Pelech (3) during the first period at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images Cole Caufield had a hat trick and finished with five points, and the Canadiens beat the New York Islanders 7-3 in Montreal on Saturday night
It was the first career five-point game for Caufield, who has 43 goals on the season.
Juraj Slafkovsky had two goals and two assists for his first career four-point game, and Kaiden Guhle had a goal and two assists for the Canadiens (38-21-10, 86 points). Nick Suzuki had four assists and Jacob Fowler made 19 saves.
Emil Heineman, Simon Holmstrom and Matthew Schaefer scored for the Islanders (39-26-5, 83 points). Ilya Sorokin allowed six goals on 32 shots before being lifted in the third period.
Slafkovsky gave the Canadiens a 1-0 lead at 4:10 of the first period when he scored on a one-timer from the slot off a pass from Suzuki during a power play.
Heineman tied it 1-1 at 6:46, getting to a loose puck in the left circle on the rush and beating Fowler far side on a power play.
Holmstrom gave the Islanders a 2-1 lead at 13:19, scoring on a breakaway when he deked around Fowler before sliding the puck home.
The Canadiens regained the lead with a pair of goals late in the second period.
Alex Newhook tied the game when he scored on a one-timer from the bottom of the right circle at 17:49.
Caufield gave the Canadiens a 3-2 lead at 19:08. He took a return pass from Suzuki along the goal line and lifted a shot over Sorokin’s right shoulder.
Schaefer tied it 3-3 just 45 seconds into the third period, scoring a power-play goal on a one-timer from the center point off a return pass from Mathew Barzal.
The Canadiens regained the lead at 3:17 when Guhle scored on slap shot through traffic from the center point.
Slafkovsky made it 5-3 at 8:08 when he scored on a one-timer from the low slot off a pass from Caufield behind the net.
Caufield pushed the lead to 6-3 when he scored from the slot off a pass from Slafkovsky in the right circle at 11:20.
Caufield capped the hat trick with a goal on a 2-on-1 rush at 14:59 for the 7-3 final.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Andrej Stojakovic, No. 3 Illinois blow past No. 11 VCU
Illinois Fighting Illini guard Kylan Boswell (4) scores near VCU Rams forward Michael Belle (8) March 21, 2026 during the first half of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament second round East Region game at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, South Carolina. GREENVILLE, S.C. – Andrej Stojakovic scored 16 of his 21 points in the first half to help No. 3 Illinois breeze past No. 11 VCU for a 76-55 win in a second-round South Region matchup on Saturday night.
Tomislav Ivisic added 14 points and 11 rebounds for Illinois (26-8), which advanced to its second Sweet 16 in 21 years. It will face No. 2 Houston on Thursday in Houston.
Keaton Wagler scored 14 and Kylan Boswell finished with 12 for the Fighting Illini, who won their first two NCAA Tournament games by a combined 56 points.
Terrence Hill Jr. led VCU (28-8) with 17 points and seven boards, while Barry Evans and Tyrell Ward had 11 apiece. The Rams shot just 7-for-32 (21.9%) on 3-point attempts in the lopsided loss.
Holding a seven-point halftime lead, Illinois opened the second half with Wagler and David Mirkovic’s back-to-back 3-pointers to extend the margin to 13.
Zvonimir Ivisic’s dunk and Boswell’s trey were part of a 7-0 Illinois spurt that put the Fighting Illini ahead 50-32 with 13:24 left. Five straight points from Hill sparked a brief Rams rally, but Wagler’s consecutive baskets, Stojakovic’s dunk and Tomislav Ivisic’s triple gave the Fighting Illini a 59-37 lead.
Illinois’ overwhelming cushion ballooned to 23 on Tomislav Ivisic’s dunk, which was answered by Ward’s 3-pointer at the 3:31 mark. Ben Humrichous’ 3-pointer with 1:52 remaining punctuated the Fighting Illini’s resounding win.
Mirkovic’s layup stamped an early 9-0 run to give Illinois an 11-2 lead. After Boswell’s 3-pointer pushed the margin to 12, VCU stormed back with a 15-3 spurt, tying the game at 23 on Ward’s putback layup.
The Rams grabbed their first lead on Hill’s mid-range jumper with 3:09 left in the first half. From there, Stojakovic answered with a personal 9-0 run to close the half and give the Fighting Illini a 35-28 lead at the break.
– Jack Batten, Field Level Media
Sports
Andrej Stojakovic, No. 3 Illinois blow past No. 11 VCU
Illinois Fighting Illini guard Kylan Boswell (4) scores near VCU Rams forward Michael Belle (8) March 21, 2026 during the first half of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament second round East Region game at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, South Carolina. GREENVILLE, S.C. – Andrej Stojakovic scored 16 of his 21 points in the first half to help No. 3 Illinois breeze past No. 11 VCU for a 76-55 win in a second-round South Region matchup on Saturday night.
Tomislav Ivisic added 14 points and 11 rebounds for Illinois (26-8), which advanced to its second Sweet 16 in 21 years. It will face No. 2 Houston on Thursday in Houston.
Keaton Wagler scored 14 and Kylan Boswell finished with 12 for the Fighting Illini, who won their first two NCAA Tournament games by a combined 56 points.
Terrence Hill Jr. led VCU (28-8) with 17 points and seven boards, while Barry Evans and Tyrell Ward had 11 apiece. The Rams shot just 7-for-32 (21.9%) on 3-point attempts in the lopsided loss.
Holding a seven-point halftime lead, Illinois opened the second half with Wagler and David Mirkovic’s back-to-back 3-pointers to extend the margin to 13.
Zvonimir Ivisic’s dunk and Boswell’s trey were part of a 7-0 Illinois spurt that put the Fighting Illini ahead 50-32 with 13:24 left. Five straight points from Hill sparked a brief Rams rally, but Wagler’s consecutive baskets, Stojakovic’s dunk and Tomislav Ivisic’s triple gave the Fighting Illini a 59-37 lead.
Illinois’ overwhelming cushion ballooned to 23 on Tomislav Ivisic’s dunk, which was answered by Ward’s 3-pointer at the 3:31 mark. Ben Humrichous’ 3-pointer with 1:52 remaining punctuated the Fighting Illini’s resounding win.
Mirkovic’s layup stamped an early 9-0 run to give Illinois an 11-2 lead. After Boswell’s 3-pointer pushed the margin to 12, VCU stormed back with a 15-3 spurt, tying the game at 23 on Ward’s putback layup.
The Rams grabbed their first lead on Hill’s mid-range jumper with 3:09 left in the first half. From there, Stojakovic answered with a personal 9-0 run to close the half and give the Fighting Illini a 35-28 lead at the break.
– Jack Batten, Field Level Media
Cole Caufield's hat trick leads Habs' demolition of Islanders
Andrej Stojakovic, No. 3 Illinois blow past No. 11 VCU
