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Sonis scores 2 goals as Denver beats Orlando for NWSL expansion team’s first home win

By The Associated Press

Janine Sonis scored two goals for the second straight game, and the expansion Denver Summit beat the Orlando Pride 3-1 on Saturday for the first home victory in franchise history.

In the other National Women’s Soccer League matchup on Saturday, the North Carolina Courage beat Chicago 4-0, handing the Stars their fourth straight shutout loss.

In front of a sellout crowd of 16,974 at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colorado, Sonis converted a penalty kick to make it 2-0 after Oihane Hernandez fouled Yazmeen Ryan in the box in the 51st minute.

Orlando’s Barbra Banda scored her league-best ninth goal of the season, getting the Pride within 2-1 in the 76th minute. Sonis responded one minute later with her second of the game and fourth this season.

Eva Gaetino scored in the 10th minute for Denver (3-3-3).

Orlando (3-5-2) was down a player for the last 27 minutes after Angelina Alonso Constantino was shown a red card.

Swanson returns as Courage blank Stars

In Cary, North Carolina, Ashley Sanchez and Evelyn Ijeh each had a goal and an assist in North Carolina’s 4-0 win over Chicago.

Mallory Swanson entered for the Stars as a substitute in the 76th minute, making her NWSL return after she missed last season while on maternity leave. The U.S. national team stalwart last played for Chicago 559 days earlier.

Another national team veteran, Stars goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher, exited in the 16th minute with an unspecified injury and was replaced by Halle Mackiewicz.

Ijeh headed in her first goal of the season in the 47th minute off a cross from Sanchez. Ijeh returned the favor in the 61st, assisting on Sanchez’s sixth goal.

Ally Schlegel, who started her NWSL career in Chicago and signed with North Carolina as a free agent this past offseason, scored in the 65th minute for the Courage. Manaka Matsukubo made it 4-0 in the 86th.

North Carolina (3-3-3) ended a three-game winless streak. Chicago (2-8-0) is last in the NWSL standings and has not scored since a 2-0 win over Boston on April 25.

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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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