Leagues Cup round two continues, USA exits Olympic Men’s soccer tournament
Round two of the Leagues Cup continued with DC United shutting out Santos Laguna 3-0 at Subaru Park. Christian Benteke put DC up in the 28th, Theodore Ku-Dipietro doubled the lead in the 48th, and Cristian Dajome finished off the scoring in the 58th minute.
Charlotte drew 0-0 at home with Cruz Azul, winning 4-2 on penalties. Charlotte went four for four from the penalty spot with Cruz Azul failing to convert in rounds two and four.
Juarez won 2-0 at FC Dallas, taking the lead from an Angel Zaldivar goal in the 22nd. Aviles Hurtado converted a Juarez penalty in the 83rd minute. “Obviously, we wanted more from Leagues Cup,” FC Dallas defender Omar Gonzalez said. “We wanted more from these past two games, but it just wasn’t there and that’s what was disappointing. We had some good team meetings. Everything that was said was right. All the right words were said, but it didn’t transfer to the field and losing tonight 2-0.”
Mazatlan won 2-0 at Nashville with Ramiro Arciga scoring in the 47th and 54th minutes.
Tigres beat Puebla 2-1 in Houston, taking the lead from a Sebastian Cordova goal in the 2nd. Diego de Buen equalized for Puebla in the 12th. Puebla played a man down from the 71st with a red card to Lucas Cavallini. Diego Reyes returned the Tigres lead in the 85th minute.
The LA Galaxy won 2-1 at San Jose, taking the lead from a Diego Fagundez goal in the 41st. San Jose’s Jeremy Ebobisse equalized in the 75th. Miguel Berry put the Galaxy up for good in the 89th minute.
USMNT player DeJuan Jones is now a member of the Columbus Crew, joining the club in a trade with New England. The Crew sent Will Sands and $600k in allocation money to New England.
“DeJuan has gained quality experience with New England and with the US Men’s National Team,” Crew GM Issa Tall said. “He has proven his ability to defend and create chances in the attack from both sides of the pitch, and his addition to our roster will help with our goal to consistently contend for championships. We know DeJuan can continue to elevate his game with our Club and our commitment to player development.”
Thursday’s Leagues Cup games started with FC Cincinnati shutting out Queretaro 1-0 at home. Yamil Asad scored Cincinnati’s goal in the 64th minute.
Real Salt Lake came back to beat Atlas 2-1 at home after falling behind to a 26th minute Luis Reyes goal. Anderson Julio equalized for RSL two minutes into first-half stoppage time and Nelson Palacio scored in the 79th minute.
Toluca beat Chicago 3-1 in Bridgeview, after falling behind to a Georgios Koutsias goal in the 8th. Toluca’s Jesus Angulo equalized in the 29th and Marcel Ruiz added goals in the 45th and 66th minutes.
Round two concluded in Portland, where the Timbers shutout Colorado 4-0. Antony put Portland up in the 30th and David Ayala doubled the lead in the 52nd. Santiago Moreno scored the Timbers’ fourth goal in the 71st minute.
The USA exited the Olympic Men’s soccer tournament in the quarterfinals on Friday, losing 4-0 to Morroco in Paris. Soufiane Rahimi converted a 29th minute penalty, Ilias Akhomach doubled the Morocco lead in the 63rd, Achraf Hakimi scored in the 70th, and Mehdi Maouhoub converted a penalty a minute into stoppage time.
Quotes courtesy of MLS team press releases.
