American side Philadelphia Union eliminated Mazatlán FC on Saturday in a penalty shootout, one of the two Mexican soccer teams still in the Leagues Cup, after a 1-1 draw in regular time.
In the quarter-finals of the competition that pits Mexican teams against those from the MLS, Alonso Escoboza scored in regular time for Mazatlán and Dane Mikkel Uhre did so for Philadelphia.
In the penalty shootout, Venezuelan José Martínez, Englishman Jack Elliott, Jamaican Damion Lowe and also Venezuelan Jesús Bueno scored for the American team and for Mexico Ramiro Árciga, Alonso Escoboza and Raúl Camacho scored.
Mazatlán FC was the better team in the first half, reaching their rival’s area with danger up to 10 times, however they missed all three shots on goal, while the effectiveness was on the side of Unión.
Panamanian Édgar Bárcenas played 68 minutes of the match and was shown a yellow card.
In a counterattack in added time, Jack McGlynn passed a deep ball to Mikkel Uhre, who broke into the area from the left wing to finish over Mazatlán goalkeeper Ricardo Gutiérrez, making it 1-0 at 45+3, despite the fact that two minutes into the game Philadelphia suffered the expulsion of Israeli Tai Baribo.
In the second half, the Mazatlan team continued with their offensive stance and now they improved their aim when in a play generated by a free kick, Ramiro Árciga, on the right, crossed a service that Escoboza headed for 1-1 in the 59th minute.
Vucetich’s team pressed Union in the final minutes, but Jamaican goalkeeper Andre Blake parried a header from Argentine Facundo Almada in the 86th minute, forcing penalties.
Union will face Columbus Crew, the MLS champion who previously eliminated New York City FC, in the semifinals on Wednesday. Due to Mazatlán’s elimination, only one of the 18 Mexican teams remains in the Leagues Cup, América, which will later challenge the American team Colorado Rapids.
