Sports in Brief: U.S. women top Costa Rica, 3-0

Goals from Lauren Cheney in the 17th minute and Abby Wambach in the 33d and 50th kept the United States alive in qualifying for next year's Women's World Cup with a 3-0 victory over Costa Rica on Monday night in Cancun, Mexico.

Next up is a home-and-home, total-goals playoff against Italy - in Padova on Nov. 20, and in Bridgeview, Ill., on Nov. 27.

Union striker Alejandro Moreno has reported to the Venezuelan national team for the Nov. 17 friendly against Ecuador.

FIFA says it is giving $100,000 to Kodjovi Obilale, the Togo goalkeeper shot when Angolan separatists attacked the team bus in the country's Cabinda region during at the Africa Cup of Nations in January.

BASEBALL: The Athletics won the bidding for negotiating rights to Japanese pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma, after Oakland's bid was accepted by the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles of Japan's Pacific League.

The A's have 30 days to reach a contract agreement with the 29-year-old righthander (10-9, 2.82 ERA) who struck out 153 and walked 36 in 201 innings last year.

Shortstop Jhonny Peralta and the Detroit Tigers agreed on an $11.25 million, two-year contract with a club option for 2013.

FENCING: Estonia's Nikolai Novosjolov beat Gauthier Grumier of France to win the individual épée title at the world championships in Paris. Maureen Nisima of France won her first individual world title, topping Emese Szasz of Hungary.

AUTO RACING: Four-time defending NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson had a major shake-up to his team when Hendrick Motorsports gave him teammate Jeff Gordon's pit crew for the final two races of the season.

OLYMPICS: Saturday's attack by heavily armed gunmen on Formula One champion Jenson Button as he was leaving the Interlagos track in Sao Paulo has raised alarm bells about security in Brazil for the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics.

WEIGHTLIFTING: Iranian weightlifter Saeid Ali-Hosseini was banned for life for failing a second doping test for steroids in 2009.

The 22-year-old heavyweight accused his country's weightlifting federation of fabricating the case. "This was a plot and I wish the traitors pay for it," he told the Shargh newspaper.

COLLEGES: For the first time in school history, Penn's football team has three simultaneous Ivy League players of the week: Billy Ragone on offense, Matt Hamscher on defense and Aaron Bailey as top rookie.

LACROSSE: The Wings signed forward Bill McGlone (19 goals, 16 assists) to a two-year extension.

- Staff and wire reports