PLAYOFF SERIES SET FOR UNDER-17 AND UNDER 20 TEAMS
Xoloitzcuintles will face Santos and Atlas
TIJUANA- Soccer continues in Tijuana after the end of the LIGA MX season. The Club Tijuana Xoloitzcuintles de Caliente youth teams continue in the playoffs this week.
The Under-20 squad coached by Raul Chabrand is in the quarterfinals where it will face Atlas Under-20 squad in a home-and-home series. The Under-17 team coached by Marco Marroquin plays Santos Laguna also in a quarterfinal series.
The Under-20 team finished the regular season as the No. 6 seed with 28 points and a 8-5-4 record. Atlas is the No. 3 team with 32 points. The first game of the series will be at Estadio Caliente and Atlas will host the second leg.
Both teams last met in Week 16 of the regular season at Estadio Jalisco. Club Tijuana won the match 3-1 with a goal by Edgar Villegas and two more by Paul Arriola. Rodolfo Vichis scored for Atlas.
“We play for the people,” Chabrand said. “The Xolos Under-20 has had support from the people when it has qualified to the playoffs and we have to give them some sort of satisfaction. They deserve it as much as we do with all the work and effort that we have put in. But we need to be aware that this is just want step and that we want a lot more.”
Coach Marroquin’s Under-17 team finished the regular season with 40 points with nine wins, five loses and three ties, good enough for the sixth seed. Santos is the No. 3 team with 45 points. The Xoloitzcuntles will play the first game of the series at Estadio Caliente and the second leg at TSM stadium.
The Xoloitzcuintles and Santos met Week 9 in the regular season at Estadio Caliente. Club Tijuana won 2-1 with goals by Edgar Lopez and Ricardo Angulo. Carlos Antuna scored for the visitors.
“We hope that the people will support us,” Marroquin said. “We want them to know that this is our first playoff appearance. We want them to know that of all Fuerzas Basicas we are the youngest category at the professional level. It would be a pleasure to see the stadium full or see a good number of people there supporting the team.”
Days and times for the quarterfinals matches are to be determined Monday.
