Messi goal makes up for bitter cold as Inter Miami win in Champions Cup

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Lionel Messi did what Lionel Messi does.

The eight-time Ballon d'Or winner scored from the right side of the box in the 56th minute to lift Inter Miami past Sporting Kansas City 1-0 on a bitterly cold Wednesday night in the first leg of the CONCACAF Champions Cup’s first round.

“There’s one guy that can turn the game over, and he did,” Sporting KC manager Peter Vermes said.

Miami head coach Javier Mascherano simply described Messi’s effort as “fantastic.”

Both teams struggled to find consistency on the hard, slick field for much of the night in front of 15,178 bundled-up fans at Children’s Mercy Park, where the game-time temperature was 3 degrees F (minus 16 C) with a wind speed of 9 mph, resulting in a wind chill of minus 11 F (minus 24 C).

“(I’m) very proud because I think it’s impossible to play in these conditions,” Mascherano said. “Is not human, you know. So I’m very proud, because they gave me 100%.”

On his goal, Messi collected a pass from Sergio Busquets, let it fall to his feet, eluded the nearest defender and then fired it past Sporting KC keeper John Pulskamp.

“Maybe for the people that know him it’s normal because he did goals like this 1,000 times,” Mascherano said. “But we are very lucky to have him here.”

Vermes was proud of Sporting KC’s effort to slow the Miami attack.

“Outside of that (goal), I thought we were really good,” he said. “We had some really good opportunities. I can’t say enough about our first performance, especially with such a young group of guys being on the field, really good.”

Vermes went as far as saying that Messi does things few other players ever have been able to do.

“It’s not just us, it’s everybody,” he said. “I mean, it’s the whole world. Nobody ever plays well against him. He can change the game himself. And there’s really not many players that you can say that about in the world’s game and over generations, there’s just not a lot of them. Two of them happen to come from Argentina, him and (Diego) Maradona.

Sporting KC stayed on the front foot the rest of the game in an attempt to tie the match, but Oscar Ustari stopped both of the team’s second-half shots on goal. The best chance came when Dániel Sallói got open behind the Miami defense, but his shot attempt was right at Ustari.

Erik Thommy’s attempt to tie it in the 78th minute hit off the left post, but it wouldn’t have counted as Sallói was ruled offside.

Inter Miami nearly took an early lead, but Luis Suarez’s shot from just inside the box went wide. Inter Miami had another opportunity in the 33rd minute, but Tadeo Allende’s shot, coming off a lob from Messi, was wide.

Sporting KC missed a chance to grab the lead off a corner kick in the 36th minute, but Dany Rosero’s header was left of the target.

Miami held a slight edge in the first-half stats, taking seven shots compared to Sporting KC’s three. Miami had a 60% advantage in possession.

The clubs play the second leg Tuesday in Miami.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Sporting Kansas City midfielder Jake Davis heads the ball during a failed scoring attempt against Inter Miami during the second half of a CONCACAF Champions Cup soccer match, Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025, in Kansas City, Kan. (AP Photo/Colin E. Braley

Inter Miami midfielder Benjamin Cremaschi (30) attempts to control a pass as Sporting Kansas City midfielder Jacob Bartlett (16) defends during the second half of a CONCACAF Champions Cup soccer match, Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025, in Kansas City, Kan. (AP Photo/Colin E. Braley)

Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi looks down the pitch as he plays in subzero temperatures during the first half of a CONCACAF Champions Cup soccer match against Sporting Kansas City, Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025, in Kansas City, Kan. (AP Photo/Colin E. Braley)

Fans brave frigid temperatures as they watch Inter Miami play Sporting Kansas City during a CONCACAF Champions Cup soccer match, Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025, in Kansas City, Kan. (AP Photo/Colin E. Braley)

Sporting Kansas City defender Robert Voloder, right, clears the ball over Inter Miami defender Marcelo Weigandt during the first half of a CONCACAF Champions Cup soccer match, Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025, in Kansas City, Kan. (AP Photo/Colin E. Braley)

Inter Miami forward Luis Suárez (9) controls a pass as Sporting Kansas City defender Joaquín defends during the second half of a CONCACAF Champions Cup soccer match, Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025, in Kansas City, Kan. (AP Photo/Colin E. Braley)

Inter Miami forward Leonardo Campana, left, and Sporting Kansas City defender Joaquín, right, go up for the ball during the second half of a CONCACAF Champions Cup soccer match, Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025, in Kansas City, Kan. (AP Photo/Colin E. Braley)

Sporting Kansas City midfielder Memo Rodríguez, left, and Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi compete for the ball during the first half of a CONCACAF Champions Cup soccer match, Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025, in Kansas City, Kan. (AP Photo/Colin E. Braley)

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A judge has ruled an 18-year-old man charged with murder in the killing of a paddleboarder in Maine is competent to stand trial.

The death of Sunshine “Sunny” Stewart, 48, of St. George, last year shocked the community around Crawford Pond in rural Union, Maine. Authorities charged Deven Young of Frankfort, Maine, with murder in Stewart's death in July, about two weeks after Stewart's body was discovered.

The court system has thus far treated Young as a juvenile. Prosecutors in the state want to charge Young, who was 17 at the time of Stewart's death and is 18 now, as an adult. First, he needed to be deemed competent to stand trial, and a judge ruled this week that he is.

"The court finds that the defendant is competent to proceed based on the court’s finding that the juvenile has a rational, as well as a factual, understanding of the proceedings and a sufficient present ability to consult with legal counsel with a reasonable degree of rational understanding," wrote Maine District Court Judge Eric J. Walker on Wednesday.

Young is due back in court on May 7. Police have said a medical examiner determined Stewart's cause of death was strangulation and blunt force trauma.

Jeremy Pratt, an attorney for Young, declined to comment on Thursday. Prosecutors in the case also declined to comment Thursday.

Authorities have not publicly stated a possible motive in the case. Court documents about the case, which were briefly made public before being removed from the state's courts website, contained little detail other than stating that Young “did intentionally or knowingly cause the death of another human being, namely Sunshine Stewart.”

Audio recordings by the Waldo County Sheriff's Office that were obtained by news agencies earlier this year provided details about Young's history of violent behavior and mental health challenges prior to Stewart's death. The Portland Press Herald reported that Young had been waiting for behavioral health services from the state.

Stewart went missing at Crawford Pond, where she was paddleboarding, on July 2 and her body was found the next day. The pond is a popular summertime attraction for swimming, boating and fishing. Stewart lived about 21 miles (34 kilometers) from the pond in the Tenants Harbor neighborhood in St. George.

Stewart's friends and family celebrated her life with a maritime service last August. The memorial included a procession of boats, some decked out with flowers, in Tenants Harbor.

On the boats were pictures of Stewart smiling and a large sign that read, “Shine On.” Over the years, Stewart worked as a fisherman, boat captain, biologist, carpenter and bartender, friends have said.

FILE - Acquaintances of Sunshine Stewart sit on the bow of a lobster boat during a memorial service for the slain paddleboarder, Sunday, Aug. 10, 2025, off the coast of St. George, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File)