This story was originally published by Dead Spin
Edgar Lopez pulled visiting Toluca level deep into second-half stoppage time, then goalkeeper Tiago Volpi put on a show in a penalty shootout to send his team to the Leagues Cup round of 16 on Friday night following a 2-2 draw against the Houston Dynamo.
Volpi scored an emphatic first penalty for Toluca, then dove low to his right to save Lawrence Ennali’s attempt to provide the decisive moment in a shootout that finished 5-4. Jesus Angulo opened the regulation scoring for Toluca, which advances to play the Colorado Rapids on Tuesday.
Summer signing Ezequiel Ponce scored his first goal in a Houston shirt to level it at 1-all late in the first half, and Micael scored for the second time in as many matches to give the Dynamo the lead in the 62nd minute. Micael’s goal was originally ruled offside but was given following a video review.
However, the VAR protocol then took away an apparent third for Houston and second for Ponce that would’ve put the match out of reach. That opened the way for Lopez’s late back-post header, set up by Jesus Gallardo’s flick-on of Juan Pablo Dominguez’s corner kick.
Rapids 3, Juarez 2
Colorado booked its round-of-16 place by hanging on to a wild win over visiting Juarez in a match at Commerce City, Colo., that saw both teams score from the penalty spot and Rapids goalkeeper Zack Steffen make seven saves.
Jonathan Lewis pulled Colorado level at 1-1 early, then drew the go-ahead penalty when his cross resulted in a handball. Djordje Mihailovic’s spot kick put the Rapids in front 2-1 just before halftime, and Calvin Harris’ goal from a chaotic corner kick in the 59th minute made it 3-1.
Juarez substitute Aviles Hurtado converted a 71st-minute penalty after drawing the foul himself to close it to 3-2, and Juarez had several late chances to equalize but couldn’t find a way past Steffen. Angel Zaldivar scored in the 18th minute for the visitors, who exited at the round of 32 for a second consecutive year.
Club America 2, Atlas 1
Henry Martin’s fabulous finish in the 73rd minute proved the difference as Club America made sure it would not be one-and-done at the Leagues Cup after they had a bye to their round-of-32 clash against Atlas in San Diego.
After Javiaro Dilrosun’s nifty chip past a defender helped create space for his low cross from the left, Martin finished off Dilrosun’s feed with a first-time finish off the back of his heel into the bottom left corner. The Mexico international’s first goal of the tournament sets up a round-of-16 clash against a St. Louis City side they dispatched 4-0 in last year’s group stage.
Erick Sanchez gave America an earlier lead with his rebound header in the 20th minute, before Jose Lozano leveled with his header of Raymundo Fulgencio’s inswinging cross in the 59th. Atlas exits the tournament in the round of 32 for the second consecutive year.
FC Cincinnati 1 (6), Santos 1 (5)
Luca Orellano scored an early leveler on a brilliant left-footed strike from beyond 25 yards, and FC Cincinnati eventually prevailed over visiting Santos Laguna on penalties after missing numerous chances to win the match in regulation.
Cincy made all six of its spot kicks, and Aldo Lopez fired Santos’ sixth over the target to send the defending MLS Supporters’ Shield winners onto the next round. Cincinnati led 20-9 in overall shots and 7-2 in efforts on target, and even saw a penalty in regulation saved when Yuya Kubo couldn’t beat Carlos Acevedo in the 36th minute.
Santos took an early lead when Anthony Lozano capitalized on FC Cincinnati’s giveaway in their own end, marking the club’s only goal of the tournament.
Union 2, CF Montreal 0
Tai Baribo continued his sizzling summer by scoring both goals in the Union’s victory over CF Montreal, taking his total to nine in all competitions since cracking Philadelphia’s starting lineup in late June.
Baribo put home the rebound of Samuel Adeniran’s parried cross in first-half stoppage time. In second-half stoppage time, he finished off Jack McGlynn’s feed on the break. That sealed a third multi-goal performance for the 26-year-old Israeli in 10 consecutive starts.
Andre Blake made two saves to register the Union’s second shutout of the tournament and seal a meeting with an FC Cincinnati side managed by former Philadelphia assistant Pat Noonan.
St. Louis City 3, Timbers 1
Eduard Lowen provided a pair of assists inside the final 10 minutes to help St. Louis City turn a tied match into a comfortable victory against visiting Portland.
After a short corner from the right, Lowen chipped a clever pass into the right side of the penalty area to set up Marcel Hartel’s low, driven half-volley in the 83rd minute. Five minutes later, Lowen beat a pair of defenders on the dribble before finding Simon Becher, who contributed an impressive and emphatic finish from what didn’t immediately appear to be a shooting position.
Cedric Teuchert opened the scoring in the 51st minute for St. Louis in its first Leagues Cup knockout match after finishing last in its group in 2023. Claudio Bravo leveled three minutes later for Portland, which exits at this stage for a second consecutive year.
Crew 4, Sporting K.C. 0
Diego Rossi scored on either side of halftime, and the defending MLS Cup champion Crew eased past an overmatched visiting Sporting Kansas City side.
Summer signing Dylan Chambost also scored his first goal for Columbus since his acquisition from Ligue 1’s St. Etienne in June. Derrick Jones also scored as the Crew set up what may the most intriguing clash of the round of 16 against defending Leagues Cup champion Inter Miami.
Columbus received a bye to the round of 32 thanks to winning last year’s MLS Cup. The Crew have scored three or more goals in six of their 10 competitive fixtures since losing to Pachuca in the CONCACAF Champions Cup final in June.
Mazatlan 2, D.C. United 1
Yoel Barcenas and Brian Rubio both scored inside the final 15 minutes of the first half and visiting Mazatlan held on despite a late goal from 10-man D.C. United’s Mateusz Klich.
The hosts were short-handed after referee Selvin Brown sent off Jared Stroud in the 27th minute for striking at the head area of a Mazatlan player. Barcenas scored on a deflected half-volley only seven minutes later, and Rubio’s header of Alonso Escoboza’s cross in the 43rd minute made it 2-0.
That proved enough to set up a round-of-16 meeting with Cruz Azul, despite an exceptional goalkeeping performance from D.C.’s Alex Bono, who made 11 saves.
NYCFC 1 (7), Revolution 1 (6)
Mark-Anthony Kaye struck the crossbar as New England’s seventh penalty taker before Justin Haak converted New York City FC’s seventh to secure advancement and a clash with Tigres in the next round.
New York City’s goal in regulation also came from the penalty spot through Santiago Rodriguez. He converted in the 35th minute after earning the opportunity himself when he lured Matt Polster into a foul inside the area.
New England leveled through Bobby Wood’s 39th-minute header of Brandon Bye’s outswinging service from the left. However, the Revolution failed to score multiple goals for a seventh straight competitive fixture.
Cruz Azul 0 (5), Orlando City 0 (4)
Kevin Mier saved Dagur Thorhallsson’s penalty and visiting Cruz Azul converted all five of theirs to set up their round-of-16 meeting against Mazatlan.
Mier also made four stops in regulation to keep his second clean sheet of the tournament for a Cruz Azul side that has yet to win a match in the competition in regulation.
Orlando’s Pedro Gallese made five stops during normal time but rarely looked close to saving a penalty during the tiebreak. The Lions exit the tournament at the round of 32 for a second consecutive year after they were defeated by Lionel Messi and eventual champion Inter Miami at this stage in 2023.
–Field Level Media
