Santos Laguna beats Wizards 3-1
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP)—Agustin Herrera and Matias Vuoso scored 13 minutes apart in the second half to send Santos Laguna to the SuperLiga semifinals with a 3-1 victory over the Kansas City Wizards on Sunday.
Juan Pablo Rodriguez added a stoppage-time goal for Santos, which won for the first time in six SuperLiga matches and finished second in Group B. The Guerreros will face Group A champion Tigres UANL—another Mexican first division side—in the semis, with the first leg set for July 15.
Santos, making its second straight appearance in the three-year-old SuperLiga, needed a win to advance after Major League Soccer’s New England Revolution beat Mexican side Atlas 1-0 earlier Sunday.
In the 61st minute, Herrera took a through ball from Walter Jimenez and fired a low shot to keeper Kevin Hartman’s left from 13 yards. Vuoso’s looping header in the 74th minute, off a long cross from Osmar Mares, made it 2-0.
Both goals came on runs through Kansas City’s central defense, which was missing Jimmy Conrad. The Wizards captain, who has been called up to the United States for the Gold Cup later this month, left late in the first half after aggravating a sore hamstring.
Claudio Lopez scored on a free kick in the 80th minute for Kansas City, cutting the margin to 2-1, but the Wizards failed to capitalize on several late scoring opportunities before Rodriguez put away the match with his stoppage-time goal.
