Santos ends Mexican week, rallies over Montreal to cap Champions League quarterfinals with drama

March 7, 2009

Not even the United Soccer Leagues could stop Mexico.

The USL’s Puerto Rico Islanders continued their magical run into the semifinals of the CONCACAF Champions League, eliminating Honduran side CD Marathon, but all the mysticism of the second-division North American league wasn’t enough to keep Santos Laguna out.

Santos rallied with three goals in the final 16 minutes, including two in injury time by Carlos Quintero, to cap a dramatic rally Thursday, just getting past the Montreal Impact 5-2 to prevail 5-4 on aggregate.

The late drama completed the semifinal field, sending Santos against fellow Mexican side Atlante, while the Islanders earned a series against Cruz Azul.

Santos will play the first leg of its semifinals series at home in Torreon against Atlante on Wednesday, March 18, a day after the Islanders begin at home against Cruz Azul.

Cruz Azul will open the return legs at home on Tuesday, April 7, with Atlante enjoying the familiar climes of Cancun for the second leg against Santos on Wednesday, April 8.

After a 1-0 first leg win, Puerto Rico needed only a draw against Marathon in San Pedro Sula to advance, and were clinging to that thread as time dwindled despite the Honduran side’s repeated offensive forays. Saul Martinez hit the crossbar in the 82nd as the Islanders’ defense bent near 90 degrees, but didn’t break.

Then, with Marathon pressing further even more, Nicholas Addlery scored his second goal 15 seconds into injury time to end the drama and assure Puerto Rico of a semifinal berth.

“We won at home and away,” Islanders coach Colin Clarke said. “Marathon pressed the entire time, but we took advantage of their gaps in the field.”

Montreal also took advantage of lapses by Santos, scoring two first-half goals and appearing to have guaranteed itself a semifinal berth by halftime.

With a 4-1 aggregate lead and two away goals, only a remarkable comeback by Santos could sink the Impact.

But Matias Vuoso converted a rebound of a shot by Walter Jimenez in the 54th to start the rally, and then scored a second in the 74th. That still left Montreal with a two-goal cushion as the end of the match approached. But Quintero, who entered the game as a 34th-minute substitute for Osmar Mares, scored in the third and fourth minutes of extra time to the delight of the energized crowd of 12,000 at Estadio Corona.

A home crowd couldn’t help Pumas, which remained unable to beat cross-town rival Cruz Azul for the eighth consecutive game. Despite being the away side and protecting a 1-0 first-leg lead, Cruz Azul had the better of possession and chances. And like Puerto Rico, los Cementeros’ sealed their advancement when Cristian Riveros scored his second goal of the tournament in the 86th minute.

Atlante didn’t need any late heroics against the Houston Dynamo, just Mexico’s curse over teams from Major League Soccer. Fernando Navarro and Rafael Marquez Lugo scored first-half goals and Giancarlo Maldonado capped Atlante’s effort with another in the 90th minute in a 3-0 victory over Houston.

The result continued Mexican teams’ dominance over their rivals north of the border, extending their unbeaten streak to 16 games, including 15 victories.

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