Sports
USC set to complete East Coast swing with a stop at Rutgers
Feb 15, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Southern California Trojans head coach Eric Musselman (right) talks with guard Desmond Claude (1) and guard Wesley Yates III (6) against the Minnesota Golden Gophers in the first half at Galen Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images Southern California is out to avoid a three-game losing streak Sunday in a visit to Big Ten Conference counterpart Rutgers in Piscataway, N.J.
The Trojans (14-12, 6-9 Big Ten) rallied from sluggish starts in both halves in the first leg of its East Coast road swing Thursday at Maryland, but ran out of gas down the stretch in an 88-71 loss.
Thursday’s setback followed a 69-66 home loss on Feb. 15 vs. Minnesota when USC gave up an 8-0 run to close the game.
“We have to come play,” Trojans coach Eric Musselman said of USC’s effort in its losses. “We took some ill-advised shots. Now we have to go to Rutgers and play against two NBA lottery picks.”
The lottery picks Musselman is referring to are freshman guards Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey, the Scarlet Knights’ leading scorers at 19.2 and 18.6 points per game, respectively.
Despite featuring the two dynamic pro prospects, Rutgers (13-14, 6-10) is fighting to qualify for next month’s Big Ten Tournament. The conference’s bottom three teams miss the field.
Rutgers is tied with Minnesota and Iowa for 15th place, which is the last qualifying spot. The Scarlet Knights are a half-game behind USC following Rutgers’ losing streak-ending 89-85 win at Washington in overtime on Wednesday.
Harper erupted for 34 points, his third game with 30-plus points this season.
The Scarlet Knights dropped their previous three heading into Wednesday’s contest.
The win at Washington also saw Jeremiah Williams step up with 13 points and a key steal late. The sophomore guard has scored exactly 13 points in three of the last five outings since a scoreless night vs. Michigan on Feb. 1.
“It’s been a little bit of a tough up-and-down year, but that’s who I think I am as a basketball player,” Williams told the Asbury Park Press. “Make a play, (and) make the right play most importantly.”
Williams’ defensive presence against a potentially explosive USC backcourt could be key. The Trojans’ top four scorers — Desmond Claude (15.6 points per game), Wesley Yates III (13.1), Chibuzo Agbo (11.8) and Saint Thomas (9.9) — all play on the perimeter.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Tyrese Spicer comes off bench to propel Orlando City past Nashville SC
Jul 25, 2026; Orlando, Florida, USA; Orlando City SC forward Justin Ellis (22) battles for the ball against Nashville SC defense Jack Maher (5) during the first half at Inter.Co Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mike Watters-Imagn Images Second-half substitute Tyrese Spicer scored in the 72nd minute to lift Orlando City to a 1-0 home victory over Eastern Conference-leading Nashville SC on Saturday.
Justin Ellis notched the assist with a clever reverse pass to Spicer, who slipped behind the defense for a clear look at the goal. Orlando goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau turned in his second straight clean sheet with two saves.
The Lions (6-9-2, 20 points) had four shots on goal while Nashville (12-2-3, 39 points) had two. Nashville goalkeeper Brian Schwake had three saves.
In the 14th minute, Antoine Griezmann carried the ball wide into the attacking third and curled a cross to Ellis, whose header was on target but saved by Schwake.
Orlando kept up the pressure in the 28th minute when Ellis found Griezmann, whose left-footed shot bounced into Schwake’s hands.
Ellis threatened again moments later, shaking free of a defender before testing Schwake with a shot from the center of the box that lacked enough power to beat the goalkeeper.
As the first half wound down, Shakur Mohammed carried the ball out of midfield before slipping a pass to Andy Najar. Najar then played a through ball to a sliding Alex Muyl, whose attempt was saved by Crepeau at close range before the two collided.
Nashville had its best scoring threat in the 63rd minute when Najar settled a direct pass from midfield with a back-heel flick to Mohammed. The forward from Ghana blasted a shot in stride that Crepeau snared and quickly smothered.
Orlando withstood sustained pressure in the closing minutes. Crepeau came off his line to claim a corner kick in the 87th minute, denying Nashville a second opportunity.
Later, Daniel Lovitz’s cross in the 89th minute was headed away by Wilder Cartagena. Nashville finished with a 7-2 edge in corner kicks and a 52-48 advantage in possession, but couldn’t find the equalizer as Orlando dug in defensively.
Nashville had its five-match winning streak snapped and lost for the first time in 11 MLS matches (8-1-2).
–Field Level Media
Sports
St. Louis City's Tomas Ostrak delivers only goal needed to beat Rapids
May 9, 2026; Commerce City, Colorado, USA; Colorado Rapids midfielder Paxten Aaronson (10) fields the ball ahead of St. Louis City defender Fallou Fall (27) in the second half at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images Tomas Ostrak scored in the 83rd minute to give St. Louis City a 1-0 home win over the 10-man Colorado Rapids on Saturday.
The victory extended St. Louis City’s winning streak to four regular-season matches and their points streak to seven matches (6-0-1).
After playing 71 minutes with an 11-on-10 advantage, St. Louis (7-6-4, 25 points) finally broke through on Ostrak’s tally. A nice passing play from Tomas Totland set up Ostrak for a superbly-placed shot from the edge of the box that sailed into the right side of the net.
Ostrak’s first goal of the season came seven minutes after the midfielder entered the match as a substitute. It was just Ostrak’s second regular-season match, as leg injuries sidelined him for most of St. Louis’ 2026 campaign.
Rapids defender Rob Holding was issued a straight red card in the 12th minute, and Colorado (6-10-1, 19 points) then went into a defensive shell. St. Louis outshot Colorado 18-2, with no Rapids shots on target.
It made for a quiet night for Roman Burki, as the St. Louis goalkeeper didn’t need to make a single save to earn his second shutout of the season. Nico Hansen made two saves for Colorado.
St. Louis also didn’t deliver much direct pressure, as only three of the home team’s 18 shots were on target. While the Rapids defended well, St. Louis City committed some self-sabotage with a season-high 22 fouls, continually interrupting their own attacks.
Jeong Sang-bin’s shot off the crossbar in the 37th minute was St. Louis’ best chance of the first half. Rapids defender Lucas Herrington made a pair of close-range blocks on Totland and Daniel Edelman during a St. Louis flurry in the 54th minute.
Holding was shown the early red card after he brought down Jeong in open play in the 12th minute, likely preventing Jeong from a breakaway chance. It was Holding’s second ejection in as many matches against St. Louis, as he also received a red card in the 50th minute of St. Louis City’s 1-0 win over the Rapids on May 9.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Hunter Brown in control, Astros down White Sox for 5th straight win
Jul 25, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Houston Astros pitcher Hunter Brown (58) throws the ball against the Chicago White Sox at Rate Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-Imagn Images Hunter Brown allowed two hits over seven shutout innings and Isaac Paredes drove in three runs to lead the Houston Astros to a 4-1 win over the host Chicago White Sox on Saturday night.
Jeremy Pena was 3-for-4 with two runs scored and Paredes was 2-for 4 for the Astros, who have won five straight, including the first two of the three-game weekend series.
The White Sox, who managed five hits, have lost three of their last four.
They threatened in the eighth with runners on second and third and two out, but reliever Bennett Sousa replaced Bryan Abreu and retired pinch hitter Randal Grichuk on a popout to first.
After Colson Montgomery’s RBI single in the ninth, Josh Hader came in to get the last two outs for his 12th save.
Brown (2-1) finished strong, setting down 12 consecutive batters from the fourth through seventh innings. The right-hander did not walk a batter and struck out seven as he fired 60 strikes in 90 pitches.
Chicago starter Sean Burke (7-5) surrendered three runs (two earned) on four hits in six innings with a walk and 10 strikeouts.
It was a 0-0 pitcher’s duel through five with Burke also retiring 12 in a row, from the second through the fifth, but heading for trouble.
The streak was broken when Burke hit Cam Smith with a pitch to lead off the sixth. Pena’s single and a walk to Yordan Alvarez loaded the bases. Paredes then grounded a single to right that got past right fielder Braden Montgomery for an error that also allowed Alvarez to score for a 3-0 Houston lead as Paredes reached third.
Burke then limited the damage by getting Jose Altuve on a groundout and striking out LaMonte Wade Jr. and Christian Walker.
Paredes added an RBI single in the eighth to make it 4-0.
White Sox left fielder Sam Antonnaci robbed Paredes, who was leading off the fourth, of a likely home run with a leaping catch of his long drive by pulling the ball in just above the fence.
–Field Level Media
