CONCACAF Champions League: Houston Win, Almost Through

Municipal are still alive, barely. A loss to Chorrillo on Thursday night would have just about handed Monterrey the group, but an 80th minute by Leandro Barros lead the Guatemalans to a 2-1 win that has them in the thick of the Group 7 race.

Chorrillo got off to a dream start with a goal after 56 seconds. After a collision left the ball free, Alcibialdes Rojas nudged the ball forward for Renan Addles, who found the net for the opening score.

The loss eliminates FAS from the tournament. Houston is three points clear of Olimpia, who play FAS before heading to BBVA Compass Stadium next month.

Santos Laguna is just about on their way to the CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinals. Two goals and an assists from Jesus Escoboza led them past hapless Aguila 4-0 on Wednesday night to give Santos nine points from three matches. That is six points clear of second place Toronto FC and into the knockout stages barring an epic collapse.

It took until the second half before Santos found the net, but once they did they were off and running. Escoboza put them in front after 49 minutes when he got on the end of a good ball from Rodolfo Salinas and buried a volley for the lead. The 19-year-old then whipped in a cross seven minutes later, which Aaron Galindo headed home and it was 2-0. A 62nd minute goal by Escoboza made the match a laugher and then just for good measure, Marc Crosas added a penalty to wrap things up.

The Sounders are 3-0-0 through their first three matches and are one of three teams to have won all their group stage games.

UANL Tigres’ road to the knockout stages of the CONCACAF Champions League has been anything but easy and it was difficult again on Tuesday night. It took a 90th minute goal by Jorge Espericueta just to earn a 1-1 draw with Real Esteli, a goal that proved to be the death knell for the Nicaraguan side, who are now eliminated from the competition.

Knowing that they needed a win to avoid elimination, Esteli played their best match of the tournament. Tigres still had the better of the early play, but the home side put in a good shift and it paid off in the 53rd minute when Juan Barrera’s powerful header of a corner kick put Esteli in front.

The Xelaju dream is still alive! The small Guatemalan club and the last Cinderella team alive in this season’s tournament who shocked the region with a win over Chivas last month needed to beat W Connection on Tuesday to stay atop Group 8 and that is exactly what they did. A goal by Fredy Taylor with less than 15 minutes remaining earned them a 3-2 win at home to keep the lovable underdogs in the competition.

Xelaju came out of the gates on fire and earned two corners within a minute. By the fourth minute, their hot start paid off when Kern Cupid nodded a free kick past his own goalkeeper for an own goal that put the home side in front.

But just when the match seemed destined for a draw, RSL broke through. Saborio got free at the top of the box and when Villarreal came rushing off of his line, he took down the Costa Rican striker. The referee pointed to the spot and while Villarreal did get a hand to Saborio’s penalty, he couldn’t keep it out and RSL got all three points.

The win pushes Salt Lake into a virtual tie atop Group 2, although they have played one more match than Herediano. Luckily for them, they host Herediano in their final match of the group stage. The loss eliminated Tauro, who have not earned a point yet.