Mexican Primera, Clausura Liguilla: Semifinals Set After Tigres Win

Monarcas Morelia Vs. UANL Tigres, 2012 Clausura Liguilla: Defending Champions Progress

UANL Tigres have not been as sharp in the league in the Clausura as they were in the Apertura, when they finished in second place and won Liguilla to take the title, but they looked like title contenders on Sunday night. Their fantastic defense was on display as always, but their attack was surprisingly potent in the second half as they scored four goals away to Monarcas Morelia, sealing a 4-1 win on the day and a 5-1 aggregate win.

Tigres won the first leg 1-0 at home, and after a scoreless first half, it looked like they were going to ride their defense to a clean sheet and a series win like they did throughout last season's Liguilla. The last 30 minutes looked like anything but a typical Tigres performance against a top team, however.

Defender Hugo Ayala started the scoring run, with Hector Raul Mancilla providing the assist in the 64th minute. Lucas Lobos effectively ended the tie in the 74th minute, and that was followed by an Edno goal immediately after the ensuing kickoff to make things embarrassing for Morelia. Miguel Sabah pulled one back in the 86th minute, but Tigres would extend their lead to three again in stoppage time, when David Toledo drew a penalty, which Elias Hernandez converted.

Santos Laguna Vs. Jaguares Chiapas, 2012 Clausura Liguilla: Santos Through After Scoring Six

Santos Laguna have been rotating their defense all season, but they finally kept a unit intact from Thursday to Sunday. The back four that let in three goals in the first leg of their Liguilla series against Jaguares Chiapas looked a little bit more with it in the second leg, even with an early hiccup. Jaguares scored early at Estadio Corona to make things interesting, but Santos pulled themselves together after a bad first 10 minutes and went on to win 2-1 on the night.

It appeared that the second leg of this tie was going to be a carbon copy of the first when Armando Flores scored in the 6th minute for Jaguares, but it was surprisingly their last goal of the match. Carlos Darwin Quintero answered with a goal in the 11th minute, tapping in a cross by Jorge Estrada and Oribe Peralta scored in the same fashion in the 37th minute, with Estrada providing the assist yet again. There was not a goal in the second half, which reportedly caused Benjamin Galindo and Profe Cruz serious illness.

This victory sends Santos through to the semifinal with a 6-4 aggregate win, and they await the result of the last quarterfinal to see who they will face in the next round. They'll face the winner of UANL Tigres vs. Monarcas Morelia.

Monterrey Vs. Tijuana, 2012 Clausura Liguilla: Rayados Answer Xolos' Goals, Advance

Tijuana went ahead on Monterrey on two occasions on Saturday night and went up by a man in the first half as well, but the Rayados answered every punch by the Xolos to advance to the semifinals of Liguilla. Tijuana came into the match on Saturday down a goal and needing to win by two to win. They put up a good showing in Monterrey, but didn't have enough to go through. The match finished a 2-2 draw, with Monterrey going through 4-3 on aggregate.

Egidio Arévalo put Tijuana up after just eight minutes with a great strike from the edge of the penalty area, finding a spot to place the ball into the net past a screened Jonathan Orozco. The match was rather uneventful for 20 minutes after that until the referee made a name for himself, sending off Monterrey's Angel Reyna. Tied on aggregate and up a man, the Xolos appeared to have a clear path to the semifinals.

Even though they had 10 men, Monterrey had other plans. In the 44th minute, Aldo de Nigris won a 50-50 battle for a ball in the air and improbably placed a brilliant header into the path of Cesar Delgado, who finished from 10 yards to restore Monterrey's advantage heading into halftime.

Tijuana's man advantage quickly evaporated in the second half when Miguel Almazán was shown a second yellow card in the 50th minute, but they would continue to fight for a goal. In the 59th minute, Monterrey defender José Basanta was whistled for a handball in the box, and Arévalo stepped up to convert the penalty. That put the Xolos back level on aggregate, but their joy didn't last long. Basanta atoned for his error just four minutes after giving away a penalty by heading in a cross by Delgado after a corner kick, tying the match at 2-2 and putting the Rayados up 4-3 on aggregate.

Armando Pulido of Tijuana was sent off in the 72nd minute, killing all chances of a Xolos comeback. Monterrey join Club America in the semifinals, and they await the results of Sunday's matches.

Club America Vs. Pachuca, 2012 Clausura Liguilla: Aguilas Through To Semifinals

Club America are going through to the semifinals of the 2012 Clausura Liguilla, but they didn't take the easiest route there. After pulling off an impressive 3-1 victory in the first leg of their tie on Wednesday, America looked a little at home in the second leg on Saturday. They let Pachuca score an early goal and never looked much like scoring themselves, but they defended well enough to hold on for a 3-2 aggregate win.

Nestor Vidrio was the surprising scorer for Pachuca in the first half. The defender hit a screamer from 25 yards during open play to stun the Aguilas and bring Pachuca back into the tie from the dead. It came in the 37th minute, and gave the Tuzos some hope heading into the second half.

Unfortunately for them, that would be their only shot on target in the match. Knowing that they had the tiebreaker with their higher seed, America was much more defensive than they had been in any regular season game in the Clausura, and pulled off their conservative gameplan surprisingly well. They now await the results of the other ties to see who they will face in the semifinal.

UANL Tigres Vs. Monarcas Morelia, 2012 Clausura Liguilla Quarterfinals: Tigres Win 1-0

UANL Tigres slipped a bit late in the Clausura, but they've started Liguilla looking very much like the team that won the most recent championship in Mexico. Their defense was excellent, holding Monarcas Morelia to just four shots and one on target in the first leg of their Liguilla quarterfinal match at Estadio Universitario. Morelia need to win at home in the second leg to go through after Tigres' 1-0 victory.

Hector Raul Mancilla scored the game's only goal 22 minutes in, finishing off a pass by Elias Hernandez. Tigres were conservative going forward for the rest of the game by the standards of most Mexican Primera sides and held on to a clean sheet like they have so many times at home over the last two seasons.

The good news for Morelia is that they have the tiebreaker as the higher seed. Any one-goal win in the return leg would see them through to the next round.

Jaguares Chiapas Vs. Santos Laguna, 2012 Clausura Liguilla Quarterfinals: Santos Win 4-3, Defense Is Stupid

Jaguares de Chiapas and Santos Laguna made a mutual pact to not do any defending on Thursday night, and Jaguares came out as the worse team for it. Santos have taken a one-goal lead back to Torreon after pulling off a 4-3 victory in Chiapas. Santos already had a massive leg-up in the tie heading into stoppage time with a 3-3 away draw, but Carlos Darwin Quintero netted a winner with the last kick of the ball to make them overwhelming favorites in the second leg.

Daniel Ludueña netted the game's first goal in the 24th minute, skipping a long-range drive into the back of the net, but Jaguares responded in a magnificent way that made it look like they were going to give Santos a real run for their money. Luis Gabriel Rey netted an equalizer in the 28th minute with a header and Jaguares star Jackson Martinez gave his team the lead three minutes later with a calmly placed finish after a through ball by Edgar Andrade.

Jaguares looked to be taking control, but Santos' star striker Oribe Peralta fired his team back into the match with a spectacular finish from 20 yards into the upper corner, making it 2-2 after 38 minutes of play.

Ludueña gave his team the lead for the second time in the second half, scoring again on a great shot from outside the box, this time in the 59th minute. Santos held that lead for a longer period of time than either team had held a lead previously, but eventually gave it away. In the 74th minute, Martinez netted his second goal of the game with another well-placed finish from 12 yards.

Even though a draw made Santos favorites, Jaguares were probably willing to accept it after such a wild match, but their defense was undone late. In the sixth minute of second half stoppage time, Quintero skinned two defenders, then somehow beat Edgar Hernandez from an extremely narrow angle with literally the final kick of the ball to give his team the victory.

Club Tijuana Vs. Monterrey, 2012 Clausura Liguilla Quarterfinals: Rayados Take Care of Business in 2-1 Victory

Two goals by Jesus Zavala and Angel Reyna gave Monterrey a 2-1 win Wednesday over Club Tijuana in their opening match of the 2012 Clausura Liguilla. The visitors were certainly favored heading into the quarterfinal tie, but Tijuana, in the primera playoffs for the first time in their history, entered the match with considerable optimism. Unfortunately for them, Monterrey is a well-oiled machine that doesn't even need to play its best football to win.

In fact, through much of the first half of the match, it seemed Tijuana was pushing Monterrey, and in particular, Fernando Arce's free kick service was giving Monterrey's defense problems. But the breakthrough came in the 31st minute, when Zavala scored on a very difficult header off a corner kick. The young Mexican international was a couple yards outside the near post, and had to contort his body to get on the ball and head it towards goal. From there, Monterrey seemed to put their mark on the match and neutralize the Xolos' chances, and Reyna's goal, in the 50th minute, was really a killer for the host's chances. Reyna took a perfectly weighted shot from just outside the box to the top corner of the far post, and his shot eluded Tijuana goalkeeper Cirilo Saucedo. For the next half hour, Saucedo really became the key player of the match, as he had to make several key saves to keep the scoreline respectable.

And then a funny thing happened near the end of the match. Although Tijuana were down to 10 men after Richard Ruiz received a red card in the 79th minute, the Xolos didn't give up. Second-half substitute Raul Enriquez cut the deficit for Tijuana with a sharp shot off a free kick in the 87th minute. Although it was too late for Tijuana to tie up the match, the goal immediately picked up the spirits of the Xolos fans, and Tijuana had several important chances. Monterrey almost got a third goal in the last couple minutes, as they got away on the counterattack, but the scoreline stayed 2-1. Monterrey are in control for the return leg Saturday, and for Tijuana to advance, they'll have to win by at least two goals. They aren't out of it, but Monterrey looks like they are a clear favorite for this edition of the liguilla.

Pachuca Vs. Club America, 2012 Clausura Liguilla Quarterfinals: Águilas Fly Past Los Tuzos

Pachuca failed to take advantage of their home field, falling 3-1 to Club America in their Clausura Liguilla Quarterfinal first leg.

The first half wasn't really great, but it wasn't really bad either. Both Pachuca and America were cautious early, clearly not wanting to give up the first goal. America seemed content to defend and make forays into the attacking third when the opportunity presented itself, but there was no real sense of urgency. Pachuca on the the other hand played more like a team that knew they needed a goal or two in this home first leg, which is logical thinking.

Unfortunately for los Tuzos, they couldn't find any goals, but America did.

In the 39th minute, after a 2-on-1 break forced a nice save from Rodolfo Cota, America took advantage on the subsequent corner. Daniel Montenegro's corner kick was met by Jesus Molina who rose above everyone and headed it inside the post. Despite having Molina surrounded with a handful of defenders, everyone in a Pachuca jersey stood flat footed and watched as he put America into the lead.

Three minutes later, America struck again. Montenegro made a great run, beating two Pachuca defenders and putting a shot in that was parried away by Cota. Montenegro followed the rebound and sent the ball back across the box to Christian Bermudez who was trailing the play and beat the keeper with a hard, low shot. More poor defending from Pachuca and a 2-0 deficit at home after the first half.

Things didn't get much better for Pachuca in the second half as Bermudez, once again trailing the play, squeezed a shot just inside the post off the cross from José Cárdenas to make it 3-0 in the 58th minute.

It appeared that Pachuca had pulled one back in the 61st minute, but Felix Borja's goal was disallowed thanks to an inexplicable offside call from the linesman. Replays showed there were two America defenders keeping him onside. Tuzos fans were less than impressed and expressed their feelings with a refuse shower directed towards the linesman who made the call.

Tuzos did finally get on the scoreboard in the 77th minute after America's Deigo Rosales pulled down Edy Brambila with the slightest of jersey pulls and Pachuca was awarded a penalty. Leobardo López converted the PK to make it 3-1.

The second leg is scheduled for Saturday at 7:00pm ET at Estadio Azteca.

Mexican Primera, 2012 Clausura Liguilla Quarterfinals: Separation Between Teams Is Minimal

This version of the Mexican Liguilla playoffs looks wide open and could feature numerous upsets. Pachuca and America kick off the quarterfinals on Wednesday night, followed by Tijuana-Monterrey.