CCL: MLS Hopes Take Hit as Seattle, L.A. Drop Home Legs

Humberto Suazo once again helped down an MLS side (Getty Images)

Major League Soccer seems to be falling into a pattern in CONCACAF Champions League since RSL lost to Monterrey in the finals a couple of years ago.  We're seeing greater success in the group stage, despite the reworked format, and we even succeeded in knocking a Mexican team out (Seattle over Tigres) in the later stages this year.  However, our clubs seem to run into problems in the semis against Mexican clubs that are tried and tested in the CCL, namely Santos Laguna and the aforementioned Monterrey.  Both of the remaining MLS clubs (Seattle and defending MLS Cup champs L.A.) hosted their home legs this week, and both dropped tough decisions, giving up away goals to these strong Mexican sides in advance of the road legs south of the border next week.

First up, Seattle hosted Santos Tuesday night at Century Link Field.  The odds were somewhat stacked against the Sounders going in, as both of their top line strikers (USA International Eddie Johnson and Nigerian International Obafemi Martins) were set to miss the match with injuries either picked up or aggravated during Saturday's league loss at Real Salt Lake.  On top of that, coach Sigi Schmidt was so seemingly unimpressed with his side that both Mauro Rosales and Steve Zakuani started the match on the subs bench.

The Sounders would largely be counting on Sammy Ochoa and Honduran Mario Martinez to provide the offense in a side that seemed to be set up to just try and stop Santos Laguna.  This strategy seemed questionable because even if the Sounders obtained a favorable result, they still faced a tough match in Torreon for the second leg, where last year Santos thrashed them 6-1.  In the end it was all moot though, because the offense never came.  Martinez struggled with hitting the target all night long, often settling for shots near the top of or outside the penalty area.  Ochoa was a joke.  His "highlight" came in the second half when his shot, on his best look of the night, went out for a throw in, a total embarrassment.

Still, Seattle's defense looked like it might not break, though it was certainly bending.  Despite increased pressure from the Mexican side, Seattle held the nil-nil draw through the end of the first half, with much thanks going to 'keeper Marcus Hahnemann, who had been in beast mode for the Sounders.  It all came crashing down in the second half though.  In the 53rd minute Santos struck out on a counter attack after a succession of three consecutive Seattle corners failed to produce much of anything.  They totally caught Seattle too far forward, and Carlos Darwin Quintero and Herculez Gomez streaked toward the Seattle goal.  Quintero unleashed a venomous shot, but Hanhnemann made a great stop to his side.  Unfortunately, the rebound went right to Gomez, who bashed the shot into the top of the net to make it 0-1 to Santos and give Seattle yet another reason to retire the "Sounders reject" chant for him.

In the end, it would be all Santos needed.  Seattle brought in Rosales and Zakuani late on, but it was far too little too late.  They didn't really affect the match, and Santos held on for a 0-1 victory on US soil.

With that, the league looked to it's defending champions, the Los Angeles Galaxy.  There was reason for MLS to be hopeful about this.  Unlike Seattle, the Galaxy have been in fine form in the league and Landon Donovan had returned to the team and was ready to go, though he didn't start.  The downside was that they were playing CCL juggernaut Monterrey.  A good result seemed to be required for the Galaxy with the second leg being away to the two time defending CCL Champs.

It didn't turn out to be scintillating affair.  The match featured 21 fouls and four yellow cards, while only producing seven shots on goal.  The Galaxy had the better of it for large parts of the game, though I do disagree with the official MLS recap's assertion that they "were unfortunate not to score several more goals."  The Galaxy got three shots in target, 1 of them went in.  They still looked the better side early on though, and in the 28th minute AJ DeLaGarza gave the Galaxy the 1-0 lead.   He flicked a nice header from Mike Magee (the MLS player of the month for March) into the back of the net, putting Monterrey on their heals.

However, Los Rayados gradually started to control proceedings in the second half.  In the 61st minute Juninho went off injured after rolling his ankle and it was the moment Monterrey needed.  Old RSL foes Humberto Suazo and Aldo De Nigris surfaced once again to draw blood on an MLS side.  Suazo tallied in the 82nd minute after LA 'keeper Cudicini gave up a rebound from a De Nigris shot,  De Nigris himself slipped in the dagger in the first minute of stoppage time, when Guillermo Madrigal set him up with a nice ball inside Omar Gonzalez.  De Nigris easily finished past Cudicini to make it 1-2 and seal the win for Los Rayados.  Monterrey's manager commented after the match that you have to play the full 90 minutes.  This could serve as both a praise for his team's comeback and an indictment of the Galaxy's fading down the stretch.

Both MLS sides now face an uphill battle in Mexico next week.  Both must overcome an away goal advantage.  It might be less of a task for Seattle.  They hope to have Johnson and Martins back in the lineup, plus they only conceded once, so if they could manage a 0-1 win and tie the aggregate they could force extra time.  However, do I see Seattle's defense putting up a clean sheet on Santos in Torreon?  No, of course not.  Seattle will have to push, and it will leave them dangerously exposed to same kind of counter that took them down on Tuesday.

The Galaxy look to be in even bigger trouble.  True, they scored, but they also conceded the two road goals which means even if they could level the aggregate at 2-2, Monterrey still has the advantage.  The Galaxy pretty much have to score twice.  They have the players to do it, but I just can't bring myself to bet against Monterrey and Suazo at this stage.  We'll have to see what happens.

Mexico Match Thoughts: La Gran Final, Leg 1

I don't think anyone that follows Mexican soccer was really surprised to see these two clubs meet in the Clausura final.  Both of these sides have been on fire, Monterrey especially since Humberto Suazo decided he was going to stick around.  This is also a rematch of the CONCACAF Champions League final from this year, in which Monterrey beat Santos to claim it's second consecutive CONCACAF crown.

Monterrey opened the match in good form, controlling possession and working their way into the Santos area.  César Delgado forced a nice save out of Santos in the 7th minute as Monterrey knocked on the door.  Suazo hit the ensuing corner but Walter Ayovi's shot went over the bar.

After the first ten minutes or so, Santos started to get their legs into the match and threaten the Monterrey area.  Both Daniel Ludueña and Oribe Peralta took shots early, but neither of them could find the target.  In the 30th minute Marc Crosas forced the first save out of Jonathan Orozco, but the Monterrey keeper parried it for a corner.  Santos sent the cross in on the corner and Felipe Baloy rose and headed the ball into the net.  However Baloy was whistled for a foul on the play and the goal was called back.  It wasn't the last mistake he would make, but the half ended 0-0.

Monterrey came out the stronger of the two sides in the second half, and began to get looks at goal.  Suazo sent shots high in both the 48th and 51st minutes.  Los Rayados grew more and more frustrated, and every minute that went by, Santos became more confident.

Santos began to knock on the door again in the 56th minute when Ludueña cracked the crossbar from distance.  Orozco didn't have much time to catch his breath though.  In the 69th minute Peralta got on the end of a 50 meter pass from Crosas.  With one deft touch he brought the ball down, settled it, and evaded the Monterrey defender.  He then turned and smacked the ball past a stunned Orozco to make it 0-1 to Santos and give them the all important away goal.

Monterrey continued to press the issue, but as the match went into stoppage time, a Santos error gifted Monterrey the draw.  In the third minute of stoppage time Baloy went to ground in the area on Suazo.  The nasty tackle came in from behind and tripped up the Monterrey attacker, despite the fact that he was moving away from goal.  The referee rightly awarded a penalty kick, which Suazo promptly scored to tie the match 1-1 at full time.

The second leg will be Sunday in Torreon, and I suppose Santos will be happy with the away goal.  However, the Suazo PK could loom large as I have a hard time thinking that Santos is gonna hang a clean sheet on the CONCACAF champs in the next leg either.

2012 CCL Quarters: Morelia vs. Monterrey

Monterrey's Jesus De Nigris strikes. (Rayados.com)

So this matchup is the only quarterfinal to pit two Mexican Primera sides against each other. Monterrey is the defending CCL champs, meanwhile Morelia has been flying high in the league. I looked for Morelia to do better honestly.

The match started out a little tentative on both sides. The clubs traded possession a bit, but there were no chances carved out until Edison Toloza put Morelia's first shot high in the 17th minute. After that, Morelia seemed to begin to warm to the task.

Their possession became much more steady and they started to hem Monterrey in close to their own penalty area. In the 20th minute Rafael Marquez Lugo rolled a shot on goal, but their best chance came in the 22nd minute. Edgar Lugo took a cross in the area and put a bullet header on target. Jonathan Orozco stuck out his left leg, and the ball barely deflected wide off of his shin. It really should have been 1-0.

Then just a few minutes later, Monterrey struck first against the run of play. In the 28th, Mauricio Romero took down Angel Reyna Martinez just inside the 18, resulting in a penalty kick for Monterrey. Humberto Suazo stepped up and nailed the spot kick to make it 0-1 to Monterrey.

Morelia responded right away to giving up the all important away goal, engineering a couple more quality chances before halftime. Marquez Lugo nearly struck again in the 37th, but Orozco denied him. Unfortunately for Morelia, Suazo added a second for Los Rayados in the 41st, taking a centering pass and slapping it inside the far post to make it 0-2 to Monterrey at the half.

Morelia did their best to climb back into the tie in the second half. Monterrey had surrendered a number of quality set piece chances, but just couldn't convert one. They did get their goal from the run of play in the 60th minute. Joel Huiqui took a gorgeous cross from Edgar Lugo and headed it into the back post to make it 1-2.

Had it stayed like that, Morelia might have felt better about their chances in the return leg. However, disaster struck in stoppage time. Monterrey sent in a shot in the 92nd minute, it was blocked but the ball ended up bouncing around in front of the goal mouth. Finally Abraham Carreno got a foot to it and tapped it in to give Monterrey the 1-3 win.

That will mean Morelia will have to score 3 goals at Monterrey and keep Suazo and company out of the net. I'm not real confident in their chances of accomplishing that.

Puddle's 2012 CCL Quarterfinal Preview

I want to point all of the Puddle's readers that are interested in MLS, Mexico Primera Division, and CONCACAF Champions League to an excellent article on FoxSoccer.com about the Mexican sides that will be participating in the last 8 of CCL. Eben Lehman does a great job hashing out the chances of each side. Check out the article HERE.


Also here's my take on the Quarter-Final matchups:


Morelia vs. Monterrey
The defending CCL Champs will probably be the underdog in this one. However, Humberto Suazo's in form return to the club should help bolster Monterrey and give them a better chance to defend their title. However, Morelia has been in great form and I'll give them the edge in this one. Might be tricky with the 2nd leg being at Monterrey though.

Seattle Sounders FC vs. Santos Laguna
The advantage that Santos is going to have here is that they're in midseason form, and are playing pretty well. Seattle is just coming off the end of preseason. Plus the second leg is in Mexico. I look for Seattle to put a up a great fight, but come up short. They must NOT let Santos secure an away goal, that will be a key. If they can come out of the Clink with a clean sheet, they'll have a much better chance. I'll take Santos though.

Toronto FC vs. LA Galaxy
I look for Toronto to be much improved this year, and to sew up their first MLS playoff spot. However, I just don't see them overcoming the Galaxy here. Tough draw for them, especially with the second leg being in LA. I think TFC is leaps and bounds better than before, but the Galaxy are just too good for this matchup.

UNAM Pumas vs. Isidro Metapan
Remember when the Rapids said Metapan were the weakest team in that group? Oops. Metapan could be a sleeper here. Pumas have not been all that great in league play, and were less than stellar at times in the CCL group stage. The winner of this series gets either Morelia or Monterrey, so while I think Metapan will takes this, I think it will ultimately be the winner of Morelia/Monterrey in the final.

Mexico Match Blurb: Morelia vs. Monterrey

Another blurb will have to suffice for this match, as their just wasn't that much to report. Monterrey continues to disappoint a year on from winning the CONCACAF Champions League. I can't say as I feel for them, but that's just me as an RSL fan.

The first chances of the match actually went to Los Rayados, with Jesus De Nigris hitting a shot high in the 4th minute. Honestly, it was closer to row ZZZ than it was to the target though. In the 9th minute Angel Reyna had one of the better chances of the match, beating the 'keeper but knocking his shot off of the far post.

The best first chance for Morelia came in the 12th minute, but saw Joao Rojas' header go high of the mark. In the 42nd minute Jamie Lozano picked up a yellow that would come into play in the second half. The first half ended with the sides still level at 0-0.

Arguably the best chance of the match came not long after halftime for Morelia. Miguel Sabah had been a real bright spot for them, and in the 52nd minute he forced a nice save out of Jonathan Orozco to keep the match level. Unfortunately for Morelia, Jamie Lozano picked up his second yellow card in the 58th minute, earning him the red card and an early shower.

Still Monterrey, who is having a tough time scoring and dealing with some large off field issues, could not take advantage of the extra man. De Nigris came closest in the 66th minute, but again watched his shot sail just high of the crossbar. Humberto Suazo did not play, as he has expressed his desire to leave, and his absence really showed in Los Rayados rather tepid offensive showing. However, Morelia could not muster a goal either and the match finished 0-0.

Mexico Match Thoughts: Monterrey vs. Morelia

In one of my earlier entries I explained that I was really trying to expand my footy horizons this year. Part of that is going to be paying a little closer attention to the Mexican league. I watched a few matches last season, but since my Spanish is more than rusty, I never paid really close attention unless the it was Cruz Azul or Monterrey, who wound up playing RSL in CONCACAF.

However, the more I've watched the more I understand, and hey, it's footy, so I'm really looking forward to taking in some more matches from south of the border this year. The first of these was Monterrey vs. Morelia.

One thing was crystal clear from the get go. Monterrey was the better side in all facets of the game. I mean hey, I saw these guys play live and beat RSL at home. Even Cruz Azul didn't manage that, so I have much respect for the CONCACAF Champs. They nearly grabbed the advantage early as well. Cardozo slotted home a goal in the 8th minute, but he was ruled offside. Replays were a little questionable, but we moved on. Offside would trouble Monterrey for most of the evening, as Cardozo and Humberto Suazo couldn't get their runs timed right.

Monterrey had a ton of possession in the first half, but really didn't have a lot of good, quality chances. In the 35th minute, they literally set up camp in the Morelia 18, but couldn't trigger a shot. Right before the half Suazo managed a nice looking strike, but it sailed just wide, ending the half at 0-0.

The second half was more of the same, except a little slower for most of it. Morelia looked desperate to claw into the match, but they had a hard time wrestling the ball away from Monterrey. They never really tested Orozco in goal.

Monterrey finally broke it open late, when Suazo helped his team capitalize on a Morelia turnover in the 84th minute. He slipped in, onside this time, and scored to make it 1-0 to Monterrey. Carreno added another in the 90th minute to ice it, the full time result being 2-0.

All in all a pretty fun match to watch and a hard earned win for Monterrey.

Tough Night at the RioT.

Well, this is pretty hard to talk about, though it was harder last night. Monterrey squeaked by Real Salt Lake 0-1 to take the final of the CONCACAF Champions League.

First off, I'm proud of my team. It wasn't their best performance, to be sure. In the end, there can be only one champion. Monterrey played the better match, and they deserved the result. They were an honorable opponent and their a great side. I will, however, be rooting for them to get their lunch eaten in the club world cup.

I didn't take notes or anything, there's not much to say. Monterrey had far too much possession, and I could feel their goal coming late in the first half. We were just desperate of defense. Not having Kyle Beckerman killed us. It looked to me like we were getting our asses handed to us in midfield. When Arturo Alvarez came in in the second half things came to life a little bit, and Paulo Jr. came in late, but it was too little too late.

Ant any rate, that's about all I have to say. Congrats to Monterrey. Congrats to RSL for giving us fans a great ride. We need to win the US Open Cup and lock up CONCACAF qualification for next year.

On to Portland.

CONCACAF Champions League: Monterrey vs. Real Salt Lake

The first leg of the 2010-2011 CONCACAF Champions League final is in the books. For this RSL supporter, I've had my heart my throat all day long. See I have this issue with superstition. As a Braves fan since I was a little boy in the early 80s, I watched them suck, then become perennial contenders in the 90s. I also tuned in to a lot of World Series games that they blew, so I find it hard to watch my teams in big games for fear I'll jinx them. So this match petrified me.

It really petrified me that RSL got off to kind of a slow start. I'm always confident that we can hang with anyone, but I've seen us concede a lot of early goals as well. My fears seemed to be realized when De Nigris scored early, despite a great performance so far from Homeboy Nick Rimando. Then something strange happened. In the 22nd minute, Monterrey subbed out both De Nigris and captain Luis Perez. The Ap match report sights injury concerns. I think Monterrey thought they had it in the bag already.

RSL started to get it together. As I said earlier, I'm pretty confident that we can hang with anybody in any stadium. Just ask Cruz Azul and Saprissa. If we have something to exploit, it's our size game, and that's how RSL equalized. In the 34th minute, Nat Borchers headed in a high cross from Will Johnson to tie it at 1-1, which proved to be the half time result.

Coming out in the second half, Monterrey set up shop in the RSL half and kept the pressure on. About the 62nd minute, Olave, who we call THE VERB, was hit for a hand ball in the box. I think it was BS. Anyway, Monterrey was awarded the PK, which Suazo scored to put Monterrey up 2-1.

For a long time, it looked like that's how the match would finish. However, you NEVER count RSL out of anything. We have this guy, Javi Morales. That's MR. MORALES. Javi had, shall we say, a flair for the dramatic. Right at the death, he sliced and diced the Monterrey defense and knocked the equalizer into the corner. The match ended 2-2, and the Championship Tie will switch to Rio Tinto next week, and RSL will enjoy the advantage of two away goals. That could be HUGE.

Not much more to say except WOW. Whatever happens next Wednesday, thanks to RSL for the ride of a lifetime for this sports fan.

Note: RSL Captain Kyle Beckerman will miss the 2nd leg after picking up another yellow card in tonight's match.