U.S. kickers face Brazil for gold

IRAKLION, Greece — Minutes after missing a wide open net, Heather O'Reilly scored in the ninth minute of overtime to give the United States a 2-1 victory over World Cup champion Germany and a place in Thursday's gold-medal game.

The Americans will face Brazil for the gold. Brazil defeated Sweden 1-0 in Patras in the other semifinal on a goal from Pretinha in the 64th minute. Germany will play Sweden for the bronze.

Mia Hamm set up the goal with a short cross from the right, pushing back the pass toward a cluster of three players about 6 yards from the net. O'Reilly, the only teenager on the team of U.S. veterans, got her foot on the ball, pushing a shot to the left of goalkeeper Silke Rottenberg.

The win gives the Fab Five — long-standing U.S. stars Hamm, Julie Foudy, Joy Fawcett, Brandi Chastain and Kristine Lilly — a chance to go out as champions in their final tournament together.

BEACH VOLLEYBALL

Misty May and Kerri Walsh beat fellow Americans and friendly rivals Holly McPeak and Elaine Youngs 21-18, 21-15 in the semifinals.

The No. 1 Americans will play for the gold Tuesday against second-seeded Brazilians Shelda Bede and Adriana Behar, who defeated Australians Natalie Cook and Nicole Sanderson 21-17, 21-16.

In men's action, Spaniards Javier Bosma and Pablo Herrera ousted Australians Julien Prosser and Mark Williams 21-18, 21-18. Spain will face top-ranked Brazilians Emanuel Rego and Ricardo Santos, who outlasted fifth-seeded Swiss pair Patrick Heuscher and Stefan Kobel 21-14, 19-21, 15-12 in the other semifinal.

DIVING

Alexandre Despatie led the Olympic 3-meter springboard preliminaries, keeping the powerful Chinese out of their customary top spot. Despatie, the first Canadian to win a world title on the 10-meter platform last year, was first with 517.59 points. Peng Bo of China was second with 495.45. Russia's Alexander Dobroskok was third with 489.75; Japan's Ken Terauchi was fourth with 456.15.

EQUESTRIAN

Debbie McDonald of Hailey, Idaho, moved into contention for an individual dressage medal with an energetic, fault-free round on Brentina that scored 74.840 percent. She moved to fourth overall, with a two-day average of 74.067 percent. The United States hasn't won a medal in individual dressage since 1932.

SAILING