MIAMI. - The quarterfinals of the Scotiabank Champions League wrapped up Thursday but left us with plenty of moments that will last long in the memories of fans around the region.
Here are five of the top moments from the second knockout round of the 2022 club championship:
Dinenno double pushes Pumas to historic quarterfinal win
To overturn a 3-0 defeat to the New England Revolution in the first round, Pumas UNAM was going to need goals in the second leg. They got them from Juan Ignacio Dinenno.
After a smooth pair of touches from Rogerio, the Argentine FW put the first goal of the contest past New England Revolution GK Earl Edwards Jr in the 33rd minute. Shortly after the halftime break, the two once again connected, with Dinenno beating his defender to a low cross and putting the ball inside the near post.
After Sebastian Saucedo’s goal put Pumas up 3-0 on the night and sent the series to penalty kicks, it was Dinenno with the game at his boots, taking the final penalty of the first five kicks. He buried his opportunity and sent Pumas into the next round, completing the first overturn of a 3-0 first-leg loss in SCCL since 2014-15.
Fredy Montero goes level as top MLS scorer in SCCL
With other Seattle Sounders missing because of injury, Fredy Montero leaned on his experience in the competition to make his mark.
Montero converted from the penalty spot in the first leg of his club’s series with León and added a right-footed goal from open play later in the first half. When Sounder MF Joao Paulo drew a penalty just before the halftime break in the second leg, there was little doubt who would take the kick.
Montero stepped up and converted his ninth SCCL goal with the Sounders, adding to one with the Vancouver Whitecaps. The 10 goals scored puts him level as top scorer for an MLS side in the competition.
The Colombian will look to move past legendary Costa Rica FW Alvaro Saborio, who had 10 with Real Salt Lake in the competition, in this year’s semifinals.
Mexico winger Antuna paces Cruz Azul with goal in both games of win v. Montreal
Cruz Azul manager Juan Reynoso has made defending his team’s hallmark. But you can’t win games if you don’t score goals, a lesson the Peruvian manager also knows well. It was Uriel Antuna who stepped up to provide some attacking bite in La Maquina’s series with CF Montreal.
In the first leg, the winger ran onto a header in the 20th minute, dribbling into the box and putting in the game’s only goal. On Wednesday, he struck again, with a beautiful volleyed shot giving Cruz Azul a critical away goal and denting Montreal’s hopes just before the halftime break.
Antuna now will hope to carry the scoring form into FIFA World Cup qualification in the Concacaf region after being named to Tata Martino’s Mexico roster for the final three matches of the final round.
Castellanos helps NYCFC withstand brave Comunicaciones charge
The reigning MLS Golden Boot holder made sure to make his mark on the continental stage, with goals in each leg of NYCFC’s quarterfinal with Comunicaciones.
In the first leg, he headed a Santiago Rodriguez near-post cross past Comunicaciones GK Kevin Moscoso to open the scoring. He notched the first goal of the second leg as well. He bent a long-distance free kick around the defensive wall and tucked it into the right side of the post.
NYCFC moved through thanks to an advantage in away goals scored after the Guatemalan side scored three unanswered in the second half of the second leg to force the series to go to the tiebreakers.
“Taty” has four goals through the first two rounds, putting him second in the SCCL scoring title race behind Dinenno.
Comunicaciones comes close to making history with incredible comeback
It would’ve been easy for the Concacaf League champion to take pride in making the quarterfinals and wrap things up after an adverse result in the first leg. That was even more understandable after Castellanos’ opener.
Yet, Willy Coito’s squad refused to give up. Andres Lezcano’s goal just before the halftime break gave the team hope. They built on that hope in the second half, getting goals from Nicolas Samayoa, Lynner Garcia and Jose Manuel Contreras to come within a goal of turning the tide around.
Cremas would’ve been the first-ever Guatemalan team to make the SCCL semifinals and the first Central American squad in the final four since Olimpia in 2020. But the team already is plotting its return to the competition.
