Giacomo Vrioni scored a late tying goal and the New England Revolution cruised into the quarterfinals of the CONCACAF Champions Cup after a 1-1 draw against Alajuelense on Thursday in Alajuela, Costa Rica.
The Revolution prevailed 5-1 on aggregate in the two-leg, total-goal series thanks to a blowout home win last week.
New England advances to oppose Mexico City’s Club America in the quarterfinals next month.
In the fourth minute on Thursday, Alajuelense’s Celso Borges made an impressive turn in the 8 yards from goal and fired a shot that Revolution goalie Henrich Ravas saved. Carlos Mora fired in the rebound to give the hosts a 1-0 lead.
New England equalized in the 81st minute. Vrioni ran onto a long pass from Esmir Bajraktarevic in the penalty area, then blasted a 12-yard shot with his left foot into the top far corner.
In later action Thursday night, FC Cincinnati was concluding its series against Monterrey in Guadalupe, Mexico.
Monterrey 2, FC Cincinnati 1
Brandon Vazquez helped Rayados eliminate his former team, scoring the winning goal in the 67th minute as Monterrey advanced by a 3-1 aggregate score in Guadalupe, Mexico.
Goals by Monterrey’s Luis Romo in the 41st minute and Cincinnati’s Luciano Acosta in the 47th left the hosts clinging to a one-goal aggregate edge. Another unanswered tally by FC Cincinnati would have sent the visitors to the quarterfinals by virtue of the away-goals tiebreaker.
However, the decisive moment came when Monterrey’s Maximiliano Meza and Vazquez raced out on a two-on-two counterattack. Both defenders cheated toward Meza, who was dribbling the ball down the right flank. Meza’s centering pass left Vazquez with a simple tap-in.
Vazquez also scored last week when the teams played to a 1-1 draw in Cincinnati.
Monterrey advance to a quarterfinal matchup against Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami.
–Field Level Media
