updated 4:23 p.m. ET Jan. 7, 2012
LONDON - Clint Dempsey scored the first hat trick of his career, Brad Guzan saved a penalty and Landon Donovan had an assist on a successful day for Americans in the third round of the FA Cup on Saturday.
Dempsey made it 12 goals for the season by scoring in the eighth and 61st minutes, then converting a penalty kick in the 81st of Fulham's 4-0 win over Charlton, which is top of the third tier in English soccer.
"This game is a roller coaster. Stay strapped in for them ups and downs," Dempsey wrote on Twitter. "But I did put that biscuit in the basket a few times today."
It is believed to be just the third hat trick by an American in a competitive league or FA Cup match for an English club, following John Kerr Jr. for Millwall against Derby in a second-tier league match in August 1994 and Chris Cleary for Worksop against Droylsden in the third qualifying round of the FA Cup in October 2004. There have been addition ones in lesser competitions such as Conference play, the FA Trophy and the League Trophy.
Brad Guzan, still Aston Villa's fill-in at goalkeeper in the absence of the injured Shay Given, saved a stoppage-time penalty from Scott McGleish to help the Premier League team beat Bristol Rovers 3-1 away.
Donovan assisted Johnny Heitinga's fifth-minute goal with a corner and hit the post in the 85th for Everton in its 2-0 win over Tamworth, one of three non-league teams to be eliminated on Saturday. Donovan was playing his second game in his loan spell at the Liverpool club.
Elsewhere, Blackburn and Wigan ? the Premier League's bottom two clubs ? were the big casualties as world soccer's oldest knockout competition threw up a typically mixed bag of results in the third round.
Argentine midfielder Jonas Gutierrez scored the winner in the fifth minute of stoppage time as Newcastle snatched a 2-1 victory over Blackburn in one of the round's two all-Premier League matches.
In the day's biggest upset, fourth-tier Swindon ? managed by former West Ham forward Paolo Di Canio ? rallied to beat Wigan 2-1 at the County Ground.
"My lads deserve something from the club ? maybe just a small plaque with all their names because they did something special," Di Canio said.
It wasn't all smooth sailing for the rest of the Premier League teams either.
Queens Park Rangers required a last-minute equalizer by Heidar Helguson to secure a 1-1 draw and a replay against third-tier MK Dons while David Wheater's 77th-minute header earned Bolton a 2-2 draw at Macclesfield, which plays in England's fourth division.
Tottenham, which is third in the Premier League, avoided what would have been the mightiest upset by easing past fourth-tier Cheltenham 3-0 thanks to goals by attacking trio Jermain Defoe, Roman Pavlyuchenko and Giovani dos Santos.
Premier League teams Aston Villa, Stoke, West Brom and Norwich also progressed, Liverpool beat Oldham 5-1 on Friday, while the match of the round coming on Sunday when Manchester City and Manchester United ? the Premier League's top two teams ? meeting in a derby at Etihad Stadium.
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BARCELONA, Spain (AP) ? Racing Santander extended its turnaround since the departure of coach Hector Cuper with a 1-0 win over last-place Zaragoza in the Spanish league on Saturday.
Santander's unbeaten streak became four games under the caretaker coaching trio of Juan Jose Gonzalez, Fede Castanos and Pablo Pinillos, helping the team move out of the drop zone for the first time in 12 weeks.
Defender Bernardo Espinosa scored in first-half added time when he sent Papakouly Diop's corner past goalkeeper Roberto Jimenez with a glancing header at the near post.
Substitute Edu Oriol hit the crossbar with a shot from outside the area in Zaragoza's best chance to pull even in the 89th.
Zaragoza recorded its ninth loss in 10 games under coach Manolo Jimenez following the firing of Javier Aguirre.
Elsewhere, Andres Fernandez's inspired goalkeeping earned fifth-place Osasuna a scoreless away draw at Real Sociedad as both teams stayed undefeated in their last six league matches.
Fourth-place Levante drew 0-0 with visiting Mallorca, rising to within three points of third-place Valencia.
League leader Real Madrid beat Granada 5-1, and Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone got a scoreless draw with Malaga in his debut.
On Sunday, second-place Barcelona visits Espanyol in a Catalan capital derby, while Jose Antonio Reyes could debut in his return to Sevilla at Rayo Vallecano.
Also, it's: Getafe vs. Athletic Bilbao, Villarreal vs. Valencia and Real Betis vs. Sporting Gijon.
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MILAN (AP) ? Struggling Siena made a perfect start to 2012 by winning 4-0 against 10-man Lazio in Serie A on Saturday.
Mattia Destro fired Siena into the lead in the 11th minute before Emanuele Calaio struck twice from the spot. The second penalty in first-half stoppage time also resulted in the dismissal of Lazio goalkeeper Albano Bizzarri.
Destro doubled his tally 10 minutes from time with a powerful header.
Lazio, which started the year in fourth place in Serie A, was never really in the game and shut up shop in the second half in a bid to keep the score down.
It is Siena's first victory since October ? a run of seven matches ? and lifts the team to 14th ahead of the rest of the weekend's games.
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ATHENS, Greece (AP) ? AEK moved to second in the Greek league with a 2-0 away victory over newcomer Levadiakos on Saturday.
Dimitris Sialmas scored once in each half and got sent off. He was booked after his first goal for excessive celebration, and received another yellow card in the 82nd minute for a dangerous challenge.
AEK was four points behind Olympiakos and two ahead of Panathinaikos, which has played three fewer games. Olympiakos travels to last-place Drama and Panathinaikos hosts Kerkyra on Sunday.
Also, Asteras beat Panaitolikos 1-0 and Ergotelis defeated Panionios with the same score.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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More newsGetty ImagesDempsey grabs hat trick for Fulham
Clint Dempsey scored the first hat trick of his career, Brad Guzan saved a penalty and Landon Donovan had an assist on a successful day for Americans in the third round of the FA Cup on Saturday.
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Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/45911788/ns/sports-soccer/
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