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NEW YORK -- All the New York Mets have to do in order to produce their first winning streak in more than a month is get the best of a pitcher whose most extensive start came against high schoolers.The Mets will look for that elusive second straight win Sunday, when they host the San Diego Padres in the finale of a three-game series at Citi Field. New York snapped a four-game losing streak Saturday night with a 3-2, 11-inning win.Mets left-hander Steven Matz is scheduled to oppose Padres left-hander Clayton Richard, who took a decidedly unique path to his first major league start of the season, Richard made 25 relief appearances with the Chicago Cubs before being designated for assignment on July 26.In hopes of keeping sharp for his next club, Richard took the mound the very next day, when he threw 65 pitches against an All-Star team of 15- and 16-year-olds in his hometown of Lafayette, Ind. The Padres signed Richard, who pitched for the club from 2009 through 2013, on Aug. 5.He didnt tell me if he dominated them or not, so I didnt get the full game report, Padres manager Andy Green said with a grin. He didnt show me the video or the boxscore, so I just kind of assume he did well. If (Sunday) doesnt go well, well have to ask him for the box score.Richard allowed one run in 1 1/3 innings over two relief appearances before moving into the rotation for the Padres (50-66), who are trying to limit the innings of their starters during a stretch of 16 games in as many days. Only two current San Diego starters, Christian Friedrich and Luis Perdomo, have made 10 starts for the club this season and only one, right-hander Jarred Cosart, started a game in the majors last season.Where we are right now, its about their health moving forward, Green said. This 16-day stretch, late in the season where guys like Christian Friedrich (are) way past their innings limits from the previous year, it just makes sense.Richard will be limited to about 75 pitches in his first major league start since Aug. 2, 2015.The Mets are hoping to build on the momentum theyve generated over the last two days. New York nearly came back from a six-run deficit in an 8-6 loss on Friday night, when a trio of relievers combined to retire the Padres final 19 batters.On Saturday, right-hander Jacob deGrom carried a no-hitter into the fifth inning -- extending the Padres hitless streak to 10 2/3 innings -- and allowed just one run on three hits over seven innings on a hope Matz can follow in the footsteps of right-hander Jacob deGrom, who allowed one run on three hits over seven innings on a night when the first pitch temperature was 91 degrees.Hopefully this is the start of something and we just kind of relax and continue to get big hits and continue to pitch, Mets manager Terry Collins said, Jake was good and (Sunday) we need Matzie to step up.The defending National League champion Mets (58-58) have not won consecutive games since July 6-7. They are 11-20 since that winning streak but are still only 2 1/2 games behind the St. Louis Cardinals in the race for the NLs second wild card.Every win is big, especially now, deGrom said. Were trying to make it to the playoffs. We need to win as many as we can.Jerome Brown Eagles Jersey . After taking two big hits this week -- losing at home and dropping back-to-back games for the first time all season -- Indiana struck back by playing its most complete game of the year. Harold Carmichael Jersey . Just as Montreal was settling into the first full working week of a new year, the Impact announced the appointment of their new head coach. http://www.theeaglesshoponline.com/Youth-Randall-Cunningham-Eagles-Jersey/ . Miller finished in two minutes, 6.09 seconds, one day before the first medal race on the Alpine schedule. The 36-year-old American also turned in the top time in Thursdays opening training session. Andre Dillard Youth Jersey .B. -- The Baie-Comeau Drakkar took over sole possession of first place atop the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League on Thursday with their sixth straight win. Miles Sanders Jersey . Pert has formerly spent time as an assistant coach with Cardiff City, Coventry City, and Bahrain mens national team. "Martyn is a highly-respected coach with experience at the top levels in England," said Whitecaps FC head coach Carl Robinson.If you didnt catch field hockey fever during the United States inspired run at the Rio Olympics, nows your chance. The NCAA field hockey season opens Friday, and here are three reasons you should watch.1. A feel-good story on the No. 1 teamIts no surprise that North Carolina holds the top spot in the National Field Hockey Coaches Association preseason poll. The Tar Heels return six seniors and nine starters, eight from last season. The one who didnt start in 2015 is Emma Bozek.The redshirt senior was the Tar Heels points leader and top scorer in 2014, but she didnt play a minute last season. It wasnt knee surgery or a bum ankle that kept the native of Cortlandt Manor, New York, sidelined.It was a lung.A trip to the emergency room the summer after Bozeks junior year -- she was struggling to breathe -- revealed a congenital abnormality called a sequestered lung. To her surprise, a portion of her lung had been blocked off since birth and was without function, making it susceptible to infection. An abscess had formed, and she needed surgery.Despite having half of her lung removed, Bozek still planned to be ready for 2015. But a collapsed lung -- the same lung -- later that summer delayed her recovery, leading to the redshirt season.While Bozek took on the role of assistant coach last season, she longed to play again. Now healthy, the preseason All-ACC midfielder will be integral to a North Carolina team that returns talent all over the field, from 2015 leading scorer Gab Major to defender Julia Young, a second-team All-American.I like this group, North Carolina coach Karen Shelton said. Wed like to have a little bit more depth, but everybody from last year has improved, and we have a couple of freshmen who I think will help us as well.The Tar Heels open the season Saturday against No. 10 Michigan in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge hosted by Wake Forest in Winston-Salem, N.C.2. A big-time little sisterThe ACC is home to many of the best players and teams. In the past 17 years, at least one team from the conference has advanced to the national championship game.North Carolina, Syracuse, Duke and Wake Forest are the traditional powers, but this season look for Virginia to be a contender for its first final four appearance since 2010. The Cavaliers have never won the national title.New blood is always exciting in any sport -- Syracuse won its first NCAA title a year ago -- and fueling the expectations for this Virginia team is the return of all but one starter. Leading the way is the games marquee player, Tara Vittese.The reigning Longstreth/National Field Hockey Coaches Association player of the year, the first Cavalier to earn that distinction, Vittese is on the brink oof setting program marks in career points, goals and assists.ddddddddddddHer offseason included scoring three goals for the U.S. U21 team that took silver in the Junior Pan American Championship in Trinidad and Tobago.The 5-foot-10 junior midfielder from Cherry Hill, New Jersey, is explosive and fast and an elusive scorer, which is not surprising considering her championship lineage. Big sis Michelle Vittese, who graduated in 2014, is a two-time Olympian and was integral to the national teams run to the quarterfinals in Rio. Carissa Vittese, a defender, also played for coach Michele Madison, graduating in 2013.Tara is really a combination of both of her sisters, Madison said. She has Michelles quickness and Carissas smoothness.It should be fun to see if Virginia can make waves in the ACC this season. Nipped by Duke 2-1 in the NCAA quarterfinals in 2015, the Cavaliers earned two first-place votes in the preseason poll. The Cavs are ranked fifth.Our main goal is to win it all, Tara said. We all have our own individual goals, but ultimately were all out there for the same reason.3. The buzz is realThe U.S. field hockey team didnt win a medal in Rio, but the buzz of its success generated momentum for the NCAA season. Coaches are looking to build on it.Team USA knocked off two of the worlds top teams in Argentina and Australia and was one of the feel-good stories of the Olympics.The national team has inspired a lot of us, Shelton said, adding that national team coaches held clinics to show college coaches how much improvement can be achieved in a four-year window. All of us were inspired by the work they did in a short period of time. To see what they were able to do during that time gives us optimism and some belief that we can do much more than weve been doing.Among the takeaways: better fitness. The national staff, she said, took conditioning to a new level that she anticipates many college coaches will emulate.UConn coach Nancy Stevens even studied key plays from the competition. The Germany-Netherlands shootout was epic; thats going to be such a good teaching tool for goalkeepers. Its been a wonderful coincidence that all of it coincided with the preseason, she said.Syracuse coach Ange Bradley said she is hopeful the college game will receive more exposure on TV given the positive impression Team USA left.That team and staff were great in what theyve done and how they got visibility for us, she said. I hope it can be a focus of U.S. field hockey to be able to grab off the momentum and be leaders in that area for us and our sport. ' ' '