Aries Nelson threw a 20-yard pass to Kevin Marion with 56 seconds remaining to lift the host Harrisburg Stampede to a 52-48 victory Friday night, earning a spot in the American Indoor Football Association Eastern Conference final against the Mariners. The Stampede will travel to 1st Mariner Arena on Saturday for a 7 p.m. kickoff. Harrisburg (12-3) rallied from a 24-7 first-quarter deficit to earn its fourth victory this season over the Erie Storm (8-7). The Mariners will be well-rested after a bye week. "We came out of the Reading game [a 69-35 victory June 26] in pretty good shape," coach Chris Simpson said. "This is what we have worked hard for all season. This team never quits even when it has been a struggle. We simply need to finish what we've started."
Led by Langhorne, Mystics cruise past Shock, 69-54
Crystal Langhorne (Maryland) had 15 points and nine rebounds to help the Washington Mystics send the host Tulsa Shock (3-13) to their 10th consecutive WNBA loss, 69-54, Saturday night. Monique Currie led Washington (11-5) with 17 points, and Lindsey Harding scored 14 points.
More WNBA: Angel McCoughtry (St. Frances) scored a team-best 20 points in a losing effort as the host Atlanta Dream lost, 88-82, to the Chicago Sky (8-9). The Dream (13-5) had won four straight. … Kristi Toliver (Maryland) scored a team-high 18 points for Los Angeles, but the Sparks (4-12) fell, 75-62, to the visiting Seattle Storm (15-2).
Swimming: Katie Hoff of Towson will be among 12 U.S. Olympians competing at the Los Angeles Grand Prix from Thursday through next Sunday. The meet on the Southern California campus is the final stop of the USA Swimming Grand Prix Series and the last major U.S. meet before the ConocoPhillips USA Swimming national championships Aug. 3-7 in Irvine, Calif.
Rowing: The Potomac Boat Club of Washington is out of the Thames Cup for club eights at the Henley (England) Royal Regatta, losing by 11/4 lengths to New Zealand's West End club in the semifinals on the River Thames.
Golf: Josh Eure of Crofton, seeded 41st, lost, 7-5, in 19 holes to two-time defending champion David Chung of Fayetteville, N.C., in Friday's quarterfinals of the North & South Men's Amateur Championship in Pinehurst, N.C.
Major League Soccer: D.C. United will induct former defender Eddie Pope into its Hall of Tradition on July 18 at halftime of its 7:30 p.m. game with the Los Angeles Galaxy. Pope, the MLS Defender of the Year in 1997 and a six-time All-Star while with United, was selected in a fan vote. … D.C. United has signed Argentine forward Pablo Hernandez, a 23-year-old on loan from Club Defensor Sporting of the Uruguayan first division. … D.C. United's Youth Academy won the Under-16 boys event in Greensboro, N.C., last weekend with a 2-0-1 record and advanced to the U.S. Soccer Development Academy national finals, which are set to begin Thursday in Los Angeles.
—From Sun staff and news services