South Bay native Diego Luna scored twice in the first 15 minutes, and the United States hung on to beat Guatemala 2-1 in St. Louis on Wednesday night to reach its first CONCACAF Gold Cup final since 2021.

Luna put the U.S. ahead with a left-footed shot in the fourth minute, then scored with his right in the 15th for his third goal in two games.

Olger Escobar, an 18-year who was born in Lynn, Massachusetts, cut inside and slid a shot from inside the area between Matt Freese and the far post in the 80th for his second goal of the tournament. Freese parried José Morales’ shot toward the far post in the second minute of stoppage time.

The U.S. plays defending champion Mexico or Honduras for the title Sunday at Houston, the Americans’ last competitive match before their World Cup opener next June. Mexico and Honduras played late Wednesday night in Santa Clara. El Tri has won nine Gold Cups, the U.S. seven and Canada one.

The 16th-ranked Americans advanced to the Gold Cup final for the 13th time. All five losses in finals have been to Mexico.

The No. 106 Guatemala, which has never reached the final, outshot the U.S. 13-1 in the last 30 minutes of the first half.

Luna, who was born in Sunnyvale, got his first goal after Alex Freeman crossed for Malik Tillman. He touched the ball to Luca de la Torre, whose shot was spilled by goalkeeper Kenderson Navarro. Luna reacted quickly and switched the ball from his right foot to his left, then shot over Navarro’s outstretched right hand.

Eleven minutes later, Luna received cross-field pass from Tillman about 40 yards out, dribbled in, got by defender José Carlos Pinto with a stepover and put the ball inside the near post from the edge of the penalty area.

Claire Hutton scored for the first time in her international career, and Sam Coffey and Yazmeen Ryan also contributed goals to lead the United States to a 3-0 win over Canada in Washington, D.C.

The Americans have won five straight friendlies by a combined score of 18-0 since their 2-1 loss to Brazil in early April. The 19-year-old Hutton was making her sixth appearance for the national team, and her goal in the 36th minute gave the U.S. a 2-0 lead.

It was the third game in seven days for the U.S., which beat Ireland 4-0 in each of the other two. Coach Emma Hayes’ starting lineup against Canada included 10 changes from the second game against Ireland.

The U.S. plays friendlies against South Korea on Sept. 6 in Harrison, New Jersey, and against Japan on Sept. 9 in Columbus, Ohio.

The National Women’s Soccer League expansion team Boston Legacy has signed its first player, former Santa Clara star midfielder Annie Karich.

Karich, who is from Surfside, California, joins Boston from Germany’s SC Freiburg, where she’s played for the past two seasons. She is signed through 2027.

The Legacy joins the league next season along with an expansion club in Denver, bringing the league to 16 teams.

Karich played two years at Santa Clara before turning professional and was the West Coast Conference Defensive Player of the Year in 2023. She has also represented the U.S. national team at the youth levels.

NHL

Nikolaj Ehlers remains unsigned after two days of NHL free agency, as the top player available weighed his options and suitors awaited his decision that could be one of the final big moves of the offseason.

Carolina, Tampa Bay and Washington were considered among the teams pursuing the 29-year-old from Denmark who played his first nine seasons with Winnipeg.

Ehlers and his camp watched as fellow winger Brock Boeser re-signed in Vancouver for just over $50 million and older forward Mikael Granlund, formerly of the Sharks, got $7 million annually from Anaheim.

Alex Delvecchio, a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame who helped Detroit win the Stanley Cup three times in the 1950s, has died. He was 93.

NFL

Buffalo Bills first-round draft pick, cornerback Maxwell Hairston, was accused in a lawsuit of sexually assaulting a woman in 2021 at the University of Kentucky.

The lawsuit was filed in federal court in Kentucky by a woman who claims Hairston entered her dorm room without being invited.