Pumas eliminate Whitecaps from Leagues Cup with win

VANCOUVER — Pumas UNAM forward Cesar Huerta scored in the first half then helped set up another goal in the second, leading the Mexican club to a 2-0 victory over the Vancouver Whitecaps in Leagues Cup knockout-round play Wednesday.

The loss eliminated Vancouver from the Leagues Cup after the team won both of its matches during the tournament's group stage.

The Whitecaps had advanced to the tournament’s round of 32 with a 3-1 win over Club Tijuana Saturday to finish first in the West 7 group with five points.

Pumas UNAM, a top-tier Liga MX team based in Mexico City, finished second in the West 1 group after defeating CF Monterrey in a shootout after a 1-1 draw.

The Mexican side will now face either LA Galaxy or Seattle Sounders FC in the round of 16 Monday.

The Leagues Cup brings together the 47 clubs from Major League Soccer and Liga MX leagues. The tournament decides three qualifiers for the 2025 CONCACAF Champions Cup, and the winner of that competition will represent the region at the FIFA Club World Cup.

On Wednesday, Huerta put Pumas on the board in the 37th minute, and goalkeeper Julio Gonzalez frustrated the Whitecaps with several strong saves to preserve the lead.

The first goal came as Pumas midfielder Piero Quispe took the ball off a Vancouver defender, moved across the field then fed Huerta, who scored with a left-footed shot against traffic that found the far corner of the net.

The goal got the large group of Pumas supporters in the crowd of 9,691 at BC Place Stadium in Vancouver on their feet cheering.

Huerta went to work again in the 56th minute, manoeuvring the ball to defender Ruben Duarte who then passed to Jorge Ruvalcaba.

The Pumas midfielder then scored on a right-footed shot from the centre of the box.

Vancouver defender Ryan Raposo came close in the 77th minute, blasting a shot through traffic that Gonzalez stopped with two hands.

The Whitecaps applied some early pressure in the game when midfielder Sebastian Berhalter made a nice move around a Pumas defender and launched a shot that sailed over the net about nine minutes in.

A mistake almost cost Vancouver in the 18th minute when defender Bjorn Utvik mishandled the ball, allowing Pumas forward Ignacio Pussetto to steal and get off a shot on goalkeeper Yohei Takaoka.

Gonzalez made a great save in the 24th minute, when Whitecaps forward Fafa Picault fed a ball into the box that forward Levonte Johnson redirected with a right foot, a shot that Gonzalez steered wide to keep the game scoreless.

A few minutes later, Johnson got behind the Pumas defence, outracing two defenders and getting away a shot that Gonzalez stopped.

Takaoka was tested in the 34th minute by a hard, low shot from the top of the box but was able to sweep the ball away.

Early in the second half, Whitecaps forward Brian White had a shot from the top of the box stopped by a diving Gonzalez.

NOTES

Whitecaps striker Ryan Gauld, who has been sidelined with a knee injury, was dressed and sat on the bench … It was the first time the Whitecaps and Pumas played each other … Vanni Sartini returned to coach the Whitecaps after being suspended for Saturday’s win due to a red card he received in a July 30 tournament win over LAFC … The victory over Tijuana was Vancouver’s first win against a Liga MX team following two draws … The Pumas have won the Primera Division seven times and the CONCACAF Champions Cup three times.

UP NEXT

The Whitecaps face a busy schedule when they return to MLS action. Vancouver hosts LAFC on Aug. 24, then face Pacific FC at home Aug. 27 in the second leg of the Canadian Championship semifinals before playing Austin FC on the road Aug. 31.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 7, 2024.