A’ja Wilson and Caitlin Clark are unanimous choices for WNBA AP Player and Rookie of the Year

MONTREAL – Josef Martinez and Caden Clark scored as CF Montreal defeated Chicago Fire FC 2-0 for a crucial Major League Soccer win on Saturday.

Martinez opened the scoring in the 21st minute to put Montreal ahead before Clark buried the insurance-marker in the 74th before an announced 19,619 spectators at Saputo Stadium.

Nathan Saliba, Kwadwo Opoku and captain Samuel Piette added assists as Montreal (8-12-10) extended its unbeaten run to three games (2-0-1) amid a late push to reach the MLS playoffs.

Montreal entered the match 13th in the Eastern Conference standings with 31 points, but only two behind Philadelphia Union, which occupied the second wild-card spot in ninth. Laurent Courtois’ squad has four games remaining in the regular season.

Chicago (7-16-8) began the day in 14th with 29 points and one more game played than Montreal, but failed to threaten goalkeeper Jonathan Sirois until late in the match.

Meanwhile, Montreal created offence with long passes in behind Chicago’s back line throughout the match.

In the second minute, Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty broke in down the right wing before playing a dangerous ball into the box for Martinez, who swung and missed on his attempt.

Martinez later just barely stayed onside to score his team-leading seventh of the season. The veteran striker corralled a long ball from Nathan Saliba into the box before slicing a half-volley past Chicago goalkeeper Chris Brady.

In the 37th minute, Bryce Duke went on the counter-attack with numbers, but kept the ball instead of laying a through ball to Martinez and ultimately sailed his outside shot over the crossbar.

Chicago played cautiously, content holding the ball without pushing forward through 45 minutes. Montreal led the shot attempts five to one.

Montreal was back on the attack early in the second half as Piette found Caden Clark on the left side of the box. Clark danced around a sliding Chicago defender Arnaud Souquet, but kicked his Grade A opportunity over the net.

Clark later got on the board with his second goal in three games. Opoku, who entered in the 72nd minute as a substitute, took a pass from Piette before finding Clark in alone. Clark showed poise with a cheeky chip over Brady to give Montreal the comfortable lead.

Substitute Matias Coccaro nearly made it 3-0 in the 85th when he was sent on a breakaway, but Brady came out to challenge and stopped his attempt.

Sirois had a busy end to the match as Chicago pressed for a goal in the final minutes. He turned away a header from Thomas Barlow at the centre of the box, a dangerous shot by Souquet streaking down the right wing and a header by Tobias Salquist in the dying minutes.

NOTES

Montreal defender Raheem Edwards reached 10,000 minutes in MLS at the 23-minute mark. In 10 seasons, the journeyman has played for Montreal (twice), Toronto FC, Chicago, Minnesota United FC, Los Angeles FC and L.A. Galaxy, totalling eight goals and 28 assists. … Fire winger Ariel Lassiter returned to Saputo Stadium after being traded from Montreal to Chicago on Aug. 14. The Costa Rica international had three goals and seven assists in Montreal this season. … Fire top scorer Hugo Cuypers missed his second game after the birth of his son.

UP NEXT

Montreal: Hosts the San Jose Earthquakes next Saturday.

Chicago: Hosts Toronto FC next Saturday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 21, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

SINGAPORE (AP) — Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen gave only brief answers at a Saturday news conference in an apparent protest against series governing body the FIA for punishing him for swearing.

Verstappen appeared at the FIA’s news conference for the top three in Singapore Grand Prix qualifying — he finished second — but was reluctant to speak.

On Friday, Verstappen was ordered to “accomplish some work of public interest” at the FIA’s discretion for using an expletive to describe his car in another FIA news conference the day before.

FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem has signaled he wants to cut down on swearing in F1, setting up the governing body’s latest disagreement with drivers.

After a brief statement that he was happy with second place in qualifying and thanked his Red Bull team, Verstappen kept his answers to a minimum and said he risked being fined if he said more.

What had the team changed on his car? “A lot.” Was he confident ahead of Sunday’s race? “Maybe.” What about starting alongside title rival Lando Norris on the grid? “I will find out tomorrow.”

As the event’s host struggled to get a response to his questions, the Dutch driver clarified: “This is not towards you, don’t worry. I don’t want to upset you.”

Verstappen’s silence was confined to the FIA news conference. He earlier answered questions on TV from the pit lane and invited reporters to question him outside of the news conference room.

Asked how long he’d refuse to give answers in FIA events, he said: “I’m answering, just not a lot. Problem with my voice.”

Verstappen was supported by Norris and seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton, who has voiced his own concerns over Ben Sulayem’s stance.

After joking that Verstappen deserved his punishment for “foul language”, Norris said: “It’s pretty unfair. I don’t agree with any of it.”

Hamilton said: “It’s a bit of a joke, to be honest. This is the pinnacle of the sport. Mistakes are made.” Hamilton also seemed to suggest Verstappen should avoid the work mandated by the earlier ruling. “I certainly wouldn’t be doing it. And I hope Max doesn’t do it.”

Hamilton, F1’s only Black driver, earlier objected to Ben Sulayem’s statement that F1 should not resemble “rap music,” which the FIA president made while explaining his objections to swearing in an interview with the motorsport.com website this week. Hamilton said Ben Sulayem’s language was “stereotypical” and had a “racial element.”

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AP auto racing:

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

PENTICTON, B.C. – Kiefer Sherwood spent several nights last spring chasing Quinn Hughes around the ice and generally pestering the Vancouver Canucks.

Now the former Nashville Predators winger is wearing a Canucks jersey.

After signing with Vancouver in free agency, Sherwood is at training camp in Penticton, B.C., lining up against the players he frustrated in the first round of the playoffs last season.

His former foes have welcomed him welcomed with open arms.

“I try to be hard to play against and try to hate the other team and play with that hate and that fire. But at the end of the day, it’s a business and it’s a game of respect,” Sherwood said. “You’re not going after guys if you don’t respect them, right? So now that we’re teammates, it’s just respect.”

The 29-year-old Sherwood’s path to Vancouver wasn’t linear.

A six-foot, 194-pound forward from Columbus, Ohio, he went undrafted before signing with the Anaheim Ducks as a free agent in March 2018, and played 50 games for the team during the 2018-19 campaign.

But Sherwood struggled to stick in the NHL, bouncing back and forth between the minors during stints with Anaheim, Nashville and the Colorado Avalanche.

Eventually, he realized that to cement his spot, he needed to find what made him special — and he landed on speed.

“It’s definitely something that I had to learn and kind of ingrain in myself and train. I think the saying is adapt or die,” Sherwood said. “At the end of the day, you can light up the minors all you want, but you want to be here in this league.”

To hone his speed, Sherwood added more dynamic movement to his training regime, looking to create a new level of explosiveness in his skating.

That explosiveness is the key to winning puck battles, he said.

“I want to hunt. I want to get in on the forecheck, I want to create time and space for my linemates,” he said. “And ultimately, it’s a possession game too. So I want the puck on our tape and to get it to guys that can make plays. We value the puck, we value possession, we value plays. And if we’re dumping it in or forechecking, I want to get it back.”

When he can’t get the puck back, Sherwood wants to wear down the other team.

“It’s kind of the game within the game,” he said. “And it’s that fire that I’m really focused on bringing every night.”

Last season marked a career-best campaign for Sherwood, who put up 10 goals and 17 assists in 68 regular-season appearances for Nashville.

He also appeared in all six of the Predators post-season games and contributed a goal before the team was eliminated by the Canucks.

“I’ve had to look inward a little bit and try to figure out what it’s going to take, and dig deep,” Sherwood said of his career. “And then from there, just keep refining and growing the identity that I need to play with night in and night out.”

His speed and tenacity hasn’t gone unnoticed at his first Canucks training camp.

“Even the forecheck drills, always he’s moving his feet. His effort’s high,” said head coach Rick Tocchet.

“I thought some of the one-on-one drills, he made some nice moves with the puck. That’s the stuff I want to see. But he’s high-energy, big-motor guy. Guys like that, they’re all over the forecheck.”

Playing against Sherwood in last spring’s playoffs, Canucks captain Hughes learned that Sherwood’s playing style means opponents need to always be aware of when the winger’s on the ice.

“He’s a really good player.” Hughes said. “I think he’s got more game than people give him credit for. I’m not the coach, but I think he can play anywhere in the lineup. And I think he’s just a great addition.”

Tocchet also believes Sherwood could have more offensive upside to his game, noting that the Canucks coaching staff has identified some places they want the new addition to work on his game.

“There’s sometimes when he has (the puck), he can slow it down a bit to make a play,” the coach said. “But … I’d rather him have the motor going, and we’ll worry about the other stuff. And he’s a guy you can bounce around on different lines too. So it’s a luxury.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 21, 2024.