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09/15/2007 - Wuhan, China (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Katrine Pedersen scored and set up a goal as Denmark, playing with its coach in the stands because of a suspension, topped New Zealand, 2-0, on Saturday.
Coach Kenneth Heiner-Moller was suspended two games by FIFA for making contact with an official after Denmark's 3-2 loss to China on Wednesday.
He'll also miss Wednesday's key Group D game against Brazil, but at least the Danes are in position to qualify for the quarterfinals following a solid game against New Zealand. Cathrine Paaske Sorensen also scored for Denmark.
Denmark has been surrounded by controversy following an allegation of spying after finding two men with video cameras hiding behind a two-way mirror prior to its game against China. FIFA quickly dismissed the allegations, saying the two men were not related to any other team.
With its first win of the tournament, Denmark took the first step to move on from the distractions and reach the next round for the first time since 1995.
Denmark dominated early, holding possession for the majority of the first 15 minutes, but couldn't create any solid chances until later in the half.
The Danes had their best chance of the first half in the 20th minute when Paaske Sorensen launched a 30-yard blast off the crossbar.
It was far from the only chance for the Danes or Paaske Sorensen, as she just missed her second goal of the tournament again in the 26th minute on a header just over the crossbar.
Denmark's last solid chance of the opening half was from career scoring leader Merete Pedersen, who didn't start against China. She had a shot deflected wide by New Zealand's defense in the 39th minute.
New Zealand goalie Jenny Bindon played well in a busy first half, making three saves and coming off her line numerous times to cut off scoring chances.
Denmark continued to test Bindon early in the second half, forcing her to make a save just seconds after the restart.
Another solid Denmark threat followed in the 55th minute when Maiken Pape sent a header high from just a few yards out.
A few minutes later in the 61st minute, Denmark finally found the target.
Pape set up the chance when she was taken down just outside the top of the box by Bindon. Katrine Pedersen lined up the free kick and her shot dipped toward the left corner, deflecting off Bindon's fingertips before going into the net.
Denmark needed just six more minutes to extend its lead off another free kick by Katrine Pedersen. Her attempt was from just outside the top left of the box but instead of a shot, she crossed to the far post to Paaske Sorensen.
Paaske Sorensen, who scored in the 87th minute of a 3-2 loss to China, had a defender on her hip but jumped to head the ball and slotted it inside the left post.
New Zealand managed just three shots, but didn't put any on goal. The club, in its first World Cup since 1991, had its lone notable moment in the 87th minute when Annalie Longo, who is just 16, became the second youngest player to ever play in the World Cup.
New Zealand plays its last game of the group stage on Wednesday against China.
<< Heavy wind delays Solheim Cup
Halmstad, Sweden (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Heavy wind gusts of 40 mph forced
tournament officials to delay the start of the Saturday foursomes matches at
the Solheim Cup.
The wind knocked over signs, tents and even some trees at Halms
<< Greene's homer carries Padres over Giants in 10th
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Khalil Greene belted a home run in the
bottom of the 10th inning to lift the San Diego Padres to 5-4 victory over the
San Francisco Giants at Petco Park.
With one out in the 10th, Greene smacked the fi
<< Francoeur's two-run single lifts Braves over Nats in 13th
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jeff Francoeur's two-run single in the 13th
inning led Atlanta to an 8-5 victory over the Washington Nationals.
Chipper Jones, who returned to the lineup after missing three starts due to
a strained
<< Guillen's sac fly lifts Mariners over D-Rays
Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jose Guillen's sacrifice fly in the bottom of
the ninth sent Seattle over Tampa Bay, 2-1, in the second of four between the
teams at Safeco Field.
With Gary Glover (5-5) on the hill, Ichiro Suzuki began
Another late rally for Europe keeps it close >>
Halmstad, Sweden (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 18th hole doomed the Americans.
Two European teams won the 18th hole to earn crucial halves in the first two
matches of Saturday's foursomes matches at the Solheim Cup.
In the foursomes, each tea
Robredo, Gonzalez advance to China Open final >>
Beijing, China (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tommy Robredo and Fernando Gonzalez will
meet in Sunday's final after each took care of business in Saturday's
semifinals at the $500,000 China Open.
Robredo nipped German wild card Nicolas K
Samba Queens dance all over China >>
Wuhan, China (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Marta and Christiane each scored two goals as
Brazil rolled to a 4-0 win over China on Saturday, its second impressive win
in the World Cup.
Brazil defeated New Zealand 5-0 in its opener and with the win ov
Aussies leave it late against Norway >>
Hangzhou, China (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Lisa DeVanna came on as a second-half
substitute and rescued a point for Australia as she scored in the 83rd minute
to give the Matildas a 1-1 draw with Norway on Saturday.
Ragnhild Gulbrandsen sco
NEW YORK (AP) -By staying away from the cupcakes, Southern California earned itself a slim new ranking.
No. 1 always seems to fit USC.
Southern California jumped two spots to No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 on Tuesday, rewarded by voters for opening the season with a dominant performance on the road against a BCS conference opponent.
Georgia and Ohio State, the preseason Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, started their seasons with glorified scrimmages at home against FCS (formerly I-AA) teams. USC, however, traveled across country to face Virginia and could not have been more impressive in a 52-7 victory.
Georgia fell to No. 2 and Ohio State to No 3.
"We realize that rankings so early in a season are certainly fluid. But rankings do help establish a pecking order for things later in the season," USC coach Pete Carroll said in a statement. "As for moving into the No. 1 spot, it's nice to know that people think highly of our team."
Since reaching No. 1 on Dec. 7, 2003, the final-regular season AP poll of that season, USC has been No. 1 in 39 polls, by far the most of any team during that time.
"Some have said the voters are taking our schedule into consideration," Carroll said. "Our philosophy has always been to schedule outstanding opponents. We need to play challenging games like we just did, traveling across the country to open the season at Virginia. Games like that bring out our best and make us stronger as a team."
The latest voting was close. USC received 21 first-place votes and 1,539 points from the 65-member media panel. Georgia had 20 first-place votes and 1,506 points. Ohio State got 15 first-place votes and 1,497 points.
"I'd say we've evolved as pollsters," said Stewart Mandel of SI.com, who moved USC up to No. 1. "In the past, voters just kind of automatically moved teams up and kept teams where they were if they won."
Georgia beat Georgia Southern 45-21 on Saturday and Ohio State opened with a 43-0 win over Youngstown State.
"There's a bit of a growing backlash for the amount of teams that open with I-AA cupcakes," said Mandel, whose book "Bowls, Polls and Tattered Souls" chronicles college football's controversies. "To see a team [USC] go on the road and play a New Year's Day bowl team from last season, and not only play them but destroy them, how could you not reward that team?"
USC also jumped past Georgia to No. 1 in the USA Today coaches' poll, which has the same top five as the AP poll.
"It's definitely a privilege to be No. 1. But it's not heartbreaking to me if we drop," Georgia offensive lineman Josh Davis said. "It doesn't matter right now what we're ranked. What matters is our next game and right now, that's Central Michigan. The only time the polls matter is in December. That's when the polls matter."
While the Bulldogs opened easy, their schedule ultimately should be as difficult as any team's. Georgia's big nonconference test is at No. 15 Arizona State on Sept. 20. The Bulldogs also face six Southeastern Conference rivals that've been ranked in the first two polls.
As for Ohio State, the Buckeyes play at USC on Sept. 13 before getting into the Big Ten schedule.
But of the teams in this week's top 10, USC and Texas are the only ones that don't play an FCS opponent, and the Trojans are the only team that doesn't play a team from a non-BCS conference.
Get the latest 2009 BCS Championship odds at MySportsbook.com.
The last team to drop from No. 1 after a victory was USC last season. LSU jumped from No. 2 to No. 1 when it beat Tulane 34-9, the same week the Trojans edged Washington 27-24 on the road.
The last preseason No. 1 team to lose the top spot after winning its opening game was Florida in 2001. The Gators beat Marshall 49-14, but preseason No. 2 Miami opened with a 33-7 victory over Penn State and the Hurricanes jumped to No. 1 with Florida slipping to second.
The next four teams in the new Top 25 stayed the same: No. 4 Oklahoma (two first-place votes), No. 5 Florida (five first-place votes), No. 6 Missouri (one first-place vote), No. 7 LSU (one first-place vote) and No. 8 West Virginia.
No. 9 Auburn and No. 10 Texas each moved up a spot, taking advantage of Clemson's big drop. Clemson, ninth in the preseason, fell out after losing 34-10 to Alabama on Saturday.
Also falling out after losses were Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh and Tennessee.
Moving into the rankings were No. 21 Fresno State, No. 22 Utah, No. 23 UCLA and No. 24 South Carolina.
Alabama moved up 11 spots after its big victory over Clemson.
The second 10 started with No. 11 Wisconsin, followed by Texas Tech, Alabama and Kansas. BYU and Arizona State were tied for 15th. Rivals BYU and Utah are both ranked for the first time since 1996.
South Florida was No. 17, ahead of Oregon, Penn State and Wake Forest at No. 20.
The final five were all the teams to move into the ranking, except for Illinois, which dropped four spots and tied South Carolina for No. 24.
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