Toluca beats Dynamo at PKS

(Photo credits: Thomas Shea-USA TODAY Sports)

Edgar Lopez levelled for visiting Toluca deep into second-half injury time, before goalkeeper Tiago Volpi put on a show in the penalty shootout to send his team into the round of 16 of the Leagues Cup with a 2-2 draw against Houston Dynamo on Friday night.

Volpi scored the first penalty for Toluca and then dived low to his right to save an effort from Lawrence Ennali, setting up the decisive moment in a shootout that ended 5-4. Jesus Angulo opened the scoring for Toluca, who play Colorado Rapids on Tuesday.

Summer signing Ezequiel Ponce scored his first goal in a Houston shirt to tie the score at 1-1 late in the first half, and Micael scored for the second time in as many games to give Dynamo the lead in the 62nd minute. Micael’s goal was originally ruled out for offside, but was upheld after a video review.

However, VAR protocol then took away an apparent third for Houston and second for Ponce, which could have put the game out of reach. That opened the way for Lopez’s late back-post header, set up by Jesus Gallardo’s flick-on from Juan Pablo Dominguez’s corner.

Rapids 3, Juarez 2

Colorado secured a spot in the round of 16 with a surprise win over visiting Juarez in a match in Commerce City, Colorado. Both teams scored from the penalty spot, with Rapids goalkeeper Zack Steffen making seven saves.

Jonathan Lewis drew Colorado level early at 1-1, but was awarded the deciding penalty when his cross resulted in a handball. Djordje Mihailovic’s spot kick put the Rapids ahead 2-1 just before halftime, and Calvin Harris’ goal from a chaotic corner in the 59th minute made it 3-1.

Juarez substitute Aviles Hurtado converted a penalty in the 71st minute after he had provoked the foul, making it 3-2. Juarez had several chances to equalize in the closing stages, but could not get past Steffen. Angel Zaldivar scored in the 18th minute for the visitors, who crashed out in the round of 16 for the second year in a row.

Club America 2, Atlas 1

Henry Martin’s fantastic 73rd-minute goal made the difference as Club America ensured they did not just play one game in the Leagues Cup after securing a bye for their round of 16 clash against Atlas in San Diego.

After Javiaro Dilrosun’s deft chip past a defender helped create space for his low cross from the left, Martin finished off Dilrosun’s pass 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 with a St. Louis City team they beat 4-0 in last year’s group stage.

Erick Sanchez had given the US an early lead with his rebound header in the 20th minute, before Jose Lozano equalized with his header off a swinging cross from Raymundo Fulgencio in the 59th minute. Atlas will exit the tournament in the round of 16 for the second straight year.

FC Cincinnati 1 (6), Santos 1 (5)

Luca Orellano scored an early equaliser with a stunning left-footed shot from over 25 yards and FC Cincinnati eventually beat visiting Santos Laguna on penalties after missing several chances to win the match in regulation time.

Cincy converted all six penalties and Aldo Lopez fired Santos’ sixth over the bar to send the reigning MLS Supporters’ Shield winners through to the next round. Cincinnati led 20-9 in total shots and 7-2 in shots on goal and even saw a penalty saved in regulation time when Yuya Kubo failed to beat Carlos Acevedo in the 36th minute.

Santos took an early lead when Anthony Lozano capitalized on an FC Cincinnati error inside their own area for the club’s only goal of the tournament.

Union 2, CF Montreal 0

Tai Baribo continued his successful summer by scoring both goals in Union’s win over CF Montreal, taking his tally to nine goals in all competitions since joining Philadelphia’s starting lineup in late June.

Baribo fired home the rebound from Samuel Adeniran’s parried cross in first-half injury time. In second-half injury time, he finished off Jack McGlynn’s pass on the counterattack to seal a third multi-goal performance for the 26-year-old Israeli in 10 consecutive starts.

Andre Blake saved two shots to secure the Union’s second shutout of the tournament and to decide the game against FC Cincinnati, led by former Philadelphia assistant Pat Noonan.

St. Louis City 3, Wood 1

Eduard Lowen provided two assists in the final 10 minutes to help St. Louis City turn a tie into a comfortable win over visiting Portland.

Following a short corner from the right, Lowen made a clever pass into the right side of the box to set up Marcel Hartel’s low, driving half-volley in the 83rd minute. Five minutes later, Lowen beat a couple of defenders on the dribble before finding Simon Becher, who produced an impressive and emphatic finish from what did not immediately appear to be a shooting position.

Cedric Teuchert opened the scoring in the 51st minute for St. Louis in their first Leagues Cup knockout match after finishing bottom of their group in 2023. Claudio Bravo equalized three minutes later for Portland, who are currently out of the competition for the second year in a row.

Crew 4, Sporting KC 0

Diego Rossi scored either side of half-time as the reigning MLS Cup champions Crew cruised to an easy win over visiting Sporting Kansas City, who had the upper hand.

Summer signing Dylan Chambost also scored his first goal for Columbus since taking over from St. Etienne in Ligue 1 in June. Derrick Jones also scored as the Crew set up the most intriguing clash of the round of 16 against reigning Leagues Cup champions Inter Miami.

Columbus earned a bye to the Round of 32 by virtue of winning last year’s MLS Cup. The Crew have scored three or more goals in six of their 10 competitive games since losing to Pachuca in the CONCACAF Champions Cup final in June.

Mazatlan 2, DC United 1

Yoel Barcenas and Brian Rubio both scored in the final 15 minutes of the first half and visiting Mazatlan held on despite a late goal from 10-man DC United’s Mateusz Klich.

The home side were left short-handed after referee Selvin Brown sent off Jared Stroud in the 27th minute for a shot on the head of a Mazatlan player. Barcenas scored just seven minutes later on a deflected half-volley, and Rubio’s header from Alonso Escoboza’s cross in the 43rd minute made it 2-0.

That proved enough to secure a round of 16 meeting with Cruz Azul, despite an exceptional performance from DC’s goalkeeper Alex Bono, who saved 11 shots.

NYCFC 1 (7), Revolution 1 (6)

Mark-Anthony Kaye hit the bar as New England took their seventh penalty, with Justin Haak converting New York City FC’s seventh penalty to move through and secure a next-round clash with Tigres.

New York City’s goal in regulation time also came from the penalty spot via Santiago Rodriguez, who scored in the 35th minute after earning the chance himself when he drew a foul on Matt Polster in the penalty area.

New England equalized with Bobby Wood’s header in the 39th minute off Brandon Bye’s swinging serve from the left. However, the Revolution failed to score multiple goals for the seventh straight regular season game.

Cruz Azul 0 (5), Orlando City 0 (4)

Kevin Mier saved Dagur Thorhallsson’s penalty and the visiting Cruz Azul converted all five of their penalties to advance to a round of 16 clash with Mazatlan.

Mier also kept four clean sheets in regular time, marking his second clean sheet of the tournament for Cruz Azul, who have yet to win a single match in the competition.

Orlando’s Pedro Gallese made five stops in regulation time but rarely came close to saving a penalty in the tiebreak. The Lions will exit the tournament in the round of 16 for the second year in a row after being beaten at this stage in 2023 by Lionel Messi and eventual champions Inter Miami.

–Field Level Media