Sydney Dwyer hit a one-out, walk-off homer in the bottom of the seventh inning to give the No. 14 Gophers softball team a 1-0 victory over No. 8 Oklahoma on Friday in the Sporto Kickoff Classic in Las Vegas.

Junior Sara Groenewegen threw a two-hitter and struck out 14 for the win over the four-time defending Big 12 champions. The Gophers had only four hits off Sooners ace Paige Parker, 28-game winner last season as a freshman.

Earlier, in their season opener, the Gophers beat Utah Valley 9-0 in five innings. Sophomore Kylie Stober pitched a one-hitter with six strikeouts while Maddie Houlihan, a freshman first baseman from Benilde-St. Margaret's, hit a two-run homer and Groenewegen a solo shot.

Loons sign MLS forward

Ben Speas, a forward the past four season with the Columbus Crew of Major League Soccer, signed with Minnesota United FC after joining the team last week. Terms were not disclosed, per league policy.

"It's an exciting time for soccer in the Twin Cities and I'm looking forward to being a part of it," said Speas who had two goals an four assists in 41 games with the Crew.

Etc.

• Three Lynx — Seimone Augustus, Maya Moore and Lindsay Whalen — are expected to be at USA Basketball's women's national team training camp Feb. 21-23 at the University of Connecticut. The camp likely will be the final time U.S. Olympic team candidates are together before the team is announced.

Sylvia Fowles, a fourth Lynx in the candidate pool, won't be at Storrs, Conn. Her Beijing team is in the Women's Chinese Basketball Association semifinals.

• The Gophers men's golf team split two matches in the Big Ten match play tournament in Palm Coast, Fla. The Gophers lost 3½-2½ to Purdue, getting wins from Jon Du Toit and Runar Arnorsson. Then the Gophers won 4-2 over Indiana. Du Toit and Arnorsson (1 up) won again and Minnesota also got 2-and-1 wins from Grady Meyer and Tom Vining.

• Gophers sophomore Glen Harold was third in the pole vault (16-1¼) in the Iowa State Classic in Ames. Freshman Sofie Albrechtsen won the women's high jump (5-9¼) and junior Kimberly Golding was third in the 60-meter hurdles (8.36).

• The No. 23 Gophers men's tennis team beat Wisconsin-Green Bay 4-3.