SOCCER

All-star midfielder Carles Gil signed a four-year contract extension with the New England Revolution, the team announced Thursday.

Gil, the 2021 Most Valuable Player in Major League Soccer, has been with New England since 2019 and has been one of the league’s top playmakers. He has 38 goals and an MLS-high 68 assists since joining the Revolution.

WOMEN’S GOLD CUP: Alyssa Naeher made three saves and converted a penalty herself in a shootout after a rain-soaked 2-2 draw with Canada on Wednesday night in San Diego, earning the United States a spot in the CONCACAF Women’s Gold Cup final.

The United States advanced 3-1 on penalties and will play Brazil in the title game on Sunday evening. Brazil defeated Mexico 3-0 in the earlier semifinal.

The game was a sloppy mess, with standing water on the field from heavy rain.

Jaedyn Shaw scored in the 20th minute. A Canada defender tried to send the ball back to goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan, but it stopped on the waterlogged field and Shaw ran up on it and scored.

Jordyn Huitema tied it up in the 82nd minute with a header that was beyond Naeher’s reach.

Sophia Smith of the U.S. broke the stalemate in overtime in the 99th minute. But with just seconds remaining in the second overtime, Naeher collided with Vanessa Gilles after a desperation long ball by Canada into the box, and the visitors were awarded a penalty, which Adriana Leon calmly converted to tie the match at 2.

EUROPA LEAGUE: Darwin Nunez scored twice to help Liverpool rout Sparta, 5-1, and take a big step closer to the Europa League quarterfinals.

Nunez’s right-footed shot from 25 yards flew past goalkeeper Peter Vindahl to double Liverpool’s early lead in Prague, after Alexis Mac Allister’s penalty in the first leg of the round of 16.

Liverpool will host the second leg next week at Anfield.

GOLF

PGA: Shane Lowry made three birdie putts from outside 20 feet and chipped in for eagle on his way to a 6-under 66, giving him a one-shot lead after the opening round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational in Orlando, Florida.

Hideki Matsuyama also chipped in for eagle and was tied for second with Justin Lower.

• Rookie Joe Highsmith shot a bogey-free, 7-under 65 to share the early first-round lead with veteran Scott Piercy at the weather-delayed Puerto Rico Open.

Play was stopped for nearly two hours in the afternoon because of heavy rain at Grand Reserve Golf Club, resulting in 54 players failing to finish before play was suspended due to darkness.

LPGA: Minjee Lee shot a 7-under 65 for a one-stroke lead after the first round of the Blue Bay LPGA on China’s southern island of Hainan.

Sarah Schmelzel, Miranda Wang and Ruixin Liu were tied for second.

EUROPEAN TOUR: South African Keenan Davidse and Spaniard Ivan Cantero shot 8-under 64s to share the first-round lead at the Jonsson Workwear Open in Edenvale, South Africa.

Three South Africans – Thriston Lawrence, Oliver Bekker and Louis de Jager – were tied for second after rounds of 7-under 65.

COLLEGES

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL: No. 9 UConn, which went undefeated in Big East play this season, swept the conference’s coach, player and freshman of the year awards.

Paige Bueckers, who averaged 22 points and 4.3 assists as the Huskies went 18-0 in the Big East, is the player of the year for the second time. She also won the award as a freshman in 2020-21.

Guard Ashlynn Shade, who stepped into a starting role while the Huskies dealt with season-ending injuries to five players, was chosen as freshman of the year, and Geno Auriemma was selected as coach of the year for a 12th time after leading the program to a 26-5 record.

n Nyla Harris had 14 points and nine rebounds, Olivia Cochran made key steals down the stretch and No. 24 Louisville beat Boston College, 58-55, in the second round of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Louisville (24-8), the No. 5 seed, advances to the quarterfinals Friday against 14th-ranked Notre Dame.

TENNIS

MIAMI OPEN: Simona Halep will return to tennis at the Miami Open this month after winning her appeal of a doping suspension and having the penalty reduced from four years to nine months.

Halep, a 32-year-old from Romania, tested positive for a banned drug at the 2022 U.S. Open and has not competed on tour since then. She argued to the Court of Arbitration for Sport that her exposure to the substance came via a contaminated supplement.

SKIING

WORLD CUP: Brazil has a top Winter Olympics medal prospect in Alpine skiing after last year’s World Cup slalom champion, Lucas Braathen, announced that he will start to compete for his mother’s home nation.

Braathen, whose father is Norwegian, split from Norway’s ski team on the eve of the 2023-24 season in a dispute over having freedom to work with his own sponsors.

At age 23, Braathen opted out of the entire season and skipped the defense of his World Cup slalom title.

He also finished fourth in the overall World Cup standings last year and earned a reputation as one of the most flamboyant and free-spirited personalities on the ski circuit.