Tuesday, July 28, 1998

Hawaii boxer wins

Antonio Rodriguez of Waianae
upsets Turkish standout
in quarterfinals of the
Goodwill Games

Associated Press

UNIONDALE, N.Y. -- Antonio Rodriguez of Waianae scored the biggest upset during the first day of boxing in the Goodwill Games, outpointing world championship bronze medalist Soner Karaaoz of Turkey, 9-1, yesterday in a bantamweight (118 pounds) quarterfinal.

"I went in and fought smart," Rodriguez said. "He was a strong fighter. He took some of my best shots, but I thought it would have been a lot tougher. He had a reach over mine."

Other American winners included heavyweights DaVarryl Williamson and Malcolm Tann; welterweights Miguel Espino and Larry Mosely; lightweight Jacob Hudson; and bantamweight Jose Santa Cruz.

Waipahu's Brian Viloria, Hawaii's other boxer at the Games, was outpointed by Cuba's Maikro Romero, 11-3, in a flyweight (106 pounds) quarterfinal.

Also yesterday, the U.S. women's soccer team added more gold to its collection with a 2-0 victory over China in the debut of soccer at the Goodwill Games.

Mia Hamm and her teammates took a victory dive after her second goal of the game and fifth of the two-game tourney.

It was reminiscent of what they did after a 2-1 victory over China in 1996 when they won the first Olympic gold medal, and before that in 1991 when they won the first world championship.

"It was a tremendous effort," Hamm said. "China is a very athletic club. They play a frantic style."

Hamm's first goal came in the 66th minute, and the 97th of her international career came in the 87th minute, an unassisted 35-yard blast that curled into the back of the net over the head of China goalie Zhao Yan.

"Mia Hamm turned in a Michael Jordan-like performance tonight," U.S. coach Tony DiCicco said. "In fact, I think China took the game over and had more quality chances than we did, but then Mia scored the brilliant goal."

On a relatively quiet day of competition with diving and boxing the only other sports, there was plenty of news away from the venues.

Ivan Dominguez, a member of the Cuban cycling team, was reported missing after failing to return home with the squad.

Games officials and members of the Cuban delegation said Dominguez was last seen Sunday night when he left the team's hotel.

Christian Jimenez Molena, the Cuban Goodwill Games team leader, said Dominguez was not with the other cyclists when they departed but that his visa runs until Aug. 3, the day after the games end.

"If he is not back by then, maybe we can say he left," Molena said. "And if he left, that's his problem."

City police said the case was not in their jurisdiction and would be handled by the State Department. In Washington, State Department spokeswoman Marva Long said she knew nothing about the matter and referred questions to the Immigration and Naturalization Service, which also said it had no information on the case.

Meanwhile, the parents of paralyzed Chinese gymnast Sang Lan said they were confident their daughter would compete again.

"I am sure she will be back to the competition circle because she is very courageous, and with the excellent medical (care), the doctors and hospitals in America, I am sure she will one day be back to the contest," said Sang Shisheng, her father.

Doctors, however, said Sang's condition had not changed.

Hamm's first goal was a 14-yard breakaway on an assist from Kristine Lilly.

"When you play with somebody so long, you know exactly what they want to do with the ball," Lilly said of her teammate of 11 years.

Hamm's 97 goals tie her with teammate Michelle Akers.

The United States had an 11-2 advantage in shots on goal and extended its domestic winning streak to 38 games before a crowd of 11,307 at Mitchel Field. It was the largest crowd at a Goodwill Games event.

"It was frustrating because we did create some great opportunities," Hamm said of the early chances. "China is so athletic, they just need a couple of inches to get by you."

U.S. goalie Briana Scurry made a one-handed save at the top of the crossbar in the 55th minute on a free kick by Sun Wen.

China had a chance to tie in the 78th minute, but Scurry came out of goal to cut off the angle, forcing Zhang Ouying's open shot wide right. Scurry, who had two saves, got her ninth shutout in her last 14 games.

Dmitry Sautin repeated his 3-meter and platform double from the 1998 World Championships, winning the platform diving. Sautin, of Russia, had 665.49 points and Tian Liang and Sun Shuwei, both of China, had 623.01 and 598.80, respectively.