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Sports in brief

 
Published Oct. 3, 2015

SOCCER

COURT: SOLO CAN STILL FACE ASSAULT CHARGES

U.S. national team goalkeeper Hope Solo could again face assault charges stemming from an altercation last year with family members after a Washington state appeals court on Friday reversed a lower court's dismissal of the case.

The case stems from a dispute between Solo, her half-sister and 17-year-old nephew during a party in June 2014. Solo was charged with two misdemeanor counts of fourth-degree domestic violence assault. She pleaded not guilty.

A municipal judge dismissed the case in January, but prosecutors, in a rare move, appealed the decision. The appeals court then sent it back to the lower court.

"We are shocked and disappointed by the judge's ruling. However, we maintain our position that the charges in this case should have never been filed, that the original trial court's dismissal of the case was correct, and we plan to file an appeal of today's decision with the Court of Appeals," Solo's attorney, Todd Maybrown, said in a statement.

Solo was on the U.S. team that won the Women's World Cup this summer. The 34-year-old Washington native was named the Golden Glove winner as the tournament's best goalkeeper. She's a 15-year veteran of the national team, holding U.S. records for most wins (138) and shutouts (89) over 180 appearances.

After her arrest in 2014, there was an outcry over U.S. Soccer's decision to allow her to remain on the team. Solo has always claimed she was defending herself against her 17-year-old nephew, who is 6-9 and weighs 280 pounds, according to court documents. Solo's relatives have maintained that she instigated the assault.

MORE SOCCER

Blatter defies calls from sponsors to quit

Sepp Blatter defied calls from FIFA sponsors Budweiser, Coca-Cola, McDonald's and Visa to quit immediately as president of the sport's governing body rather than stay until the emergency election in February. The seemingly coordinated interventions from the longstanding corporate backers came a week after Blatter was interrogated by Swiss investigators and placed under criminal investigation for alleged financial wrongdoing at FIFA, which he has led since 1998. It marked an escalation in the dual American and Swiss soccer corruption investigations, which became public with the arrest of seven FIFA officials two days before the presidential election in May. They are among 14 officials indicted in the United States on bribery and racketeering charges. Blatter, 79, gained a fifth term only to announce resignation plans four days later in he's determined to remain in power until his successor is elected Feb. 26 and "respectfully disagrees" with the sponsors who demand his immediate departure, the president's lawyer, Richard Cullen, said.

TENNIS

Venus shows Serena how to beat Vinci

Venus Williams did what sister Serena couldn't do, beat Roberta Vinci after saving a match point in the semifinals of the Wuhan (China) Open. The unseeded Williams won 5-7, 6-2, 7-6 (7-4) after Vinci came from 4-1 down in the final set but failed to serve out the match when leading 6-5, 40-30. "Roberta played so well today. … It was lucky for me to win this match," Williams said of Vinci, who ended Serena's chances of a Grand Slam in the U.S. Open semifinals. "Definitely watching the match at the U.S. Open, I learned a lot from Serena. If I could, I'd give my win to Serena at the U.S. Open. Unfortunately, it doesn't work like that."

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DRONE: A New York City high school teacher who accidentally crashed his drone at the U.S. Open has been ordered to perform five days of community service. Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown said that Daniel Verley has cooperated fully with investigators. Verley was trying to photograph a park sculpture Sept. 3. The drone lost signal and plummeted into an unoccupied part of nearby Louis Armstrong Stadium during a match. No one was injured.

ET CETERA

RUGBY: New Zealand ran in seven tries, dispatched Georgia 43-10 for a third straight pool win in Cardiff, Wales, and became the first team to qualify for the quarterfinals of the World Cup. The All Blacks play Tonga in their last pool match, Oct. 9, and will likely be back in Cardiff — where they lost in the 2007 quarterfinals — for a quarterfinal Oct. 17.

BOXING: Wladimir Klitschko's postponed heavyweight title defense against Tyson Fury has been rescheduled for Nov. 28 at the same Duesseldorf, Germany, venue. The Ukrainian had been scheduled to defend his IBF, WBO and WBA belts against the British fighter on Oct. 24, but the bout was called off after Klitschko tore a tendon in his left calf in training.

SOFTBALL: Three Nyack College women's softball players sued the Christian school, saying it failed to protect them from a former coach who sexually harassed them. The players filed suits seeking unspecified damages in New York federal court against the Rockland County college, current administrators and former coach Kurt Ludwigsen, 44, of Ridgewood, N.J. Among the allegations were claims that Ludwigsen made sexually explicit comments, subjected them to life counseling sessions with a pornographic actor and touched them inappropriately, including licking their ears, directing them to sit on his lap, lying on top of them, kissing their lips and faces, and punching one of them in the breasts for perceived batting errors.

Times wires