The reigning MLS Cup winners are moving on to the CONCACAF Champions Cup quarterfinals while two MLS clubs saw their elimination from the tournament.
Wilfried Nancy’s Columbus Crew edged the Houston Dynamo 2-1 on aggregate after Tuesday’s 1-1 draw at Lower.com Field. Cucho Hernandez’s first-half goal proved to be enough as the Crew sets up a quarterfinal clash with Liga MX heavyweights Tigres.
Christian Ramirez’s pass allowed Hernandez the opportunity to drill a low shot into the bottom-left corner. It marked the Colombian’s first goal in the competition.
Despite a late surge from the Dynamo and a 90th minute penalty-kick goal from Griffin Dorsey, Ben Olsen’s side suffered elimination on the road.
Both teams will resume their league schedules this weekend with Columbus hosting the New York Red Bulls and Houston hosting the Portland Timbers.
Pachuca 6, Philadelphia Union 0
Liga MX side Pachuca steamrolled their way to the final eight of the competition thanks to a 6-0 second leg trouncing of the Philadelphia Union.
Salomon Rondon scored a hat trick for the hosts while Nelson Deossa, Oussama Idrissi, and Alan Bautista also added goals of their own. It marked the worst margin of defeat for the Union in franchise history.
Rondon’s seventh minute penalty kick broke open the scoring for Pachuca before the veteran striker added his second goal of the half before the interval.
Rondon’s third and final finish came early in the second half to cap off his first hat trick since December 2016.
Deossa’s long-range shot nestled into the bottom-right corner for a 4-0 Pachuca lead before Idrissi and Bautista added goals of their own to seal a lopsided win.
The Union resume MLS play on Saturday with a trip to Austin FC.
Tigres 4, Orlando City 2
Orlando City’s valiant effort against Liga MX powerhouse Tigres fell just short in Tuesday’s second leg.
Second-half goals from Tigres’ Fernando Gorriaran and Francisco Cordova helped the hosts pull away for an eventual 4-2 second leg triumph. Facundo Torres and Martin Ojeda netted consolation goals for the Lions.
Marcelo Flores and Andre-Pierre Gignac scored seven minutes apart in the opening 20 minutes to give Tigres a 2-0 advantage. It was a fast start for the hosts but Torres’ penalty-kick finish in the 24th minute cut the Lions deficit in half.
However, Tigres would reclaim a two-goal advantage after the hour mark through Gorriaran’s finish.
Despite falling down to 10 men not long after, Tigres hung on and eventually padded its lead through Cordova’s long-range shot.
Ojeda’s stoppage time penalty kick proved to be a late consolation goal for Orlando City, who joined the Union and Dynamo as MLS clubs to suffer Round of 16 elimination.
It’s a quick turnaround for Orlando City, who makes the Sunday trip to Atlanta United in MLS play.
They had to know everyone would be making Charlie Brown jokes about that kit, right? Good grief!
I guess in Philly’s defense, they did have two days to make it from an abandoned slog in Seattle to Hidalgo to play a game against a very good, completely rested team at about 8k ft. They looked like they could barely breathe. Still, they were awful in every part of that game.
MLS just doesn’t have the roster depth to play 2 match weeks for several weeks in a row. MLS believed they had caught up based on Leagues Cup when everything was at home and the league season was suspended.
This is definitely true. I think MLS first 11s can go toe to toe with similarly placed Mexican first 11s, other things being equal and excepting the very top Mexican teams. But depth is definitely still an issue.