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Paulinho’s hat trick leads Toluca to a 4-2 first-leg win over LA Galaxy

By The Associated Press

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Portuguese striker Joao Paulo Fernandes Paulinho scored a hat-trick on Thursday and Mexican reigning champion Toluca had a 4-2 victory over MLS side LA Galaxy in the first leg of their CONCACAF Champions Cup quarterfinal series.

Nicolas Castro open the scoring in the 12th minute and Paulinho added goals in the 43rd and sealed the win in the 73rd and 85th minutes for the Diablos Rojos.

The 33-year-old Paulinho, who played for Sporting Clube before joining Toluca in the summer of 2024, has won three scoring titles in Mexico and recently was called up by Portugal for friendly matches against Mexico and the United States ahead of the World Cup.

Gabriel Pec in the 66th minute and former Borussia Dortmund forward Marco Reus in the 77th scored for the Galaxy which has not won in Mexico in this tournament since 2008.

The teams will play again next Wednesday in California.

Tigres beat Sounders 2-0

Midfielder Ozziel Herrera scored a first-half goal and the UANL Tigres defeated the Seattle Sounders 2-0 in the first leg of their CONCACAF Champions Cup quarterfinal.

Herrera put the home side ahead in the 51st minute before center back Jackson Ragen scored an own goal in the 76th minute.

The second leg will be played next Wednesday in Seattle. The winner will face either Nashville or Club America in one of the semifinals.

Tigres could have taken the lead toward the end of the first half, but former Atletico Madrid player Angel Correa missed a penalty, sending it over the crossbar.

___

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

NYPD says dozens rescued from human trafficking during World Cup

By WTOP Staff
▶ Watch Video: Inside look at security preparations for World Cup Forty-three people, including seven minors, were rescued from human traffickers during the World Cup matches in the New York City area, according to the New York City Police Department's Special Victims Unit.The rescue operations were carried out between June 11 and July 19 by specialized NYPD detectives who arrested 89 individuals."The surprise was really the outpouring of support behind the mission and the collaboration with all our partners," said Inspector Gary Marcus, commanding officer of the Special Victims Unit.Those rescued, largely the victims of sex trafficking, are now being supported with an array of social services for the victims, including food, housing and counseling.The 87 operations carried out during the World Cup have generated new leads, officials said, and law enforcement agencies are building more cases based on the investigations already underway."We have ongoing investigations now as a result of these operations," an NYPD official told CBS News.Major sporting events are known to law enforcement as hotbeds of human trafficking.Years in advance, the NYPD devoted significant resources to preparing for the World Cup. Eight matches were played at New Jersey's MetLife Stadium, including the final on Sunday."When we talk about the outreach and the prep we do, a large part of that involved visiting the known sex offenders, particularly the known human traffickers, in our registry," Marcus said. "Whether they're on parole or probation for human trafficking, we visited them to make sure they're compliant with the terms of their release, and secondly, to let them know that the NYPD is watching."The matches were held in multiple cities around the U.S., Mexico and Canada. Preparations to secure those games and prepare for crimes like human trafficking were coordinated between local, state and federal law enforcement agencies.Police departments in many locations that hosted World Cup matches have made arrests and rescues connected to human trafficking, including in Georgia, New England and Missouri. Nationally, there were more than 673 arrests on human-trafficking charges made during the World Cup, and 61 adults and 13 minors rescued, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
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