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Concacaf Champions League Quarterfinals: Club América and LAFC Advance to Semifinals

Published

6 years ago

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Club América out of Mexico and Major League Soccer’s LAFC advanced to Saturday’s semifinals on the second night of Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League quarterfinals at Exploria Stadium after dispatching Atlanta United and Cruz Azul, respectively.

Atlanta United looked to erase a 3-0 aggregate score line in the opening match against Liga MX side Club América, while LAFC and Mexican side Cruz Azul met in a single-leg quarterfinal match in the nightcap.

The Five Stripes could only eke out a 1-0 win in the early match to fall 3-1 on aggregate. LAFC then came from behind to beat Cruz Azul 2-1 in the nightcap to keep MLS hopes alive in the competition.

Atlanta United 1-0 (1-3 agg.) Club América

Atlanta United looked to erase a 3-0 aggregate score line in the opening match against Liga MX side Club América but could only inch closer by a single goal in a 1-0 win.

The teams played a scoreless but often chippy first half, with a lot of early fouls, although the game calmed down a bit after the opening quarter of an hour. América fashioned the first good chance off a free kick in the ninth minute, when Richard Sanchez fizzed a shot just over the crossbar.

Ezequiel Barco, who was active in the opening period, sent Franco Escobar down the right with a no-look pass in the 15th minute but Memo Ochoa made a good save diving to his right to keep the game scoreless. Barco got into a good position in the area in the 23rd minute, stabbing a shot toward goal but right at Ochoa.

América wasted a 4-v-3 break in the 34th minute, running out of ideas at the end. Eventually, Sebastian Cordova sent a shot right at Brad Guzan was no trouble for the veteran goalkeeper.

The half plodded to a scoreless finish, with each team firing three shots, although Atlanta got more on frame (3-1). Each team committed seven fouls, but Atlanta’s Eric Remedi was the only player booked. Atlanta United held more of the possession (66.1%-33.9%), which is expected since the Five Stripes were chasing a 3-0 aggregate deficit, and had an advantage in passing accuracy (90%-81%).

The teams came out plodding to start the second half, with the first shot coming in the 52nd minute when Barco sent a shot over the bar from outside the area. Nine minutes later, Leonardo Suarez sent a curling free kick just off target at the other end.

George Bello got in down the left in the 69th minute and started Atlanta’s best sequence of the night to that point. Bello crossed for second-half sub Cubo Torres who fired a shot that Ochoa stopped. Torres got to the rebound first and again Ochoa made the stop. The ball was cleared to the top of the area and the América defense blocked a shot at about the penalty spot.

Antonio Lopez fired wide for América in the 77th minute, as the Mexican side continued to waste its opportunities.

Atlanta finally broke the scoreless deadlock in the 82nd minute. Bello crossed in from the left and found Homegrown forward Jackson Conway, who had subbed on just minutes earlier. Conway smashed his header past Ochoa and the 19-year-old had a goal on his debut. It cut the aggregate score to 3-1 but far too late for Atlanta to mount any kind of comeback.

“Fantastic, composed finish,” said Atlanta interim manager Stephen Glass of Conway’s goal.

The game took an ugly turn at the end of normal time when América’s Santiago Naveda made an awful tackle from behind on Marcelino Moreno, who then lashed out with a kick in retaliation. Naveda was booked for his infraction and Moreno was sent off. Glass said he didn’t see Moreno’s kick but understood from others that it was a red card, but also felt Naveda’s tackle — which he did see — should also have been a red.

That was about it for the Five Stripes, who finished a man and two goals down, despite winning this individual leg. Atlanta United led in shots (10-9), shots on goal (7-1), corners (5-3), possession (63.3%-36.7%), and passing accuracy (88%-80%).

But it was an ugly and often boring affair with 32 fouls (18 for América and 14 for Atlanta), and referee Ismael Cornejo did the match no favors by allowing so much on the pitch. Despite the 32 fouls, there were only three cautions and the straight red to Moreno for violent conduct. Cordova alone committed five fouls but saw no yellow card for América.

“They played better tonight than they have,” Glass said of his Five Stripes. “The players showed what they’re capable of tonight.”

LAFC 2-1 Cruz Azul

LAFC and Mexican side Cruz Azul met in a single-leg quarterfinal match in the nightcap, as they didn’t get to play the first leg due to the pandemic shutdown. With no first leg result for either team to sit on, the match seemed like it would be the most exciting of the four quarterfinals at Exploria Stadium and it did live up to that billing.

Former Orlando City midfielder Yoshimar Yotún started at Exploria Stadium for the first time since leaving the Lions after the 2018 season, when OCSC sold him for $4 million to Cruz Azul. He was later joined on the pitch by another former Lion, LAFC’s Mohamed El-Munir, who came on late to help see out the win for Bob Bradley’s side.

Each team came close early on. Luis Romo headed a free kick service into the net in the fifth minute but the offside flag nullified it. Four minutes later, Diego Rossi smashed a shot off the crossbar at the other end.

A bad turnover by Cruz Azul in the defensive end gave Danny Musovski an opportunity in the 10th minute but his shot was partially blocked and skipped out for a corner.

After those early near misses, it was Yotún who opened the scoring in his old house. Orbelin Pineda picked up the ball after a terrible giveaway by LAFC at the back and took the ball in on goal, where he was fouled by Eddie Segura, setting up a penalty. Yotún lined up the spot kick and abused goalkeeper Kenneth Vermeer with a soft chip just under the crossbar as the LAFC keeper dove to stop a hard shot that never came. Cruz Azul led 1-0 in the 15th minute.

Carlos Vela sent Mark-Anthony Kaye down the right in the 33rd minute but his shot was blocked as the first half remained wide open. Moments later, Vela got in behind and was fouled by goalkeeper Sebastian Jurado in the area, giving LAFC a penalty of its own. Vela stepped up and beat Jurado, who guessed correctly but couldn’t stop the striker’s shot and the match was tied at 1-1 in the 38th minute.

Cruz Azul nearly regained the lead two minutes later. Roberto Alvarado busted down the left hand side but sliced his shot wide of the far post. Vela then forced a diving save from Jurado in the 45th minute in the last decent chance of the opening period. The teams went to the break tied at 1-1.

LAFC led in shots (9-3), shots on goal (4-1), and corners won (4-0), while Cruz Azul held slight advantages in possession (52.4%-47.6%) and passing accuracy (78%-75%).

After the break, Rossi nearly found the net in the 52nd minute from the left side, fizzing a shot toward the back post but Jurado made a diving save. But LAFC started to get more and more of a grip on the game throughout a tighter (and sloppier) second half. The MLS side continuously won set pieces and finally paid one of them off in the 70th minute.

Vela crossed in from the corner flag and the ball got through the traffic and came out the other side of the box, where second-half sub Kwadwo Opoku smashed it inside the far post from right to left to make it 2-1. Opoku became the second 19-year-old for an MLS side to score a goal on the night, joining Conway from the early match.

Cruz Azul fullback Juan Escobar tried a long-range effort moments later but sailed his shot well over the bar. La Máquina dedicated more numbers into the attack but couldn’t find any clear path through the LAFC defense.

LAFC finished with more shots (15-7), shots on goal (7-1), and corners (9-1), while Cruz Azul had the advantage in possession (55.8%-44.2%) and passing accuracy (78%-73%).

“Really proud of our team tonight,” LAFC Head Coach Bob Bradley said after the match. “There was a real resolve that we could get back in the game. A lot of guys stepped up in a big way.”

Club América will face LAFC in the late semifinal at Exploria Stadium on Saturday. The earlier semifinal will feature CD Olimpia (Honduras) against Tigres UANL (Mexico).

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Orlando City

Orlando City vs. San Jose Earthquakes: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More

Orlando City restarts its 2026 MLS campaign late tonight out west at San Jose.

Published

2 weeks ago

on

July 22, 2026

By

Image of Braian Ojeda taking a shot in a friendly against FC Dallas.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Justin Glatt

Welcome to your match thread for a late night midweek matchup tonight between Orlando City (4-9-2, 14 points) and the San Jose Earthquakes (10-3-2, 32 points) at PayPal Park (10:30 p.m., Apple TV). This is the only scheduled meeting between the teams in 2026 and the first time the teams have met since 2024.

Here’s what you need to know ahead of tonight’s match.

History

Orlando City is 3-1-3 in the previous seven MLS meetings with the Quakes since the club joined Major League Soccer in 2015. The Lions got their only away win in the series in the last meeting and enter tonight 1-1-2 on the road against San Jose.

The teams last met on May 18, 2024, with Jack Lynn coming off the bench to score the game’s only goal. Lynn’s strike in the 89th minute broke the scoreless deadlock and lifted the Lions to a 1-0 victory.

The teams met in Orlando most recently way back on June 22, 2021, with the Lions beating the Quakes down, 5-0. Orlando got things started with an early penalty kick goal by Nani, followed by braces from Benji Michel and Daryl Dike to easily put the game away. The lasting memory from the game is Michel’s celebratory dance wearing a cowboy hat that came out of the stands.

Prior to that Orlando City romp, the last time the teams met was on Aug. 31, 2019 when the Lions got freight trained 3-0 at Avaya Stadium, giving the Quakes their first win in the series. San Jose’s offense came via a Chris Wondolowski brace and an early opening goal by Magnus Eriksson. Orlando looked flat and weary out of the gate.

The Lions were victorious in Exploria Stadium in the 2018 meeting on April 21, a 3-2 Orlando win. It was the first win in the series for either side after three straight draws. Chris Mueller, Sacha Kljestan, and Dom Dwyer gave the Lions a 3-0 lead before Florian Jungwirth pulled two back in the game’s late stages.

The Lions led all of the first three matches in the second half only to see San Jose pull level, with two of those tying goals coming late. In the 2017 meeting, Carlos Rivas finally broke the scoreless tie and gave Orlando City the lead in the 81st minute, but Wondolowski spoiled the Lions’ night with an equalizer two minutes later as the teams drew at Avaya Stadium, 1-1.

In 2016, the Lions were gut-punched in the 94th minute in an emotional match that ended in a 2-2 draw. It was the first home match following the Pulse nightclub tragedy and what appeared to be a storybook ending to a cathartic win turned sour on a last-gasp equalizer by Shea Salinas. Seb Hines — now the Orlando Pride’s head coach — opened the scoring for Orlando, only to see Chad Barrett tie it up. Julio Baptista restored the lead in stoppage time, but Salinas ruined everything.

The two teams also drew in the first meeting, a 1-1 affair at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, with the Lions down to 10 men after Brek Shea was sent off in the first half. Kaká and Wondolowski each scored from the penalty spot four minutes apart in that initial meeting.

Overview

The teams meet tonight to get their post-World Cup portion of the season started. Orlando City has been terrible on the road all season long, keeping only one MLS opponent under two goals all year away from home and allowing five goals twice (at New York City FC and Nashville) and six goals twice (at LAFC and in the team’s most recent match away at FC Cincinnati just before the break).

Orlando City is a putrid 1-6-1 on the road this season, and now the Lions must face the Western Conference co-leaders tonight before coming home to face Supporters’ Shield-leading Nashville SC at home on Saturday. They’ll have to play at least tonight’s game without Martin Ojeda, who is out with a thigh injury sustained some time between his first-half goal a week ago in a friendly against FC Dallas and the time the availability report dropped on Tuesday.

But it isn’t all bad news for the Lions, who should have both Antoine Griezmann and Dike in the lineup. Griezmann was the club’s highly prized and widely publicized summer Designated Player signing, while Dike’s return to Orlando came together more recently, following his departure from West Bromwich Albion. They’ll help the club’s offense, but the attack hasn’t been the issue in 2026 — it’s been the historically porous defense, which is on pace to shatter the MLS record for goals conceded.

Meanwhile, San Jose is one of the first half of the season’s biggest surprises, as the Quakes have been outstanding in 2026. Scoring 34 goals while conceding just 15, San Jose is among the league leaders in goals scored (tied for third), goals conceded (third), and goal differential (+19, third).

The Earthquakes are 4-2-1 at home and are coming off a 3-1 road win at Portland in their last game prior to the World Cup break. San Jose boasts Golden Boot challenger Preston Judd, who leads the Quakes with 11 goals, adding two assists in his 15 appearances. Ousseni Bouda has chipped in five goals and three assists. Niko Tsakiris leads the team with seven assists to go along with his two goals, but he’s still recovering from a lower body injury and is not available tonight. However, the arrival of Timo Werner (four goals and five assists in just seven games) has truly elevated Bruce Arena’s Quakes, and he’ll need to be one of the main focal points for the Orlando defense.

To have any shot at taking something from this game, the Lions will need to play better road defense than they have all season. Orlando can score goals, but with Ojeda out, Griezmann will need to adapt quickly, and someone other than the team’s leading scorer will need to find the net.

The Lions will play without Ojeda (thigh), Joran Gerbet (knee), Nolan Miller (knee), Colin Guske (international duty), and Clovis Archage (international duty). In addition, Marco Pasalic may or may not have returned to the team after the World Cup. He was not in training Monday, although interim head coach Martin Perelman said he expected the Croatian back soon. The Earthquakes will be without Nonso Adimabua (lower body), former Lion Earl Edwards Jr. (lower body), DeJuan Jones (lower body), and Tsakiris (you guessed it, lower body…come on, San Jose).

Match Content

Official Lineups:

Orlando City (4-4-2)

Goalkeeper: Maxime Crepeau.

Defenders: Adrian Marin, David Brekalo, Robin Jansson, Griffin Dorsey.

Midfielders: Ivan Angulo, Braian Ojeda, Eduard Atuesta, Tiago.

Forwards: Justin Ellis, Antoine Griezmann.

Bench: Javier Otero, Bernardo Rhein, Tahir Reid-Brown, Zakaria Taifi, Iago, Wilder Cartagena, Luis Otavio, Harvey Sarajian, Tyrese Spicer

San Jose Earthquakes (4-2-3-1)

Goalkeeper: Angus Gunn.

Defenders: Jamar Ricketts, Reid Roberts, Daniel Munie, Benjamin Kikanovic.

Defensive Midfielders: Beau Lerouox, Ronaldo Vieira.

Attacking Midfielders: Timo Werner, Nick Fernandez, Ousseni Bouda.

Forwards: Preston Judd.

Bench: Jonathan Gonzalez, Dave Romney, Paul Marie, Jack Skahan, Jack Jasinski, Ian Harkes, Francesco Montali, Max Floriani, Darius Johnson.

Referees

REF: Elijio Arreguin.
AR1: Adam Wienckowski.
AR2: Mike Nickerson.
4TH: Timothy Ford.
VAR: Jose Carlos Rivero.
AVAR: TJ Zablocki.

How to Watch

Match Time: 10:30 p.m.

Venue: PayPal Park — San Jose, CA.

TV/Live Stream: Apple TV.

Radio: AM 810 FOX Sports Radio Orlando (English), Mega 97.1 FM (Spanish), Nossa Rádio 1160 AM-WRLZ (Portuguese).

Social Media: For rapid reaction and live updates, follow us on Bluesky Social at @themaneland.bsky.social or follow Orlando City’s official Twitter (@OrlandoCitySC) or Bluesky (@OrlandoCitySC) feed.

Enjoy the match. Go City!

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Podcasts

PawedCast Episode 542: Tampa Bay Friendly, McGuire Traded, OCB Beats Cincinnati, and More

Lions maul the Rowdies in friendly action, OCB wins on the road, and it’s transfer season.

Published

3 weeks ago

on

July 14, 2026

By

Image of Antoine Griezmann and Ivan Angulo celebrating a goal in a friendly against the Tampa Bay Rowdies.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Orlando City welcomed I-4 Derby rival Tampa Bay to Inter&Co Stadium for a friendly match on Wednesday and then proceeded to bludgeon the Rowdies with a couple of hammers named Antoine Griezmann and Justin Ellis. The two attackers combined for a goal and four assists in a 6-0 beatdown of the team from the Gulf Coast, with five different Lions scoring and Griffin Dorsey forcing an own goal. We discuss Griezmann’s first minutes with Orlando City, what the team showed in its formation, and how good Justin Ellis’ vision is.

Oh, and it’s also transfer season now. Duncan McGuire is on his way out and Marco Pasalic reportedly will follow soon, while a new left back may be headed from Spain to Orlando.

Following all of that, we discuss Maxime Crepeau being added to the MLS All-Star Team and the announcement that he’ll participate in the 2026 MLS All-Star Skills Challenge.

Our mailbagbox asked us about which World Cup semifinalist players we’d want to join Orlando this season (if we could only pick one), and more. Remember, if there’s anything — and we do mean anything — you want us to address on the show, just ask us by tweeting it to us at @TheManeLand with the hashtag #AskTMLPC, or hitting us up on Bluesky Social with that same hashtag.

After the mailbagbox, we dive into OCB’s 2-1 road win at FC Cincinnati 2. It wasn’t the prettiest game by the Young Lions, but they managed to do enough to earn three points on the road, where they’ll stay to face Chattanooga on Saturday. We briefly preview that game.

Finally, Orlando City will be in Dallas Wednesday for the second of two friendlies leading up to the restart of the MLS season. It’s unlikely we’ll get a lot of details about that one, but we’ll see what happens. Maybe the FC Dallas folks will help us out.

Be sure to rate and review our show wherever you get your podcasts. Remember, we’ll read any five-star reviews we get on Apple Podcasts on the next show.

If you’d like to support our independent writing and podcasting efforts, we’d love to have you as a subscriber or donor over at our Buy Me a Coffee site.

Here’s how No. 542 went down:

0:15 – Orlando City crushed the Rowdies, the transfer season is in full swing, plus: hey now, Crepeau’s an all-star.

28:50 – The mailbagbox is always good for a hypothetical scenario.

36:54 – The Young Lions slipped past Cincy and head to Chattanooga, while the senior Lions head to Dallas.

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Podcasts

SkoPurp Soccer Episode 119: International Break, USWNT, Louisville Preview, and More

The Pride return from a long international break looking to get their first-ever road win against Racing Louisville.

Published

3 months ago

on

April 22, 2026

By

Image of Haley McCutcheon scoring the opening goal in Orlando's home playoff win over Seattle.
Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

It feels like months since the Orlando Pride last took the field, but the calendar says otherwise. If you believe calendars, it’s only been a little less than three weeks, but time moves strangely in the post-pandemic apocalyptic world.

Anyway, we don’t have a match to recap, so we touched on a couple of Pride players putting the ball in the net during the international break and chat a bit about the United States Women’s National Team’s three-game friendly series against Japan. Emma Hayes used a lot of players, and the team looked solid for two of the three matches, but the rotated middle game seemed a bit disjointed. Hayes has greatly expanded the player pool and will have plenty of options when the World Cup approaches.

Our mailbagbox had questions about a potential change in the NWSL schedule, as the league explores adopting the fall-to-spring slate, and opposition own goals. Remember, you can ask us anything by hitting us up on Twitter at either @TheManeLand or @SkoPurpSoccer and using the hashtag #AskSkoPurp. You can use that same hashtag and hit @TheManeLand.bsky.social up on Bluesky. Or you can visit our show page, scroll down, and fill out the handy form. We’d also appreciate any ratings or reviews you can leave wherever you get your podcasts, and if you do that on Apple Podcasts, we’ll find them easily and read them on the show.

After the mailbagbox, we turned our attention toward Friday’s late afternoon tussle with Racing Louisville in Kentucky. The Pride have never won on the road against Louisville, and it’s about high time they did. This match begins a congested push to the June World Cup break, and although Friday’s hosts aren’t high in the table, the Pride must be at their best to get a road result in this fixture. We look back at the series history, compare the two sides, provide our key matchups in the game, and make our final score predictions.

If you’d like to support our independent writing and podcasting efforts, we’d love to have you as a subscriber or donor over at our Buy Me a Coffee site.

Here’s how Episode 119 went down:

0:15 – We open the show with a little banter about the Pride in the international break and the USWNT’s series vs. Japan.

9:03 – The mailbagbox features questions via both eletronic mail and social media. We welcome all modes of delivery.

19:59 – The Pride travel to Louisville to face Racing. They’ve never won in Kentucky, but we inform them how to do so.

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