Day two of the Round of 32 is in the books, and five more teams have been able to punch their ticket to the Round of 16. That means five more teams saw their Leagues Cup dreams slide away and headed home.
This day of the Round of 32 saw two more MLS match-ups and a Liga MX battle, which did not disappoint. If you were looking for many goals, you would be highly disappointed, but the soccer world was treated to another three matches that went into penalty kick showdowns. Let us look to see if your team could advance to the Round of 16.
Pumas UNAM vs. Queretaro
Pumas UNAM and Queretaro set out on the pitch as the only Liga MX battle of the Round of 32. Pumas showed they were the stronger team by possessing the ball for 65 percent of the time during this match and taking 24 shots, six shots on goal, compared to Queretaro's ten shots, four on goal. Both teams also got infracted with three yellow cards at different points of the contest.
In the 73rd minute, Pumas player Adrian Aldrete was given a yellow card for a bad foul, setting up a free kick for Queretaro. The free kick was taken, and the ball was attempted to be cleared out by a Pumas player, but it fell right to the feet of Angel Sepulveda, which drove it into the upper left corner of the goal, giving Queretaro a 1-0 lead late in the match.
In the 77th minute, Pumas saw their chance come when Queretaro's player Federico Lertora was given a yellow card for a handball inside the penalty area. Eduardo Salvio from Pumas set up the penalty kick. Salvio came up and took a shot to the bottom left corner of the goal but failed to score when the Queretaro goalkeeper saved the shot.
If you looked at the stat sheet without the score, you would have thought Pumas ran all over Queretaro, but that was different. Queretaro's defense could have been better this match; it's just that Pumas could not get the ball on goal with all of their 24 shots. The final score was Queretaro's 1 and Pumas's 0.
N.Y. Red Bulls vs. NYCFC
It was time for the Hudson River derby. MLS Fans know all about this rival match-up between the N.Y. Red Bulls and NYCFC. The shots for this match were very even, with both teams taking sevens shots with only three on goal. NYCFC did have the most possession of the ball this match, having it 63 percent of the time, compared to the Red Bulls only having it 37 percent of the time.
The referee of this match had no problem throwing around yellow cards, where eight yellow cards were handed out to different players. Three were handed out to NYCFC, and five were given to New York Red Bulls. What hurt NYCFC was the yellow card they got in the 28th minute when Tayuon Gray from NYCFC conducted a foul inside the penalty area.
This foul set up a penalty kick in the 31st minute by New York Red Bull's Omar Fernandez, who came up to the ball and shot it into the top right corner of the goal, causing the goalkeeper to go to the left, scoring the goal and giving N.Y. Red Bulls the 1-0 lead.
This was the only goal of the match. NYCFC kept moving the ball down the field, but there was always an N.Y. Red Bull defender would be there to stop them. N.Y. Red Bulls will move on to the Round of 16 with a 1-0 win.
Philadelphia Union vs. D.C. United
In the second MLS match of the night, The Philadelphia Union and D.C. United played all 90 minutes evenly. Philadelphia had 52 percent of the possession, while D.C. United had 48 percent. The shots were pretty even, with D.C. United took a few more shots, 10-8, but both teams placed only three on goal. Only three yellow cards were handed out this match, and all of them went to Philadelphia.
This match ended in a 0-0 draw which caused the first penalty kick showdown. The penalty kicks went into extra kicks due to Philadelphia's Daniel Gazdag missing the first penalty kick, and D.C. United Christopher Durkin missed the fourth penalty kick. In the sixth shot, D.C. United's Pedro Santos takes a shot and hits the right post keeping the ball out of the goal. Philadelphia's Olivier Mbaizo takes his shot and scores it into the top left corner.
D.C. United took Philadelphia to the entire length of the match but fell just short in the penalty kicks. Philadelphia moves on to the round of 16 with a 0-0 (5-4 P.K.) score.
Atlas vs. New England Revolution
Atlas and New England Revolution were two more teams that played their hearts out on the soccer pitch. New England had 57 percent of the possession, while Atlas had the other 43 percent. Shots and shots on goal were also close, with The Revolution leading shots, 15-13, and Atlas leading shots on goal, 8-6. Four yellow cards and a red card were given out, two to both sides. In the 90+8 minute, Anderson Santamaria (Atlas) was shown his second yellow, converted to a red card.
Atlas started very strong out of the gate scoring two goals within three minutes of each other. The first goal came at the 8-minute mark when Mateo Garcia took a shot outside of the bow into the bottom left corner. The second goal came at the 11-minute mark when Jordy Caicedo put a header from the center of the box into the bottom left corner of the goal.
New England started to go into attack mode very early, which helped them come back even in the match. In the 30th minute, Gustavo Bou took a shot inside of the six-yard box and put the ball right on goal in the high center of the goal. In the 79th minute, Gustavo Bou again showed why you should be on the lookout for him. Bou entered the box's center and placed an excellent shot into the top left corner to tie the match 2-2 and bring on penalty kicks.
Both Atlas and New England kept going back and forth with the penalty kicks, making it look like one team was not going to break until round eight of the penalty kicks. Javier Abella (Atlas) came up for his shot and hit the bar, keeping the ball out and giving the Revolution a chance to win. Andrew Farrell (N.E.) placed a beautiful shot to the bottom right corner, giving the Revolution the win 2-2 (8-7 on penalties).
Charlotte FC vs. Cruz Azul
Charlotte FC and Cruz Azul was another match that had a limited amount of excitement. Both teams were very even on possession, with Cruz Azul having 52 percent and Charlotte having 48 percent. Shots were a very different story. Cruz Azul leads the shots and shots on goal with 11-4 in shots and 3-1 with shots on goal. During this match, three yellow cards were handed out, two to Cruz Azul and one to Charlotte.
This match played out to a 0-0 draw, with only a minimal amount of action or even accurate kicks, and it also showed in the penalty kick showdown. Charlotte started the penalty kicks with a missed shot that went too high. Cruz Azul was able to make their first penalty shot. The next round began when Charlotte scored theirs, but the Charlotte goalkeeper saved Cruz Azul's shot. Charlotte then converted on their next one, and Cruz Azuls was saved again. The penalty shootout is 2-1 going into the 4th round. Ashley Westwood (Charlotte) takes their shot and misses by hitting the left post, keeping the ball out. Cruz Azul scores their goal to tie it 2-2.
Cruz Azul and Charlotte keep going back and forth until the sixth round, where Charlotte's Andrew Privett scores on his penalty kick. Cruz Azul then sends up Kevin Castano, who takes a shot to the center of the goal and is saved by the Charlotte goalkeeper.
With the match playing out to a 0-0 draw and then Charlotte surviving the penalty shootout, it helps Charlotte FC to move on to the Round of 16 with a final score line of 0-0 (4-3 in penalty kicks).
