The Saturday Leagues Cup roundup has Cruz Azul winning at Atlanta, Charlotte advancing at home, Orlando beating Santos, and Pumas and DC advancing.
Leagues Cup matchday 3 Saturday: Cruz Azul, Charlotte, Orlando, UNAM Pumas and DC advance
Saturday in the Leagues Cup started with Cruz Azul beating Atlanta United 5-4 on penalties after drawing 1-1 in regulation at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Moises put Cruz Azul up in the 20th and Thiago Almada equalized in the 75th. In penalties, Cruz Azul failed to convert in round one and United failed to convert in rounds three and five. The result advanced Cruz Azul in 2nd-place in South 3 with Atlanta finishing 3rd.
“Very disappointed with this one,” Atlanta coach Gonzalo Pineda said. “I think we deserve better but this is football. I saw a big improvement in the team. I think we did a good job in many different phases of the game. Football is like this and we couldn’t succeed on this one. We will of course be reflecting and trying to assess our performance overall and try to be better. That’s always the goal.”
Charlotte beat Necaxa 4-1 at Bank of America Stadium to advance in 1st-place from South 4. Brandt Bronico scored for Charlotte in the 6th, Karol Swiderski doubled the lead in the 42nd, and Scott Arfield made it 3-0 seven minutes into stoppage time. Necaxa went a man down when Edgar Mendez saw red in the 49th. Charlotte’s Patrick Agyemang added a fourth goal in the 87th and Necaxa’s Vicente Poggi scored in the 89th minute. FC Dallas finished 2nd in South 4 with Necaxa in 3rd-place.
Orlando beat Santos Laguna 3-2 at Exploria Stadium to win South 2 with Houston 2nd and Santos 3rd. Trailing from a 41st minute Raul Lopez goal, Orlando’s Duncan McGuire equalized in the 44th and Mauricio Pereyra scored in the 46th. Santos Laguna’s Harold Preciado equalized in the 58th but Orlando’s Wilder Cartagena scored two minutes into stoppage time.
Juarez beat Auston 3-1 at Q2 Stadium to finish 2nd in South 1 to group winners Mazatlan with Austin in 3rd-place. Ethan Finlay put Austin up in the 23rd with Juarez’s Sebastian Saucedo equalizing in the 35th. Aitor Garcia scored for Juarez in the 62nd and added a third goal in the 69th minute.
UNAM Pumas shutout DC United 3-0 at Audi Field to win EAST 2 with DC also advancing in 2nd and Montreal finishing 3rd. Cesar Huerta opened the scoring in the 6th, Nathan Silva doubled the lead in the 42nd, and Gabriel Fernandez made it 3-0 in the 52nd. Pumas goalkeeper Gil Acala kept the clean sheet with United finishing without a shot on goal.
