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FC CINCINNATI - 2 | PHILADELPHIA UNION - 4
P. Bucha (66'), D. Yedlin (80') | M. Uhre (51'), T. Baribo (61', 81'), Q. Sullivan (84')
TAI “LITERALLY TAI BARIBO” BARIBO, FOLKS.
Man, is it fair to ask why this dude was just sitting on the bench yet? He scored two outstanding goals from the top of the 18 in this one to help power the Union to a huge, “SHUT UP, I’M BACK”, kind of win against FC Cincinnati.
The Union didn’t end up creating more or better chances on the night and, yeah, they didn’t have to deal with Lucho Acosta from minute one, but they have a verve to them right now that should have everyone else on high alert when we get back to league play.
That could be derailed a little bit if some rumored transfers happen today, but still, they might have stumbled into something special with Baribo. He’s up to five goals in four Leagues Cup games and 11 goals in 12 starts in all competitions. He’s basically on the same heater Lionel Messi found when he arrived in Leagues Cup last year. That heater has Philadelphia on the doorstep of a semifinal appearance.
The Union will face a very beatable Mazatlán side in the quarterfinal after they pulled off one of the upsets of the tournament. More on that later though. First…
COLUMBUS CREW - 3 | INTER MIAMI - 2
C. Ramírez (67'), D. Rossi (69', 80') | M. Rojas (10'), D. Gómez (62')
Full credit to both teams here. Each did their best to provide the most on-brand performance possible and both found a way to deliver. Unfortunately for Miami, the Crew’s “We are never out of a game at any point as long as we didn’t have food poisoning the night before” ethos won out over Inter Miami’s “we can and will keep getting away with it” bit.
For a moment it looked like Miami were going to pull this off. When Diego Gómez found the back of the net just as Columbus started to find a groove, it felt like the Herons might have this. Most teams would shut down after going down 2-0 to Miami. But the Crew don’t operate like that.
Instead, they stayed on the gas. Christian Ramírez got on the end of a cross and got them back in the game moments later and then, seconds later, Diego Rossi did the same and tied things up. It only felt like a matter of time at that point. The Crew were prepared to give Miami the same experience they gave FC Cincinnati in last year’s Eastern Conference Final.
These guys are never out of it. And now that they’ve dethroned last year’s champion, they’ll be the favorites to win the whole thing. They’ve been gifted a direct line to the final after every favorite on their side of the bracket came up short last night.
CRUZ AZUL - 2 (1) | MAZATLÁN - 2 (3)
G. Piovi (Red Card 49'), U. Antuna (84'), W. Ditta (90'+1') | B. Colula (40'), Y. Bárcenas (45'+1')
Cruz Azul came into this tournament undefeated in Liga MX play and on top of the early table. Based on how they played over the last few weeks, it’s not totally clear how that happened. I kept waiting and waiting for them to realize they were in a tournament with some stakes. Instead, they slept-walked to four consecutive ties in regulation against teams they presumably have a talent advantage over. This draw, in a knockout game against a Mazatlán side with one draw and three losses in four Liga MX games, has to be the most embarrassing of the bunch.
Full marks to Mazatlán though for punching Cruz Azul until they finally woke up down the homestretch of this one. By the time Cruz Azul realized what was going on they were out of time to stage a full comeback. Mazatlán pulled off the upset in penalties and now they’re on to face Philadelphia in a battle between two of the biggest surprises of the tournament.
TIGRES UANL - 1 | NEW YORK CITY FC - 2
G. Pizarro (18') | M. Moralez (20'), S. Rodríguez (65')
We said yesterday that this seemed like the kind of game a young, dynamic NYCFC team would be up for and a game that Tigres may not be so up for. That worked out pretty well for us and for NYCFC. They went punch for punch with Tigres and came out on top thanks to goals from Maxi Moralez and Santi Rodriguez.
Their reward for pulling off the upset is a meeting with the Crew. Good luck with that. Still, taking down one of Liga MX’s big bads should be a huge confidence boost for a young team with a high ceiling.
TOLUCA FC - 1 | COLORADO RAPIDS - 2
Paulinho (83') | R. Navarro (45'), D. Yapi (90'+6')
Speaking of huge confidence boosts after taking down a Liga MX favorite.
The Rapids had just a few moments where they had any semblance of control of this one and they made the most of them. Rafa Navarro found the net just before halftime to put the Rapids up early and Darren Yapi saved the day deep into stoppage time to deliver the biggest win of the season for one of the league’s most upstart teams. It already feels like we’re a long, long way away from this side getting dump-trucked by Portland in the group stage.
It’s a huge win for Colorado against a side that finished third in last season’s Clausura. Unfortunately for them, they now have to take on the team that finished first. It’s not an easy road to a trophy from here on out. However, even if this run ends against América, this feels like the kind of run that can be a springboard to a solid homestretch performance for a side fighting for a home playoff spot in the West.
CLUB AMÉRICA - 4 | ST. LOUIS CITY SC - 2
B. Rodríguez (15', 86' PK) , D. Valdés (79'), R. Aguirre (90'+8') | I. Vassilev (49'), E. Löwen (55' PK)
Full credit to St. Louis for landing a couple of haymakers here. But, in the end, América remembered how much talent they had, and overwhelmed St. Louis down the stretch. They’re Liga MX’s last real hope to bring a trophy home and it wouldn’t be a surprise at all if they pulled it off.
LAFC - 4 | SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES - 1
C. Olivera (17'), D. Bouanga (45'+5' PK, 66'), M. Bogusz (61') | H. López (41')
If Club América do win a trophy, there’s a decent chance they’ll have to go through LAFC to do it. They rolled past San Jose again—the aggregate score of the last two meetings is 10-3—and set up a quarterfinal matchup with a Seattle side they beat up on in a 3-0 win just before Leagues Cup began. Seattle have looked a little different the last couple of weeks though. We’ll find out how real that is against an LAFC side that’s now officially deploying Olivier Giroud. He made his LAFC debut in the win.
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