MANCHESTER, England – Abby Wambach became the first non-British woman to score a goal at Old Trafford. She and her teammates celebrated by coercing Hope Solo to get on the ground and do “the worm.”

There were other such moments Tuesday unfamiliar to the venerable home of Manchester United, when chants of “U-S-A!” echoed for the Americans’ 1-0 victory against North Korea in front of 29,522 fans, easily the largest crowd ever to occupy the familiar red seats for a women’s game.

The victory gave the U.S. first place in its group with three wins in three games, the first time the Americans have swept their group opponents in Olympic play. They will move on to Newcastle for a quarterfinal Friday against New Zealand.

The other quarterfinals Friday will have Brazil against world champion Japan, France against Sweden and Britain against Canada.

 

MEN’S BASKETBALL: The U.S. needed a while but eventually put on a show, beating Tunisia, 110-63.

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Finally pulling away when Coach Mike Krzyzewski started the reserves to open the second half, the Americans had six players in double figures and improved to 2-0.

Krzyzewski insisted he planned to start the second unit even before a lackluster first half, and said there was nothing bad about the performance.

“It’s not going to a perfect thing, you know?” he said. “But overall tonight was good. I mean, come on, it was 110-63.”

 

BEACH VOLLEYBALL: Defending champions Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser improved to 2-0 in the preliminary round, beating Spain in three sets.

The victory against the only other unbeaten team in their pool virtually assures the Americans of a knockout round trip.

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The U.S. women’s team of April Ross and Jennifer Kessy needed three sets to beat the Netherlands, 21-15, 21-12, 15-8.

 

TENNIS: Andy Roddick lost 6-2, 6-1 to Novak Djokovic in 54 minutes, leaving the 29-year-old American to fend off more questions about retirement.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Andy Murray, Marcos Baghdatis and Kei Nishikori also won on the men’s side. Maria Sharapova and Venus Williams were among the women’ winners.

 

WOMEN’S JUDO: A Saudi Arabian was cleared to wear a form of headscarf after a compromise was reached that respects the “cultural sensitivity” of the Muslim kingdom.

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EQUESTRIAN: Zara Phillips gave the royal family plenty to cheer about, helping Britain to a second-place equestrian finish behind Germany. Princes William and Harry and William’s wife, Kate, were in the stands to watch their cousin as she competed in the show jumping final portion of Olympic eventing.

Phillips’ mother, Princess Anne, presented her daughter and other winners with medals.

 

MEN’S VOLLEYBALL: Clay Stanley scored 16 points and the U.S. improved to 2-0 in preliminary pool play with a three-set victory over Germany.

 

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WATER POLO: Ryan Bailey and Peter Varellas scored three goals apiece and the United States recovered from a slow start to beat Romania, 10-8.

The U.S., which took silver four years ago in Beijing, and gold medal-favorite Serbia are tied for the Group B lead with four points apiece after two matches.

 

FIELD HOCKEY: Shannon Taylor scored late in the first half and the U.S. upset Argentina, 1-0.

The Americans controlled long stretches of play against the No. 2-ranked team in the world.

 

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SHOOTING: Vincent Hancock is a two-time champion in men’s skeet shooting after he successfully defended his title.

 

BOXING: Carlos Suarez, who is from Lima, Ohio, but is fighting for his mother’s homeland of Trinidad and Tobago, dropped a 16-6 decision to Ferhat Pehlivan of Turkey.

 


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