Leinster head coach Leo Cullen said "devastation is probably the word" after his side lost the Champions Cup final to La Rochelle for the second year in a row.

The result means Leinster have lost three finals since their last triumph in 2018.

"Devastation is probably the word," Cullen told BT Sport.

"The occasion, the amazing atmosphere in the crowd, both sets of supporters and two sets of players going full at it - everything you want in a final which goes down to one point.

"Unfortunately we're the losers."

Leinster raced into a 17-0 lead inside the opening quarter of an hour thanks to two Dan Sheehan tries and a Jimmy O'Brien score.

However, the Irish province let the holders back into it before half-time and succumbed to La Rochelle pressure in the closing stages as another European Cup slipped away.

"We started the game really well. We could have been further in front," added Cullen.

"I thought we gave up a couple of soft-ish tries. In the second-half, although we had the lead we struggled to get out of that end of the field.

"La Rochelle got over in the end and you've got give them a huge amount of credit. Bitterly disappointing."

'You know how much it means to everybody'

Cullen, the former Leinster and Ireland lock, lamented the lack of composure by his side during crucial phases.

Cullen added: "It was two really good teams going at it and it was always going to go down to little moments.

"We were so close and at the end we just lacked a little bit of composure. It's an agonising defeat. All the players were here in front of their friends and family, so it's a hard one.

"It's painful when you reach this point and you know it means so much to everybody. We just haven't quite been good enough to finish the job."

The result prolongs Leinster's wait for a record-equalling fifth title and caps a disappointing finish to the campaign following last week's United Rugby Championship semi-final loss to Munster.

Prop Tadhg Furlong did not try to hide the fact the latest heartache at the hands of La Rochelle will be difficult to get over.

"It hurts, it really hurts. I am so disappointed for the fans," Furlong told BT Sport.

"We are gutted, we put a lot into it. I thought we started very well but we lost our way a bit at the end of the first half and then in the second half.

"It is third final in a row we have lost, it is not great."

La Rochelle, who are coached by former Munster fly-half Ronan O'Gara, completed the biggest comeback in Champions Cup final history when Georges-Henri Colombe crossed late in the game to give them the lead for the first time in the game.

Leinster drove forward in numbers as the clock ticked towards 80 minutes, but Michael Ala'alatoa's red card in the last few seconds killed their hopes of a last-gasp victory.

And Furlong, who won the competition with Leinster in 2018, rued the fact they failed to match La Rochelle's energy and composure at the end of the game.

"We had a few starting plays that worked a treat," said the Ireland Grand Slam winner.

"But they hung in there, really put the squeeze on in the second half and we didn't quite match it."

RALEIGH, N.C. -- The Carolina Hurricanes started goalie Antti Raanta in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals on Saturday after Frederik Andersen played four overtimes in Game 1 against the Florida Panthers.

Raanta stopped 24 of 26 shots, but the Panthers won 2-1 to take a 2-0 series lead.

Raanta, 34, last appeared in the Hurricanes' Game 5 loss against the New York Islanders in the first round on April 25. Andersen took over the crease, won Game 6 and had started every game since then, winning five of seven games.

Andersen and Florida goalie Sergei Bobrovsky both played 139 minutes and 47 seconds in Game 1, the sixth-longest game in Stanley Cup playoff history. Panthers coach Paul Maurice didn't hesitate in naming Bobrovsky his starter for Game 2, but Carolina coach Rod Brind'Amour indicated after Game 1 that a load-management decision for his goaltenders was under consideration.

"You have to. The guy played the whole game," he said of Andersen.

One consideration in switching to Raanta was his dominance on home ice. On the regular season, Raanta won 11 of 12 home games with three shutouts and a .916 save percentage. In his 11 previous playoff home games, Raanta was 8-1 with a .943 save percentage and a 1.53 goals-against average with one shutout.

However, in the first round, Raanta was only 2-1 with a .905 save percentage at home.

The final round of the 105th PGA Championship is Sunday at Oak Hill Country Club. Here's a look at tee times and pairings for the conclusion to the men's second major of the season (all times ET):

7:50 a.m. – Ben Taylor, Mark Hubbard
8 a.m. – Joel Dahmen, Kazuki Higa
8:10 a.m. – Taylor Montgomery, Taylor Moore
8:20 a.m. – Justin Thomas, Phil Mickelson
8:30 a.m. – Rikuya Hoshino, Lee Hodges
8:40 a.m. – Sihwan Kim, Zach Johnson
8:50 a.m. – Padraig Harrington, Matt Wallace
9 a.m. – Adrian Meronk, Pablo Larrazabal
9:10 a.m. – Thomas Detry, Tony Finau
9:20 a.m. – Callum Tarren, Yannik Paul
9:30 a.m. – Max Homa, J.T. Poston
9:40 a.m. – Patrick Rodgers, Thriston Lawrence
9:50 a.m. – K.H. Lee, Denny McCarthy
10:10 a.m. – Adam Hadwin, Adam Scott
10:20 a.m. – Sam Stevens, Nicolai Højgaard
10:30 a.m. – Tom Hoge, Lucas Herbert
10:40 a.m. – Dean Burmester, Jon Rahm
10:50 a.m. – Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth
11 a.m. – Harold Varner III, Mito Pereira
11:10 a.m. – Collin Morikawa, Beau Hossler
11:20 a.m. – Xander Schauffele, Chez Reavie
11:30 a.m. – Alex Smalley, Thomas Pieters
11:40 a.m. – Keegan Bradley, Matthew NeSmith
12:00 p.m. – Cameron Smith, Hayden Buckley
12:10 p.m. – Tyrrell Hatton, Chris Kirk
12:20 p.m. – Keith Mitchell, Taylor Pendrith
12:30 p.m. – Adam Svensson, Sepp Straka
12:40 p.m. – Sahith Theegala, Patrick Cantlay
12:50 p.m. – Cameron Davis, Hideki Matsuyama
1 p.m. – Kurt Kitayama, Ryan Fox
1:10 p.m. – Min Woo Lee, Patrick Reed
1:20 p.m. – Eric Cole, Shane Lowry
1:30 p.m. – StephanJaeger, Victor Perez
1:50 p.m. – Justin Suh, Tommy Fleetwood
2 p.m. – Rory McIlroy, Michael Block
2:10 p.m. – Justin Rose, Scottie Scheffler
2:20 p.m. – Corey Conners, Bryson DeChambeau
2:30 p.m. – Brooks Koepka, Viktor Hovland

PITTSFORD, N.Y. – Two years ago, this pairing would have melted the internet.

Brooks Koepka versus Bryson DeChambeau.

“Brooksy” versus, well, “Brooksy”.

The tension that defined the summer of 2021 has almost completely been defused. Nine-figure signing bonuses will do that. Injuries and slumps will, too.

Asked to explain their dynamic these days, two years after Koepka’s Eye Roll Seen ’Round the World, DeChambeau said: “We have a common goal, the growth of the game. We have franchises to focus on and good golf to play.”

But the fans here at Oak Hill had little trouble reminding the two mega-stars of their pecking order. Koepka was robustly cheered as he started his third round of the PGA Championship. DeChambeau was so aggressively booed that CBS’ Jim Nantz seemed shook.

“Not a warm welcome,” Nantz said. “I’ve never heard that, for that matter, at any point back to last summer.”

It’s tempting to examine how much has changed in their lives and careers since the 2021 PGA. The body breakdowns. The heated rhetoric. The tour loyalties. But just as telling is how much feels the same, especially as it relates to Koepka. 

It isn’t just that Koepka has snagged the 54-hole lead here at beastly Oak Hill, where he is gunning for his fifth major title and can reclaim his position as the best player of the post-Tiger generation. 

It’s how he has done it, with his trademark brand of smart, calculating, punishing golf. Fairways. Smart-side approaches. Perfect speed on the greens. No unnecessary risks. For the second consecutive day, he shot the low round, a 4-under 66, and now he leads by a shot over major-less Viktor Hovland and Corey Conners.

Throughout his Hall of Fame career, Koepka has never possessed the explosiveness of Rory McIlroy, or the theatrics of Jordan Spieth. He never could muster the passion of Jon Rahm, or the shot-making flair of Justin Thomas. 

And yet Koepka has been – by far – the best performer in the major championships over the past six years, as predictable as nasty western New York weather in May. On Sunday, he has a chance to become just the seventh player to hoist five major titles by the age of 34, and the first since Woods.

“Just got to go out and play good tomorrow,” Koepka sniffed. 

And that part was familiar, too.

The Netflix documentary may have shown a different side of him – more open, more vulnerable. Koepka says, honestly, that’s what he’s really like away from the course. 

In this setting, at least, it’s just hard to fathom it. 

He’s morphed back into Terminator mode. Once again, he walks with that familiar strut: shoulders back, chest out, chin up. He doesn’t say much to caddie Ricky Elliott, nor to his playing partners. It’s all business, all the time.

"How’d that much-anticipation pairing go with Bryson?" he was asked.

“I shot 4 under,” he said, “so you tell me.”

Indeed, the emotional accessibility that Koepka showed for the cameras at home tends to slam shut during the majors. In the press tent, he can be terse and dismissive, conscious not to show any weakness, lest his peers, somewhere, are watching.

That was never DeChambeau’s deal. He always wanted to be liked, if not loved; he’s thriving this week in part because his resurgent form has returned to the spotlight. He’s missed it.

Koepka would always rather be respected. Feared, even.

Their contrast made them such perfect adversaries – the Brains and the Bully – but that open hostility has forever been lost to LIV.

Head-to-head Saturday for the first time in a major since 2016, Koepka got the upper hand again – as he has done for much of his career – but if he felt any extra satisfaction with the 66-70 victory, he kept it to himself.

“I’ll be honest with you, I don’t pay too much attention to who I’m playing with,” Koepka said. “I’m more focused on what I have to do. There’s a lot of other things to have to worry about.”

At the height of their pettiness, in summer 2021, DeChambeau poked fun at his opponent’s physique, and Koepka responded with a photo of his major trophy case with the caption: “2 short of a 6 pack.”

Another title Sunday would taste plenty sweet – and not just because it came at his frenemy’s expense.

As expected, here comes Stanford.

The top-ranked Cardinal spun their wheels a bit to begin this NCAA Division I Women’s Golf Championship on Friday afternoon, but with a first-off tee time on Saturday at Grayhawk Golf Club, they played like the team we’ve seen all year.

Led by Rose Zhang’s flawless 5-under 67, Stanford shot 15 under, the round of the day by three shots, to move five spots on the leaderboard to second, just two shots back of Wake Forest, which leads at 17 under.

Zhang is T-6 individually at 5 under, five shots behind Wake Forest’s Lauren Walsh, while the Cardinal boast two players at T-9, Sadie Englemann and Megha Ganne, who shot 69 and 72, respectively. Ganne didn’t count as Kelly Xu rebounded from a first-round 77 to shoot 68 and Brooke Seay subbed in for Rachel Heck after Heck’s 85 and fired a 69 in her first college round since the fall.

“I have a lot of trust and faith in these players,” Stanford coach Anne Walker told Golfweek. “They’re all very experienced, so I don’t really know what clicked for them, but I think they just settled into their groove and when they settle in, they’re relaxed. They’re really good players. So, I think that’s what we’re seeing.”

The top 15 teams make the 54-hole cut after Sunday’s third round while the top eight teams after 72 holes advance to match play. Stanford, the reigning NCAA champion, has never not qualified for match play since the women’s game adopted the format at the NCAA Championship in 2015.

Wake Forest is looking to advance to match play for the first time in what is now three tries at Grayhawk. South Carolina, third at 14 under, has never made match play at the NCAA Championship.

The rest of the teams at T-8 or better are Texas (8 under), Oklahoma State (5 under), Texas A&M (5 under), USC (4 under), Florida State (2 under), Pepperdine (2 under) and New Mexico (2 under).

Third-ranked LSU climbed four spots on Saturday to solo 14^th, eight shots back of T-8.

PITTSFORD, N.Y. – After his man shot a second-round 66 to book a must-see pairing with his one-time archnemesis Bryson DeChambeau, swing coach Claude Harmon III described the current version of Brooks Koepka as 2.0. 

After an equally impressive 66 on a sodden Saturday, Koepka looked more like version 1.0.

You remember that Brooks? The guy who once rankled an entire field when he reckoned there were about a dozen players who he had what it took to beat him. The guy who angered the entire PGA Tour when he dismissed the rank-and-file events for the Grand Slam starts, which he figured were all that mattered. The guy who collected four Grand Slam titles in less than 2 ½ years.

On Saturday at Oak Hill, the only thing that was missing was the misplaced bravado, which has largely been replaced by a more humanized version who has been humbled by injury and poor play. 

He pulled within a stroke of the lead with back-to-back birdies at Nos. 4 and 5, added two more at Nos. 12 and 13 and he walked off with the ultimate flex, a 46-footer for a birdie at the 17th hole.

During another time, it would have been worth noting that he beat DeChambeau, who became his primary antagonist following an awkward dustup at the 2021 PGA Championship, by four strokes. Koepka didn’t care.

“I mean, I shot 4 under, so you tell me,” he shrugged when asked, “how the pairing went?”

The narrative has changed since Koepka won his last major, the 2019 PGA Championship. He’s endeared multiple injuries including two dislocated kneecaps, a torn labrum in his left hip and a jump to LIV Golf. What he hasn’t been since then is particularly relevant.

That changed at the Masters where he finished second to Jon Rahm and he continues to evolve at Oak Hill, where he’s gotten progressively better, which is to say more Brooks-like, since an opening 72. As much as his play last month at Augusta National proved he was still the same player who won four of eight majors, the subtext of his performance went beyond that.

“It proved to him that he wanted to be in that mix again,” Harmon said.

But as much as Brooks 2.0 is starting to look like the old model there’s a nagging tell heading into Sunday’s final turn at Oak Hill. The other guy would never have closed with a 75 at the Masters and lost to Rahm by four strokes after starting the final round with a two-stroke lead.

If there’s a modicum of hope for those chasing Koepka into the final round it’s that recent history and the lingering question – can he still be Brooks?

“Everyone misconstrues the confidence for just the injury. You ask any athlete if they are hurt, and they can't do something. I mean, imagine if you can't get out of bed or can't walk. You've got a pebble in your shoe, you kind of start to adjust, and that's the thing. I just got into bad habits,” Koepka explained. “You can't play. I came back too soon and played for too long.”

But now his health is back, and the game that elevated him to his generation’s most prolific major player, but the swagger is still missing. 

That only comes with a trophy and the warm comfort that you’ve beaten 155 of the world’s best players.

It’s that notion that the likes of Viktor Hovland and Corey Conners, who are tied for second place and a stroke behind Koepka, can cling to. It’s the same name but it remains to be seen if this “Brooks” casts the same shadow.

If experience is any guide, DeChambeau, who will begin the final round three shots off the lead, is poised to continue to play the role of antagonist and world No. 2 Scottie Scheffler looms four back after an eventful third round.

“For me winning golf tournaments out here is difficult. There's a lot of talented players. I know what I need to do going into tomorrow. It's just a matter of executing,” said Scheffler, who rallied after a front-nine 39 with 1-under closing loop. “I feel like I've hung in there the last three days to give myself a chance going into Sunday.”

The would-be contenders also have the benefit of more benign conditions on Sunday. One of the more difficult major championship tests was supercharged on Day 3 by a cold rain that only made the course play more difficult, longer, colder. But “Soak Hill” will be replaced for the final round by temperatures in the 70s and sunshine, a perfect runway to decide a decidedly imperfect week.

Koepka is the runaway favorite and the last two days have set a familiar tone. Brooks 1.0 would have bullied the field into submission for his third PGA Championship victory but this version, Brooks 2.0, still has something to prove, something to learn about himself and where he stands in the game.

Mikel Merino and Alexander Sorloth scored in each half to earn Real Sociedad a 2-1 win at Barcelona on Saturday, handing the LaLiga champions their first home defeat of the season on a day when they were celebrating their title triumph.

With the league title in the bag, there was an end-of-season feel at Camp Nou as the fans waited to see the post-game celebrations when Barca would lift the LaLiga trophy.

- Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, more (U.S.)

However, Real Sociedad made sure it would not go all Barca's way as they got in-front quickly, with Merino scoring with a tidy finish in the fifth minute.

They extended their lead with Sorloth in the 72nd minute and Robert Lewandowski headed in a consolation for Barcelona from close-range in the 90th minute.

With three games left, fourth-placed Real Sociedad moved on to 65 points and tightened their grip on the last Champions League qualification spot, five points ahead of fifth-placed Villarreal who beat Girona 2-1 earlier on Saturday.

Champions Barcelona have an unassailable 14-point lead over second-place Real Madrid, who play at Valencia on Sunday. Atletico Madrid are third on 69 points.

"If you remember at the start of the season, I asked for unity," Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez said on the Camp Nou pitch. "Now is the moment to say thank you. Firstly, to the president and his board of directors for the unconditional support they have given us. 'We aren't that bad, eh, presi?' We are very grateful.

"Thank you to the staff, the players who have given everything on the pitch. And to the fans. Without you it would not have been possible. You have been spectacular. Those that have filled the stadiums, those that were at the bus parade. It's given me goosebumps."

Captain Sergio Busquets received the LaLiga trophy from federation president Luis Rubiales and presented it to the crowd with his teammates. The occasion was also a celebration of the midfielder, who claimed his 32nd and last title before he leaves Barcelona this summer.

"No one doubt that this is just getting started," the 34-year-old said "Thanks to all the fans because it's not possible without you. Thanks to the staff for helping us be at our best.

"Also, a word for Hector Bellerin, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Gerard Pique, Memphis Depay and our teammates from the team that have also helped us win this title," he added, referencing those players who began the season with Barcelona but have since departed.

Information from ESPN's Sam Marsden contributed to this report.

FC Cincinnati blew a two-goal lead but Junior Moreno scored the go-ahead goal in the 67th minute for a 3-2 victory against in-state rivals Columbus on Saturday to remain perfect at home.

Luciano Acosta scored in the 17th and 23rd minutes (penalty kick) for Cincinnati before the Crew tied it 2-2 on goals by Lucas Zelarayan in the 40th and newcomer Malte Amundsen in the 52nd.

- Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, more (U.S.)

Cincinnati (9-1-3, 30 points), the MLS points leader, became the third team in the post-shootout era (since 2000) to win its first eight home games of the season, joining the San Jose Earthquakes (10 wins, 2002) and the Philadelphia Union (nine, 2020).

Columbus (5-5-3, 18 points) was the latest victim after Moreno took advantage of a massive gaffe by goalkeeper Patrick Schulte to regain the lead.

Acosta stole the ball from him on the left edge of the penalty area and passed to Brandon Vazquez. He sent the ball into the middle where Yuya Kubo touched it to Moreno.

Roman Celentano preserved the win with a leaping save of a Steven Moreira header at the goal line in the 93rd minute.

Cincinnati won for the second time (2-5-4) in the "Hell Is Real" derby, but is 2-0-3 in the past five vs. the Crew at home.

With a sellout crowd roaring, Acosta opened the scoring after a crafty setup from Dominique Badji, who beat defender Philip Quinton to the end line before a sharp cutback pass to the 6-yard box.

Quinton was involved in the second score also when he pulled down Badji and Acosta stepped to the dot and scored his fifth goal.

Zelarayan made it 2-1 off a throw-in with Cucho Hernandez finding him unmarked in the middle of the box for his fourth assist in the past three games. Zelarayan has four goals and three assists in his past seven games.

Amundsen, in his third game since being acquired from New York City FC, scored in his second straight game. He came in from his left back position to put in a rebound of a Hernandez shot.

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina -- An injury-time blast gave the United States a 1-0 win against Ecuador in its opening match of the Under-20 World Cup on Saturday.

After little inspiration from both teams in San Juan, left back Jonathan Gomez shot from the edge of the box one minute before the final whistle to beat goalkeeper Gilmar Napa.

- Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, more (U.S.)

Until Gomez's winner, the best opportunity was on the hour after an embarrassing mistake by Ecuador's Napa. His clearance hit his defender Christian Garcia in the face. The ball fell to American striker Diego Luna, who shot wide despite the empty goal.

Ecuador, the team of teenage sensation striker Kendry Paez, did not produce a single shot on target.

The U.S. ended the first round of games in second place in Group B after Slovakia beat Fiji 4-0. The Americans could now secure its spot in the next round with a win against Fiji on Tuesday. The same could happen to Slovakia in its match against Ecuador.

The first goal of the tournament came from New Zealand, for which Norman Garbett scored the only goal in the 80th minute to beat Guatemala in a Group A game.

Later, Argentina beat Uzbekistan 2-1, with all three goals coming in the first half.

Argentina inherited Indonesia's spot in the tournament as host. Protests in Muslim-majority Indonesia against hosting Israel forced FIFA into a very late switch of venues. Indonesia does not have formal diplomatic relations with Israel.