SPORTS DIGEST: Akron wins NCAA soccer title, 1-0

Akron wins NCAA soccer title, 1-0

SANTA BARBARA, Calif

Scott Caldwell scored in the 78th minute to help Akron beat top-ranked Louisville 1-0 on Sunday in the NCAA Division I men’s soccer championship game.

Akron (22-1-2) won the title — its first in NCAA competition in any sport — a year after losing the College Cup final to Virginia in a shootout after a scoreless draw.

Caldwell scored on a 15-yard shot after Louisville defense blocked his attempt from the top of the penalty box. The midfielder has scored all five of his career goals in the last seven postseason games.

Louisville (20-1-3) was attempting to become the first undefeated team since Santa Clara in 1989.

Akron took 19 shots in the match, while Louisville had 15.

Hockey tie, 2-2

CANFIELD

Riley Emery scored twice to help the Canfield hockey team tie Bay Village, 2-2.

Steve Ferko and Ryan Ohara had assists for Canfield (0-7-1, 0-3-1 GCHSHL Blue South).

Roger Geiser stopped 42 shots for Canfield.

Nicholas Chelimo wins Honolulu Marathon

HONOLULU

Kenya’s Nicholas Chelimo won the Honolulu Marathon on Sunday, finishing in 2 hours, 15 minutes, 18 seconds in humid conditions, while the women’s race ended in controversy.

Ethiopia’s Belainesh Gebre, running in her first marathon, took the women’s title in 2:32:13, edging 2009 winner Svetlana Zakharova by 48 seconds. However, Zakharova filed a protest with the race committee because Gebre, who ran the race with boyfriend Sisay Tsegaya, was seen taking water from Tsegaya.

Tsegaya’s role in the race raised the question of whether Gebre received illegal assistance.

Shark Shootout

NAPLES, Fla.

Dustin Johnson and Ian Poulter won the Shark Shootout Sunday, shooting a 13-under 59 in the scramble format to beat Darren Clarke and Graeme McDowell by two shots.

Johnson and Poulter grabbed the lead with birdies on their first four holes and finished at 30-under 186 at Tiburon Golf Club. Clarke and McDowell (59) never got closer than two strokes.

The two teams passed second-round co-leaders Jerry Kelly and Steve Stricker (64), and Fred Funk and Kenny Perry (66).

Kelly and Stricker, the defending champions, tied for third at 26 under with Chris DiMarco and Anthony Kim (61).

The 12 teams in the tournament hosted by Greg Norman played modified alternate shot on Friday and better ball on Saturday.

Australian PGA

COOLUM, Australia

Australia’s Peter Senior won the rain-delayed Australian PGA, beating Geoff Ogilvy with a par on the second hole of a playoff.

The 51-year-old Senior birdied the 18th hole in regulation for a 1-under 71 to match Ogilvy, the Australian Open winner last week in Sydney, at 12-under 276. Ogilvy finished with a 66.

Both players parred the 18th hole on the first hole of the playoff, and Ogilvy missed a par putt on the second extra hole to give Senior his third Australian PGA title.

LPGA Tour Q-school

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.

Aree Song won the LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament on Sunday, shooting a 1-over 73 in wind, rain and cold for a two-stroke victory over 17-year-old Jessica Korda.

The 24-year-old Song, from South Korea, finished at 6-under 354 in the five-round event at LPGA International to earn one of 20 full 2011 tour exemptions.

Korda, the daughter of former tennis star Petr Korda, closed with a 77. After playing the tournament as an amateur, she said after the round that she was turning pro.

Alfred Dunhill golf

MALELANE, South Africa

Pablo Martin has successfully defended his Alfred Dunhill Championship title, shooting a 2-under 70 for a two-shot victory Sunday.

The Spaniard recovered from a triple-bogey 7 at No. 17 to birdie the last for an 11-under 277 at Leopard Creek Country Club.

Vindicator staff/wire reports