FRIDAY, APRIL 1 , 2022. THE WASHINGTON POST EZ M2 D9
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NCAA MEN’S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT, FINAL FOUR
6:09 p.m. Villanova vs. Kansas » TBS, WJFK (106.7 FM)
8:49 p.m. North Carolina vs. Duke » TBS, WJFK (106.7 FM)
NHL
12:30 p.m. Florida at New Jersey » NHL Network
3 p.m. Pittsburgh at Colorado » WJLA (Ch. 7), WMAR (Ch. 2)
7 p.m. Montreal at Tampa Bay » NHL Network
NBA
7:30 p.m. Brooklyn at Atlanta » NBA TV
MLB SPRING TRAINING
1 p.m. Baltimore vs. Detroit » WIYY (97.9 FM)
1 p.m. Pittsburgh vs. Boston » MLB Network
AUTO RACING
9 a.m. NASCAR Xfinity Series: ToyotaCare 250, qualifying » Fox Sports 1
10:30 a.m. NASCAR Cup Series: Toyota Owners 400, qualifying » Fox Sports 1
1:30 p.m. NASCAR Xfinity Series: ToyotaCare 250 » Fox Sports 1
GOLF
Noon Augusta National Women’s Amateur, final round » WRC (Ch. 4), WBAL (Ch. 11)
1 p.m. PGA Tour: Texas Open, third round » Golf Channel
3:30 p.m. PGA Tour: Texas Open, third round » WRC (Ch. 4), WBAL (Ch. 11)
3:30 p.m. PGA Tour Champions: Rapiscan Systems Classic, second round »
Golf Channel
5 p.m. LPGA Tour: Chevron Championship, third round » Golf Channel
SOCCER
7:30 a.m. English Premier League: Watford at Liverpool » USA Network
10 a.m. English Premier League: Aston Villa at Wolverhampton » CNBC
10 a.m. English Premier League: Brentford at Chelsea » USA Network
11 a.m. French Ligue 1: Rennes at Nice » beIN Sports
12:30 p.m. English Premier League: Leicester City at Manchester United »
USA Network
1 p.m. French Ligue 1: Bordeaux at Lille » beIN Sports
3 p.m. French Ligue 1: Marseille at Saint Étienne » beIN Sports
4 p.m. NWSL Challenge Cup: Angel City at San Diego » WUSA (Ch. 9), WJZ (Ch. 13)
7:30 p.m. MLS: Atlanta United at D.C. United » NBC Sports Washington
TENNIS
1 p.m. WTA: Miami Open, singles final » Tennis Channel
3:30 p.m. ATP: Miami Open, singles semifinals and doubles final » Tennis Channel
LACROSSE
7 p.m. National League Lacrosse: San Diego at Toronto » ESPN2
8 p.m. National League Lacrosse: Philadelphia at New York » ESPNU
VOLLEYBALL
7 p.m. Athletes Unlimited: Team Sheilla vs. Team Drews » CBS Sports Network
9 p.m. Athletes Unlimited: Team Lowe vs. Team De La Cruz » CBS Sports Network
WOMEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
3 p.m. WNIT, final: Teams TBD » CBS Sports Network
COLLEGE BASEBALL
1 p.m. Texas at Oklahoma » ESPN2
5 p.m. Texas A&M at Alabama » SEC Network
6 p.m. North Carolina State at Clemson » ACC Network
6:30 p.m. Stanford at Oregon State » Pac-12 Network
8 p.m. Tennessee at Vanderbilt » SEC Network
COLLEGE SOFTBALL
1 p.m. Arkansas at Mississippi » SEC Network
2 p.m. Michigan at Northwestern » Big Te n Network
3 p.m. Florida at Auburn » SEC Network
4:30 p.m. Washington at Arizona » Pac-12 Network
4:30 p.m. Georgia at Alabama » ESPN2
6 p.m. Kentucky at LSU » ESPN
8 p .m. Oklahoma State at Baylor » ESPN
10 p.m. Oregon at UCLA » Pac-12 Network
MEN’S COLLEGE LACROSSE
Noon Virginia at Richmond » NBC Sports Washington
2 p.m. Syracuse at Notre Dame » ESPNU
WOMEN’S COLLEGE LACROSSE
Noon Pittsburgh at Syracuse » ACC Network
Noon Maryland at Johns Hopkins » ESPNU
2 p.m. Virginia Tech at Boston College » ACC Network
MEN’S COLLEGE GYMNASTICS
7 p.m. Big Ten championships » Big Te n Network
MEN’S COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL
10:30 p.m. Hawaii at Long Beach State » ESPNU
HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL
10 a.m. Geico Nationals, girls’ final: Teams TBD » ESPN2
Noon Geico Nationals, boys’ final: Teams TBD » ESPNSunday
NCAA WOMEN’S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT, FINAL
8 p.m. South Carolina/Louisville vs. Stanford/Connecticut » ESPN,
WTEM (980 AM)
NBA
1 p.m. Washington at Boston » NBC Sports Washington, WTEM (980 AM)
1 p.m. Dallas at Milwaukee » WJLA (Ch. 7), WMAR (Ch. 2)
3:30 p.m. Denver at Los Angeles Lakers » WJLA (Ch. 7), WMAR (Ch. 2)
7 p.m. Miami at Toronto » NBA TV
9:30 p.m. New Orleans at Los Angeles Clippers » NBA TV
NHL
4 p.m. New York Islanders at New Jersey » TNT
7 p.m. Minnesota at Washington » NBC Sports Washington, WJFK (106.7 FM)
7 p.m. Philadelphia at New York Rangers » NHL Network
MLB SPRING TRAINING
1 p.m. Baltimore vs. Minnesota » WIYY (97.9 FM)
1 p.m. Miami vs. New York Mets » MLB Network
4 p.m. Colorado vs. Chicago White Sox » MLB Network
AUTO RACING
3:30 p.m. NASCAR Cup Series: Toyota Owners 400 » WTTG (Ch. 5), WBFF (Ch. 45)
GOLF
1 p.m. PGA Tour: Texas Open, final round » Golf Channel
2 p.m. PGA Tour Champions: Rapiscan Systems Classic, final round » Golf Channel
2 p.m. PGA Tour: Texas Open, final round » WRC (Ch. 4), WBAL (Ch. 11)
5 p.m. LPGA Tour: Chevron Championship, final round » Golf Channel
SOCCER
7 a.m. French Ligue 1: Lens at Strasbourg » beIN Sports
7 a.m. Scottish Premiership: Celtic at Rangers » CBS Sports Network
9 a.m. French Ligue 1: Monaco at Metz » beIN Sports
9 a.m. English Premier League: Everton at West Ham » USA Network
11 a.m. French Ligue 1: Angers at Lyon » beIN Sports
11:30 a.m. English Premier League: Newcastle at Tottenham » USA Network
2:45 p.m. Italian Serie A: Inter Milan at Juventus » CBS Sports Network
2:45 p.m. French Ligue 1: Lorient at Paris Saint-Germain » beIN Sports
4 p.m. NWSL Challenge Cup: Orlando at Washington » Paramount Plus
4:30 p.m. MLS: LA Galaxy at Portland » Fox Sports 1
TENNIS
1 p.m. ATP: Miami Open, singles final; WTA: Miami Open, doubles final »
Te nnis Channel, MASN2
RUGBY
7 p.m. Major League Rugby: Houston at Austin » Fox Sports 2
MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
4 p.m. HBCU All-Star Game » WUSA (Ch. 9), WJZ (Ch. 13)
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Noon Wake Forest at Boston College » ACC Network
1 p.m. Northwestern at Indiana » Big Te n Network
1 p.m. Texas at Oklahoma » ESPN
COLLEGE SOFTBALL
Noon Illinois at Minnesota » ESPN2
Noon Mississippi State at Tennessee » SEC Network
2 p.m. South Carolina at Missouri » SEC Network
3 p.m. Oregon at UCLA » Pac-12 Network
4 p.m. Georgia at Alabama » SEC Network
5 p.m. Utah at Stanford » Pac-12 Network
MEN’S COLLEGE LACROSSE
7 p.m. Johns Hopkins at Rutgers » Big Te n NetworkWEEKEND TV AND RADIOBY STEVEN GOFFsan j ose, costa rica — O nce the
players were done dousing each
other with beer and champagne,
once Tim Weah carried the boom-
box out of Estadio Nacional’s l ock-
er room while tunes were still
pumping, the U. S. men’s national
soccer team was on the move.
Coach Gregg Berhalter and U. S.
Soccer Federation officials scram-
bled late Wednesday to make an
overnight flight to New York, fol-
lowed by a trip to Doha, Qatar, for
Friday’s World C up draw.
European-based players, still
wearing ski goggles to protect
their eyes from sprayed alcohol,
prepared for a charter to London
to rejoin clubs resuming league
seasons this weekend. Another
bunch was headed stateside for
MLS matches.
There w ere h ugs, high-fives and
howls — expression of both joy
and relief as a World Cup qualify-
ing campaign spanning seven
months and 14 games culminated
with a place in the 32-team finals
in November.
The Americans will gather
again i n June for four matches a nd
in September f or two, but the n ext
time they find themselves in the
spotlight will be in Qatar.
“Now we have to test ourselves
against the best players in the
world, the best teams in the
world,” midfielder Tyler Adams
said. “This was only the first stage
in our development, and we have
come out of that on top.”
The United States d id not finish
first or second in the Concacaf
competition, but after the team
missed the 2018 World Cup in
horrific fashion and started from
scratch w ith a new coach and fresh
generation of players, a ll t hat mat-
ters is making it.
Like in the l ast cycle, t he United
States lost its last qualifier, 2-0, to
Costa R ica on Wednesday. But t his
time it had done enough through
the first 13 games to withstand a
setback by anything other than a
six-goal margin.
“We’re allowed to be proud of
what we’ve accomplished,” star
forward Christian Pulisic said.
“We’re going to a World Cup. Frus-
trated about the result [against
Costa Rica], but we did what we
needed to do.”
Defender DeAndre Yedlin and
others said celebrating after a de-
feat was awkward at first. But,
defender Walker Zimmerman
added: “You envision that mo-
ment — to pop champagne, to pop
beers — and really just appreciate
all the h ard work and s acrifice y ou
put in. The easy part is over, and
now i t’s focusing on Qatar.”
The Americans will arrive with
perhaps the youngest r oster in the
32 -team tournament. More than
half the team probably will be 25
or younger.
“I don’t think it’s about age,”
said Pulisic, w ho will t urn 24 i n the
fall. “We have a hungry team, a
hungry bunch of guys who are
playing at top level clubs across
the w orld. We c an go i n with confi-
dence, n o matter our age.”
And what could they accom-
plish a t the World Cup?
“We can do a lot of damage,
man,” Pulisic said. “We’re a confi-
dent bunch of guys. The countrywill get behind us, and we will give
everything we’ve got. I think we
can be a force in t he World Cup.”
The U. S. team wasn’t exactly a
force in Concacaf, finishing be-
hind Canada and Mexico and level
with Costa Rica, which settled for
fourth with a goal differential t hat
was far inferior to that of the
Americans.
The lone U.S. away v ictory came
against winless Honduras in Sep-
tember, and the team didn’t score
in any of its l ast three road games.
It d oesn’t h ave a clear-cut starting
striker.
Still, the program is moving in
the right direction. In the past
10 months, i t won both t he Conca-
caf Nations League and Gold Cup
and q ualified for the World Cup.
Locked into Concacaf competi-
tions and limited by the pandem-
ic, the Americans have not faced
much world-class competition in
years. To prepare for the World
Cup, the USSF said it’s looking to
arrange friendlies against higher-
caliber teams or ones that play
similar styles to teams in the U.S.
group.
In June, aside from two Conca-
caf N ations League matches, there
will be opportunities to schedule
two friendlies. The September
window is also available for two
friendlies and, depending on the
date of its World Cup opener, the
U. S. team could play at least one
tuneup in Europe before arriving
in Qatar.
The USSF already has locked
into a base camp and training
center in Doha. B erhalter n ow will
embrace the task of preparing —
and p icking — his t eam.He used almost 40 players in
qualifying. World Cup r osters typ-
ically have 23 but might expand
this year. While many regulars a re
sure to make the final list, Berhal-
ter said he will continue monitor-
ing the b roader player p ool.
“There are some players who
may even make a step up that we
don’t even really know about yet
or are just on t he fringes,” he said.
Berhalter also will hope to have
everyone healthy for the World
Cup. In q ualifying, Pulisic, S ergiño
Dest, Gio Reyna, Weston McKen-
nie and Zack Steffen missed con-
siderable time. Five regulars were
unavailable for the last three-
game w indow.
What Berhalter can count on is
chemistry and c amaraderie.
“It’s just fun,” Yedlin said. “With
this group, there are no egos. Ev-
eryone r espects each other. It’s f un
to play with these guys. It’s com-
petitive. You feel like you’re be-
coming a better player every time
you c ome to camp.”
The draw will set the eight
groups. Based on the FIFA rank-
ings, the Americans will be in Pot 2
with Mexico and Germany, among
others. Their Pot 1 opponent will be
Qatar, Belgium, Brazil, Argentina,
France, England, Spain or Portu-
gal. Two from each group will ad-
vance to the round of 16.
“When you are working with a
young team, you don’t always see
the progress that quickly,” Berhal-
ter s aid. “We certainly saw a ton of
progress in this last year, in terms
of the guys really understanding
what it means to win at the inter-
national level. We’ll be ready for
the World Cup.”For U.S. men, World Cup berth is just the first stepIn preparing for Qatar, young squad looks to improve its game against top-flight opponentsVIRGINIA GIRLS’ SOCCER
PHOTOS BY JOHN MCDONNELL/THE WASHINGTON POSTColgan goalie Chase Rooney turns aside an overtime chance from South County to preserve the scoreless draw Thursday in Lorton.
BY MICHAEL ERRIGOIn a crowded penalty area,
South County forward Courtney
Mills found the b all at h er feet a nd
made a quick turn into a small
pocket of space. It w as e arly in t he
first overtime period of a match
between the No. 1 Stallions and
No. 2 Colgan, and suddenly Mills
had a scoring chance better than
anything either team had earned
in regulation.
A few yards from goal, she
ripped the ball toward the upper
left corner of the net. It was a
remarkable shot, one that looked
sure to break the evening’s stale-
mate. Instead, it was met by an
even more remarkable save as Col-
gan’s Chase Rooney dove to her
right and deflected the ball with a
long, o utstretched arm.
It was that type of match. The
two best girls’ soccer teams in
Northern Virginia battled to a
scoreless draw o n a blustery after-
noon in Lorton.
“That game really tested our
team chemistry, and it asked us to
go a ll i n,” Stallions senior defender
Brooke Birrell said. “We became a
better team because o f this game.”
The Sharks controlled the run
of play in t he first half, w ith j unior
forward Samantha DeGuzman
creating chances. But the script
flipped a t halftime as S outh Coun-
ty looked more dangerous in the
second half and overtime. Mills’s
close-range opportunity was one
of several created by the Stallions
in the game’s closing minutes.
The Stallions (5-0-1) returned
eight of 11 starters and 16 players
in total from last year’s u ndefeated
state championship team. Coach
Nina Pannoni likes to keep a big
roster for this purpose, so that the
transition from year to year goes
more smoothly. In a title defense,
that helps.
But while the Stallions might
resemble last year’s group, they
have to find their own formula for
success. With that in mind, Panno-
ni said the focus of the season’s f irstmonth has been on building an
identity and finding ways to grow.
“Last year we had a great run,
and w e’d l ove to continue that, but
this is a d ifferent year,” B irrell s aid.
“We want to build this team and
make it even better. We’re starting
over and creating a whole new
thing.”
Colgan (4-1-1), similarly, is seek-
ing to build on a y oung and t alent-
ed roster. After reaching the re-
gion semifinals each of the past
two years, Coach Tom Warzywak
recognized the potential for thisspring and scheduled a difficult
nonconference schedule. The
Sharks opened the season with
wins over Prince William County
contenders Patriot and Battle-
field.
“You always w ant to play a t eam
that can beat you,” Warzywak said.
“You want to play a team that’s
going to make you uncomfortable
and makes you come t ogether a s a
group.... You’re not going to im-
prove by pouring in eight goals
against a team that’s over-
matched.”In a meeting of powers, Stallions and Sharks draw
SOUTH COUNTY 0,
COLGAN 0 (OT)Colgan’s Samantha DeGuzman, left, takes a shot as South County’s Brooke Birrell closes in on her.