UNDER-20 TAKES LEAD IN QUARTERFINAL SERIES

TIJUANA - Club Tijuana Xoloitzcuintles de Caliente’s Under-20 squad beat Atlas FC 2-0 against in the first leg match of the Apertura 2014 quarterfinals Wednesday night at Estadio Caliente.  

Second half goals from Edgar Villegas and Jose Garcia led the Xoloitzcuintles to the victory in the first chapter of the home-and-home series.

The first half was a dynamic affair with both teams looking to break forward and attack the opposition’s goal. Fernando Arce Jr. and Alejandro Guido have controlled the ball well and distributed it around to their teammates.  

Paul Arriola in the 13th minute received a pass on the right wing and cut inside, he then unleashed a powerful left-footed shot that barely went over the crossbar.

In the 24th minute Xoloitzcuintles goalkeeper Dilan Nicoletti came up with a big save off a Luis Rodriguez shot. The game went into the halftime break scoreless.

Both teams struggled to generate goal-scoring opportunities early in the second half until the Xoloitzcuintles scored via a penalty kick. Atlas was whistled for a foul in the box in the 70^thminute. Club Tijuana’s Christian Torres was pulled down inside of the penalty box after a Xoloitzcuintles free kick. Villegas converted the penalty kick sending his shot to the right of Atlas goalkeeper Francisco Gonzalez for the 1-0 lead in the 72^nd minute.  

The home side grew in confidence after the first goal and found a passing rhythm. Jose Garcia doubled the lead for the Xoloitzcuintles in the 83rd minute with a rocket of a shot into the lower corner of the far post.

The return match will be on Saturday in Guadalajara.