Dorina Sirois scored the only goal off a penalty corner 6:30 into the second half as the University of Southern Maine edged St. Joseph’s College 1-0 during a nonconference field hockey game in Standish.

USM improves to 6-13. St. Joseph’s is 12-5.

Sirois received a pass from Kaitlin Hilton and slammed it past keeper Megan Baker, whose right leg narrowly missed the ball as it crossed the line.

McKenzie Cormier made 14 saves for the Huskies.

• The University of Virginia introducted Carla Williams as its athletic director.

Williams, an athletics administrator at Georgia for the past 13 years and the deputy director of athletics since 2015, will become the first female African-American athletic director at a Power Five school. She’ll replace Craig Littlepage, who is retiring after 16 years.

• Michigan sophomore cornerback Lavert Hill has issued a public apology for an “inappropriate gesture” he made toward the Penn State crowd Saturday night.

At the end of Michigan’s 42-13 loss to second-ranked Penn State at Beaver Stadium, Hill was seen issuing a pair of middle finger hand gestures toward the crowd.

SOCCER

FIFA: Cristiano Ronaldo has caught up with Lionel Messi to become a five-time winner of FIFA’s best player award.

The Real Madrid forward was crowned player of the year at the FIFA Best ceremony at the London Palladium theater attended by runner-up Messi and third-placed Neymar.

A second successive honor for Ronaldo was expected after a season in which the Portuguese eclipsed his award counterparts in the trophy stakes.

OLYMPICS

TRACK AND FIELD: The Russian track and field federation says it could be reinstated soon after nearly two years of international suspension.

The federation was banned from all international competition in November 2015 amid investigations into widespread doping, though some Russians have since been allowed to compete as neutral athletes.

Ahead of a meeting next week with the IAAF’s taskforce monitoring Russian reforms, federation president Dmitry Shlyakhtin says in a statement that he and his staff “understand each step’s significance, we’re working, doing everything possible. And when the collective works at maximum effort, I am sure that victory is not far off.”

• The World Anti-Doping Agency is looking into allegations made by a German broadcaster that Chinese athletes benefited from systematic doping in the 1980s and 90s.

“The allegations were brought forward by former Chinese physician, Xue Yinxian, who is said to have looked after several national teams in China during the decades in question,” WADA said.

Xue, who recently arrived in Germany and is seeking political asylum with her son, told broadcaster ARD that more than 10,000 athletes were affected, some as young as 11, and that anyone who was against doping was considered “a danger to the country. And anyone who endangered the country is now in prison.”

TENNIS

WTA FINALS: Playing her first match as the top-ranked player, Simona Halep beat Caroline Garcia 6-4, 6-2 in Singapore.

Also, Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark beating Elina Svitolina of Ukraine 6-2, 6-0.

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