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SPORTS East Oregonian Page 2B Wednesday, October 11, 2017 Soccer US to miss 2018 World Cup following loss to Trinidad By RONALD BLUMAP Associated Press COUVA, Trinidad (AP) — Twenty-eight years after the United States ended a four-decade World Cup absence with a stunning victory at Trinidad, the World Cup A m e r i c a n s ’ Qualifier chances for the 2018 tournament in Russia ended on this island United States nation off the coast of Vene- zuela in even more astonishing fashion. Needing Trinidad & Tobago only a tie and confident of victory against the world’s 99th-ranked team, the U.S. was eliminated from World Cup conten- tion Tuesday night with a 2-1 loss to Trinidad and Tobago that ended a run of seven straight American appearances at soccer’s showcase. “We let down an entire nation today,” said defender Omar Gonzalez, whose 17th-minute own goal attempting to clear a cross started the collapse. Alvin Jones doubled the deal in the 37th minute with a 35-yard strike, and the Americans were unable to rebound. Teenage star Christian Pulisic scored in the 47th and Clint Dempsey, trying to make 1 2 AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell United States’ Christian Pulisic, (10) is comforted after losing 2-1 against Trinidad and Tobago during a 2018 World Cup qualifying soccer match in Couva, Trinidad. it to fourth World Cup, was denied by goalkeeper Adrian Foncette’s leaping save in the 69th and hit a post from 22 yards in the 77th. Pulisic’s shot in the 87th was saved by Foncette. “If I said disappointment, it would be an understatement,” goal- keeper Tim Howard said. Back in 1989, Trinidad needed merely a tie to reach its first World Cup, but Paul Caligiuri’s long-range goal in the 30th minute put the U.S. in the tournament for the first time since 1950. That game was at National Stadium in the capital of Port-of- Spain. With Trinidad already elim- inated, this one was played before a few hundred fans at Ato Boldon Stadium, 24 miles to the south. The U.S. entered its final qual- ifier with a berth uncertain for the first time since 1989. Home losses to Mexico last November and Costa Rica left the Americans little margin for error. Even a defeat could have earned a berth, but only if Panama and Honduras both lost. And if the U.S. and only one of those rivals lost, the Americans would have finished fourth and advanced to a playoff next month against Australia. Panama trailed 1-0 and halftime and Honduras was behind 2-1, but both rallied. Gabriel Torres scored in the 52nd minute on a shot that did not appear to cross the goal line, and Honduras went ahead on Guillermo Ochoa’s own goal in the 54th and Romell Quioto’s goal in the 60th. At that point, the 28th-ranked Americans were playoff bound, but Ramon Torres scored in the 88th minute to give Panama a 2-1 win, a third-place finish with 13 points and its first World Cup berth. Honduras finished fourth on goal difference and goes to the playoff. The Amer- icans, who would have qualified with 13 points because of a superior goal difference, instead had 12 and finished fifth in the hexagonal. “It’s a blemish for us,” coach Bruce Arena said. “We should not be staying home for this World Cup and take the responsibility for that.” Shocked American players slumped on the bench, and Matt Besler sat on the field after the final whistle as Panama’s game ended and then Costa Rica’s. At the end, dejected U.S. players filed into their locker rooms with blank looks. “We foolishly brought Trinidad into the game with the own goal,” Arena said. “That was a big goal for Trinidad psychologically. That got them motivated.” Missing the World Cup is a devastating blow to the U.S. Soccer Federation, which has steadily built the sport in the last quarter-century with the help of sponsors and tele- vision partners. It also is a trauma for Fox, which broadcasts the next three World Cups after taking the U.S. rights from ESPN. The USSF hopes to co-host the 2026 tourna- ment with Mexico and Canada, and Morocco is the only other bidder. “Every time you have a setback you have to look at things, re-eval- uate and get better,” 38-year-old goalkeeper Tim Howard said. “And as a program we have to get better. This hex proved that. There’s some good teams on the up and up and we’ve got our work cut out for us.” After an 0-2 start in the hexagonal last fall under Jurgen Klinsmann, the USSF replaced him last November with Arena, the American coach from 1998-2006. The team revived with home wins over Honduras and Trinidad last spring and draws at Panama and Mexico. But the 2-0 defeat to Costa Rica in New Jersey at the start of Labor Day weekend proved one hurdle too many to overcome. USSF President Sunil Gulati said the result felt unreal. The federation will begin the evaluation process Wednesday. “It’s a huge disappointment for everybody: for players, for the staff, for coaches, for the federation,” Gulati said. “It’s not good enough, obviously. In some sense, 2022 starts tomorrow for us.” College Football After starting as walk-on, Falk earned way to Pac-12 stardom By NICHOLAS K. GERANIOS Associated Press PULLMAN, Wash. — Luke Falk didn’t draw a lot of interest coming out of high school in Logan, Utah. At one point in his high school career, the quarter- back seemed destined for Florida State, only to have that opportunity dissolve. In the end, his choices appeared to be Cornell, maybe Idaho and maybe Wyoming. Falk likely would have headed for the Ivy League if not for head coach Mike Leach’s arrival at Washington State. Even then, there was no guarantee of a scholarship or even an opportunity when Falk arrived in Pullman in 2013 and was seventh on the depth chart as a walk-on. “The biggest thing is they gave me an equal opportu- nity,” Falk said. “A fair shot to compete with guys on scholarship.” “The stars kind of aligned here at Washington State,” he said. For both Falk and the eighth-ranked Cougars. Washington State (6-0, 3-0 Pac-12) is on a roll behind Falk, including a big 30-27 win over Southern California two weeks ago and a 33-10 win over Oregon last weekend that put the Cougars into the Top 10. Through it all, Falk has continued to raise eyebrows across the college foot- ball world. The senior is threatening to break nearly every major passing record in the Pac-12 Conference — surpassing names like Marcus Mariota, Matt Barkley, Jared Goff and Sean Mannion. Through the first six games of this season, Falk has thrown for 2,000 yards with 19 touchdowns and only two interceptions. He is completing 71.8 percent of his passes. He has thrown for 12,893 yards with 108 touchdowns for his college career, setting school records for career TD passes, passing yardage and total offense. Falk is tied with Jason Gesser as the winningest quarterback in program history with 24 victories. Falk also already holds Pac-12 records for pass completions and total plays and is the NCAA active AP Photo/Young Kwak, File In this Sept. 23, 2017, file photo, Washington State quarterback Luke Falk (4) looks for a receiver during a game against Nevada in Pullman, Wash. leader in passing yards and touchdowns. He is closing on Pac-12 career touchdown leader Matt Barkley of USC, who threw for 116. “He’s a special talent,” Oregon coach Willie Taggart said. “He’s a kid who’ll be playing on Sunday.” Despite such accolades and ongoing Heisman talk, Falk remains a small-town boy who seems to fit in well in Pullman, which has only 30,000 residents — two-thirds of them Washington State students. He remains humble and approachable. He pauses to take selfies with fans. He still wears a battered base- ball cap he bought his first day on campus. He credits an embar- rassing loss to FCS Portland State in 2015 with lighting a fire under the program. Falk and the offense went silent during the first game of the 2015 season, and Portland State hung a 24-17 loss on the Cougars at home. That could have knocked the program off the rails, but it didn’t, Falk said. “We reset,” Falk said. BRIEFLY Pendleton Little League holding annual meeting PENDLETON — The Pendleton Little League is holding its annual meeting later this month and interested volunteers are asked to attend. The meeting, which is open to the public, will be held on Oct. 25 at 6:30 p.m. at Blue Mountain Community College’s Science & Tech building room ST200. The meeting will comprise of board nominations and elections for the 2018 season, and discussions on the 2018 season. For more information, vist Pendleton Little League on Facebook. Eastern Oregon Gymnastics places 4th in Hillsboro HILLSBORO — Gymnasts from Eastern Oregon Gymnastics in Pendleton traveled to Hillsboro on Saturday for another competition. The gymnasts teamed up for a fourth place finish out of nine teams with 102.125 total points. In the Level 4 Compulsory class, Pendleton’s Grace Chay had the best finish with a second place in vault, while North Powder’s Felicia Murphy was third in floor and fourth in both vault and beam. And in Level 5, Pendleton’s Natalie White was the top competitor taking sixth place in vault and floor, and an eighth place finish in beam. “There was nothing we could have done about that game. It was in the past.” The Cougars played at Rutgers next, and Falk threw for 478 yards and four touchdowns in a comeback victory. Since that loss, the Cougars have gone 23-8. “We still have rough patches,” Falk said. “But we’ve hit our step and hit our stride and played with confidence.” Falk is the latest in a string of record-setting quar- terbacks produced by Leach, an architect of the Air Raid offense. The Air Raid is well- suited to Falk’s strengths, as he fires short passes all over the field. He doesn’t run much, he finds the open receiver in a crowd, and he’s tough enough to take the inevitable sacks. He’s drawn the admira- tion of Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll. “Their quarterback is so good,” Carroll said recently. “We’ve been watching them for years and just watching him pull himself off the carpet so many times after getting pounded, and just hanging in there. He’s a fantastic football player.” Falk follows a long line of great quarterbacks to make their way through Pullman, a list that includes Jack Thompson, Mark Rypien, Drew Bledsoe, Ryan Leaf and Gesser. Yet none of them were asked to run a system as intricate as Leach’s, which is why the coach regularly praises his quarterback for his smarts and comprehension. “He’s a constant achiever,” Leach said recently. Falk has also evolved. “He’s becoming more of a vocal leader,” said running back Jamal Morrow. “He’s calm and relaxed.” Falk is now considered a top NFL quarterback pros- pect for the 2018 draft after passing on a chance to leave after his junior season. But hints of that long-ago walk-on remain. So don’t expect him to give up that sweat-stained Washington State hat anytime soon. “I take that hat every- where,” Falk said. “My mom hates that hat, but I love that hat. It’s a good reminder and I like the way it fits me.” SCOREBOARD Local slate PREP FOOTBALL Thursday Perrydale at Pilot Rock, 6 p.m. Dufur at Arlington, 7 p.m. Friday Bend at Hermiston, 7 p.m. Pendleton at Hood River Valley, 7 p.m. Mac-Hi at La Grande, 7 p.m. Riverside at Burns, 7 p.m. Irrigon at Nyssa, 7 p.m. Umatilla at Vale, 7 p.m. Culver at Heppner, 7 p.m. Weston-McEwen at Amity, 7 p.m. Joseph at Echo, 7 p.m. PREP VOLLEYBALL Thursday Weston-McEwen at Heppner, 5 p.m. Condon/Wheeler at Ione, 5 p.m. Nixyaawii at Joseph, 5 p.m. Culver at Stanfield, 5:30 p.m. The Dalles at Pendleton, 6:30 p.m. Hermiston at Hood River Valley, 6:30 p.m. Friday Irrigon at Burns, 1 p.m. Umatilla at Vale, 1 p.m. Riverside at Burns, 5 p.m. Umatilla at Nyssa, 5:30 p.m. PREP BOYS SOCCER Wednesday Riverside at Mac-Hi, 4:30 p.m. Thursday Pendleton at Hood River Valley, 4 p.m. Hermiston at The Dalles, 4:30 p.m. Saturday Irrigon at Nyssa, 1 p.m. Umatilla at Riverside, 1 p.m. Mac-Hi at La Grande, 2 p.m. PREP GIRLS SOCCER Thursday Mac-Hi at Irrigon, 4:30 p.m. Hood River Valley at Pendleton, 6 p.m. The Dalles at Hermiston, 7 p.m. Saturday Umatilla at Riverside, 1 p.m. Mac-Hi at La Grande, 2 p.m. Irrigon at Nyssa, 3 p.m. PREP CROSS COUNTRY Thursday Heppner, Helix, Stanfield, Weston-McEwen at Helix Stubblebuster, TBD Friday Pendleton, Mac-Hi, Umatilla, Weston-McEwen at Mac-Hi Gutbuster, TBD Saturday Hermiston at George Fox XC Classic, TBD COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL Wednesday Wenatchee Valley at BMCC, 6 p.m. Friday North Idaho at BMCC, 6 p.m. EOU at Warner Pacific, 7 p.m. Saturday EOU at Multnomah, 7 p.m. COLLEGE WOMEN’S SOCCER Wednesday Walla Walla at BMCC, 1 p.m. Friday EOU at Warner Pacific, 7 p.m. Saturday Columbia Basin at BMCC, Noon EOU at Multnomah, 5 p.m. COLLEGE MEN’S SOCCER Wednesday Walla Walla at BMCC, 3:15 p.m. Friday EOU at Multnomah, 3 p.m. Saturday Columbia Basin at BMCC, 2:15 p.m. EOU at Warner Pacific, 9:45 p.m. COLLEGE FOOTBALL Saturday Southern Oregon at EOU, 6 p.m. Baseball MLB POSTSEASON DIVISION SERIES (Best-of-5; x-if necessary) American League Houston 3, Boston 1 Oct. 5: Houston 8, Boston 2 Oct. 6: Houston 8, Boston 2 Oct. 8: Boston 10, Houston 3 Monday: Houston 5, Boston 4 Cleveland 2, New York 2 Oct. 5: Cleveland 4, New York 0 Oct. 6: Cleveland 9, New York 8, 13 innings Oct. 8: New York 1, Cleveland 0 Monday: New York 7, Cleveland 3 Wednesday: New York (Sabathia 14-5) at Cleveland (Kluber 18-4), 5:08 p.m. (FS1) National League Chicago 2, Washington 1 Oct. 6: Chicago 3, Washington 0 Oct. 7: Washington 6, Chicago 3 Monday: Chicago 2, Washington 1 Wednesday: Washington (Roark 13-11) at Chicago (Arrieta 14-10), 2:38 p.m. (TBS) x-Thursday, Oct. 12: Chicago at Washington, 2:38 p.m. (TBS) Los Angeles 3, Arizona 0 Oct. 6: Los Angeles 9, Arizona 5 Oct. 7: Los Angeles 8, Arizona 5 Monday: Los Angeles 3, Arizona 1 Football NFL AMERICAN CONFERENCE East W L T Pct Buffalo 3 2 0 .600 N.Y. Jets 3 2 0 .600 New England 3 2 0 .600 Miami 2 2 0 .500 South W L T Pct Jacksonville 3 2 0 .600 Houston 2 3 0 .400 Tennessee 2 3 0 .400 Indianapolis 2 3 0 .400 North W L T Pct Pittsburgh 3 2 0 .600 Baltimore 3 2 0 .600 Cincinnati 2 3 0 .400 Cleveland 0 5 0 .000 West W L T Pct Kansas City 5 0 0 1.000 Denver 3 1 0 .750 Oakland 2 3 0 .400 L.A. Chargers 1 4 0 .200 NATIONAL CONFERENCE East W L T Pct Philadelphia 4 1 0 .800 Washington 2 2 0 .500 Dallas 2 3 0 .400 N.Y. Giants 0 5 0 .000 PF PA 89 74 92 106 148 142 41 67 PF PA 139 83 144 130 110 142 97 159 PF PA 99 89 90 97 84 83 77 124 PF PA 164 111 98 74 108 109 99 115 PF PA 137 99 91 89 125 132 82 122 South Carolina Atlanta New Orleans Tampa Bay North Green Bay Detroit Minnesota Chicago West W 4 3 2 2 L 1 1 2 2 T 0 0 0 0 Pct PF .800 105 .750 104 .500 93 .500 85 PA 94 89 78 83 W 4 3 2 1 L 1 2 2 3 T 0 0 0 0 Pct PF PA .800 137 112 .600 123 97 .500 79 76 .250 61 104 W L T Pct PF PA Seattle 3 2 0 .600 110 87 L.A. Rams 3 2 0 .600 152 121 Arizona 2 3 0 .400 81 125 San Francisco 0 5 0 .000 89 120 ——— Week 6 Thursday’s Game Philadelphia at Carolina, 5:25 p.m. Sunday’s Games Green Bay at Minnesota, 10 a.m. Cleveland at Houston, 10 a.m. Detroit at New Orleans, 10 a.m. Miami at Atlanta, 10 a.m. New England at N.Y. Jets, 10 a.m. Chicago at Baltimore, 10 a.m. San Francisco at Washington, 10 a.m. Tampa Bay at Arizona, 1:05 p.m. L.A. Rams at Jacksonville, 1:05 p.m. L.A. Chargers at Oakland, 1:25 p.m. Pittsburgh at Kansas City, 1:25 p.m. N.Y. Giants at Denver, 5:30 p.m. Open: Buffalo, Dallas, Seattle, Cincinnati Monday’s Game Indianapolis at Tennessee, 5:30 p.m. NCAA Top 25 Schedule Friday No. 2 Clemson at Syracuse, 4 p.m. (ESPN) No. 8 Washington St. at Cal, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN) Saturday Arkansas at No. 1 Alabama, 4:15 p.m. (ESPN) Missouri at No. 4 Georgia, 4:30 p.m. No. 5 Washington at Arizona St., 7:45 p.m. (ESPN) No. 6 TCU at Kansas State, 9 a.m. (FS1) Purdue at No. 7 Wisconsin, 12:30 p.m. No. 9 Ohio State at Nebraska, 4:30 p.m. (FS1) No. 10 Auburn at LSU, 12:30 p.m. (CBS) Georgia Tech at No. 11 Miami, 12:30 p.m. (ABC) No. 12 Oklahoma at Texas, 12:30 p.m. (ESPN) Utah at No. 13 USC, 5 p.m. (ABC) Baylor at No. 14 Okla. State, 12:30 p.m. (FS1) No. 17 Michigan at Indiana, 9 a.m. (ABC) Cincinnati at No. 18 South Florida, 4:30 p.m. (ESPNU) Boise State at No. 19 San Diego State, 7:30 p.m. (CBSSN) No. 20 NC State at Pittsburgh, 9 a.m. No. 21 Michigan State at Minnesota, 5 p.m. East Carolina at No. 22 UCF, 4 p.m. (CBSSN) Oregon at No. 23 Stanford, 8 p.m. No. 24 Texas Tech at West Virginia, 9 a.m. (ESPNU) No. 25 Navy at Memphis, 12:45 p.m. (ESPNU) Soccer MLS EASTERN CONFERENCE W L Toronto FC 19 5 New York City FC 16 8 Atlanta United FC 15 9 Chicago 15 10 Columbus 15 12 New York 13 12 Philadelphia 10 13 Montreal 11 15 New England 11 15 T 8 8 8 7 5 7 9 6 6 Pts GF GA 65 71 35 56 53 39 53 68 38 52 58 42 50 50 47 46 51 46 39 42 43 39 50 54 39 48 58 Orlando City 10 13 9 39 38 51 D.C. United 9 18 5 32 30 54 WESTERN CONFERENCE W L T Pts GF GA Vancouver 15 11 6 51 48 46 Sporting K.C. 12 7 12 48 38 25 Seattle 12 9 11 47 45 39 Portland 13 11 8 47 54 49 Houston 11 10 10 43 52 44 FC Dallas 10 9 13 43 43 43 Real Salt Lake 12 14 6 42 47 53 San Jose 12 14 6 42 35 57 Minnesota United 10 16 6 36 45 64 Colorado 8 18 6 30 30 48 Los Angeles 7 17 8 29 41 62 NOTE: Three points for victory, one point for tie. ——— Wednesday’s Game Sporting Kansas City at Houston, 4 p.m. Hockey NHL EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Division GP W L OT Pts GF GA Toronto 3 3 0 0 6 19 10 Detroit 3 2 1 0 4 8 7 Tampa Bay 3 2 1 0 4 13 11 Ottawa 3 1 0 2 4 8 9 Florida 2 1 1 0 2 8 9 Boston 2 1 1 0 2 4 7 Montreal 4 1 3 0 2 5 13 Buffalo 3 0 2 1 1 7 15 Metropolitan Division GP W L OT Pts GF GA Washington 3 2 0 1 5 14 9 New Jersey 2 2 0 0 4 10 3 Columbus 3 2 1 0 4 8 6 Philadelphia 4 2 2 0 4 13 13 Carolina 2 1 0 1 3 6 6 Pittsburgh 3 1 1 1 3 9 15 N.Y. Islanders 3 1 1 1 3 8 11 N.Y. Rangers 4 1 3 0 2 10 15 WESTERN CONFERENCE Central Division GP W L OT Pts GF GA St. Louis 4 4 0 0 8 15 9 Chicago 4 3 0 1 7 21 7 Colorado 3 2 1 0 4 9 6 Winnipeg 3 1 2 0 2 10 15 Nashville 3 1 2 0 2 9 13 Minnesota 2 0 1 1 1 6 9 Dallas 3 1 2 0 2 7 8 Pacific Division GP W L OT Pts GF GA Vegas 3 3 0 0 6 9 4 Los Angeles 2 2 0 0 4 6 1 Calgary 3 2 1 0 4 8 6 Anaheim 3 1 1 1 3 7 9 Vancouver 2 1 0 1 3 5 5 Edmonton 3 1 2 0 2 7 8 Arizona 3 0 2 1 1 7 12 San Jose 2 0 2 0 0 4 9 NOTE: Two points for a win, one point for overtime loss. ——— Tuesday’s Games Columbus 2, Carolina 1, OT St. Louis 3, N.Y. Rangers 1 Chicago 3, Montreal 1 Nashville 6, Philadelphia 5 Dallas 4, Detroit 2 Ottawa 3, Vancouver 2, OT Vegas 5, Arizona 2 Wednesday’s Games New Jersey at Toronto, 4:30 p.m. Pittsburgh at Washington, 4:30 p.m. Boston at Colorado, 6:30 p.m. N.Y. Islanders at Anaheim, 7 p.m. Calgary at Los Angeles, 7:30 p.m.
