By Scott French, Senior Editor
in Carson, Calif.

Santos Laguna rallied from deficits in the first half and during the penalty-kick tiebreaker, claiming Mexico's No. 1 spot in the Libertadores Cup following a 2-2 draw with Atlas on Wednesday night in the Interliga final before another packed house at the Home Depot Center.

Julio Pinheiro and Carlos Maria Morales missed Atlas' final two spot kicks as Santos won the shootout, 4-3, to advance to Group 3 of South America's 36-team club championship, battling Cruzeiro (Brazil), Universidad de Concepcion (Chile) and Caracas FC (Venezuela).

America beat Morelia, 3-1, in the third-place game to set up a showdown later this month against Atlas for Mexico's second berth in the Libertadores Cup.

Details have not been announced, but talk Wednesday concerned a home-and-away series on Jan. 21 and 28. The winner will play in Group 1 against Sao Caetano (Brazil), Penarol (Uruguay) and The Strongest (Bolivia). The schedule is tight for both teams, with the Mexican League Clausura beginning this weekend.

America and Atlas tied, 2-2, in a Jan. 6 Group B game at Spartan Stadium in San Jose.

Santos, the Group A winner, was ecstatic about winning the title.

''To earn a direct spot in the Libertadores Cup — that's big,'' said Santos coach Eduardo de la Torre. ''The four games [we played in the Interliga] were intensely played, and this was one more.''

De la Torre indicated that he would sit down with club officials to determine what personnel moves would be necessary to play in the Clausura and the Libertadores Cup, which starts play Feb. 3.

''We need to make a couple changes in order to compete in both tournaments concurrently,'' he said. ''Now we will sit down with the [Santos] administration. It's important that we analyze the team and reach a consensus.''

Jared Borgetti's 39th-minute penalty kick pulled Santos back from an early deficit, and Rodrigo Ruiz — with a terrific volley of a bouncing ball — provided a short-lived lead in the 61st minute that disappeared on Johan Rodriguez's own goal less than two minutes later.

It was an exciting, sometimes contentious game that featured eight yellow cards — seven of them in a 26-minute span that closed early in the second half — and a red card for Atlas midfielder Gerardo Torres, Atlas' fourth expulsion of the tournament.

Torres was cautioned in the 38th minute for dissent after referee Kevin Stott awarded Santos a penalty when Omar Blanco fouled Borgetti in front of the goal, then received another yellow card three minutes later for a deliberate hand ball.

The advantage paid off for Santos when Ruiz, voted by media as player of the game, scored from 22 yards for a 2-1 lead. Atlas pulled even in the 63rd minute, when defender Jorge Campos blasted Juan Carlos Medina's low cross from the left wing off teammate Rodriguez and into the goal.

''We were able to play much faster and take advantage of space much better [after Torres was sent off],'' said de la Torre, which edged Morelia and Toluca on total goals in Group A to reach the final, advancing after rallying to beat Toluca in the final group match. ''But we didn't react well in the back and we did not take advantage of opportunities in front.''

Atlas, which went unbeaten in the tournament (2-0-2), could have taken charge early, but Almir de Souza was unable to beat Santos goalkeeper Christian Lucchetti following a poor back pass in the 11th minute, and Gabriel Palmeros headed Morales' side-volley off the line after Lucchetti failed to catch a de Souza cross from the right wing.

Atlas finally broke through in the 23rd minute, with Morales splitting Lucchetti's legs after a phenomenal ball from Omar Flores — a left-footed half volley from deep in Atlas' end — sailed over Santos' backline.

It might have been 3-0 following outstanding individual runs by Rodrigo Valenzuela in the 26th minute and Torres in the 32nd, but Atlas' momentum was crushed with the penalty kick and Torres' ejection two minutes afterward.

Morales and Atlas coach Sergio Bueno confronted Stott as the teams headed to the locker rooms at halftime, and stadium security was forced to intervene. Morales was cautioned for the incident.

''I don't complain about officiating when we win,'' Bueno said afterward, ''so I'm not going to complain about it when we lose.''

Atlas took a 3-2 lead during the shootout as Manuel Perez, Fernando Salazar and Daniel Herrera converted their spot kicks. Borgetti and Ruiz made the first two penalties for Santos, but Sixto Peralta's attempt was halted by a diving Antonio Perez.

Carlos Carino's low shot inside the left post pulled Santos to 3-3, and after Pinheiro fired well high of the crossbar, Jose Antonio Noriega — brought on just before the end of regulation so he could take a penalty — fired to the same spot as Carino for a 4-3 lead.

The decisive kick — Morales' miss — was blasted straight at Lucchetti.

America, which went unbeaten in the Interliga (2-0-2) received goals from Ariel Gonzalez in the 24th minute, Reinaldo Navia in the 32nd and Cuauhtemoc Blanco with an 81st-minute penalty kick before a boisterous crowd in the third-place match. Carlos Pavon scored Morelia's goal in the 82nd.

Borgetti, Navia and Manuel Perez each scored four goals, tops in the Interliga. Pavon and Atlante's Sebastian Gonzalez netted three.

The order of Wednesday's matches was changed, with the final played as the first game of the doubleheader, a switch made following lobbying by Mexican broadcaster Televisa and Home Depot Center officials.

Televisa wanted the game involving America — one of Mexico's most popular clubs — in Mexican prime time; HDC officials preferred America, which has a sizable Southern California following, in the later slot because work schedules and traffic patterns meant the stadium would not be filled during most of the first game.

There again were fans turned away, and spectators lined the concourses and the grassy knoll behind the north goal. Attendance, as with all HDC ''sellouts,'' was announced as 27,000.

The Interliga was the second major event, following last fall's Women's World Cup, staged by Soccer United Marketing, a concern owned primarily by Major League Soccer investors Anschutz Entertainment Group, Hunt Sports, Kraft Group Sports and Kroenke Sports Enterprises, and by Dentsu, a Japanese marketing company. AEG also owns the Home Depot Center.

INTERLIGA 2004
Jan. 14 at Carson, Calif.
Championship
Santos 2 (Borgetti pen. 39, Ruiz 61) Atlas 2 (Morales 23, own goal Rodriguez 63)
(Santos advances to Libertadores Cup on penalty kicks, 4-3)

Third-place game
America 3 (A.Gonzalez 24, Navia 32, Blanco pen. 81) Morelia 1 (Pavon 82)
(America advances to play Atlas for Libertadores Cup berth)

Group Play

Jan. 4 at Stockton, Calif.
Toluca 1 (Abundis 66) Morelia 0
Atlas 2 (Duran 39, M.Perez 77) UNL Tigres 0

Jan. 4 at Carson, Calif.
Santos 2 (Borgetti 4, 55) Guadalajara 1 (Bravo 2)
America 3 (Navia 38, 52, A.Gonzalez 82) Atlante 2 (Padilla 21, S.Gonzalez 70)

Jan. 6 at San Jose, Calif.
America 2 (Blanco 77, Navia 85) Atlas 2 (Morales 1, Garcia 65)
UNL Tigres 3 (own goal Gonzalez China 29, De Nigris 50, Mendoza 54) Atlante 2 (Martel 12, S.Gonzalez 81)

Jan. 9 at Houston
Morelia 3 (Pavon 26, Trujillo 49, Alvarez 78) Santos 2 (Vuoso 39, Borgetti pen. 61)
Toluca 2 (Lozano 20, Zepeda 33) Guadalajara 1 (Bautista 84)

Jan. 11 at Houston
Atlas 4 (M.Perez pen. 10, pen. 38, 53, Herrera 32) Atlante 1 (S.Gonzalez pen. 35)
America 1 (Oviedo 12) UNL Tigres 1 (Palacios 27)

Jan. 11 at Dallas
Morelia 2 (Alvarez 30, Pavon 40) Guadalajara 1 (Bravo 16)
Santos 2 (Rodriguez 57, Lopez 64) Toluca 1 (Zepeda 7)

FINAL GROUP STANDINGS
Group A
W-L-T GF-GA Pts
 Santos 2-1-0 6-5 6
Morelia 2-1-0 5-4 6
Toluca 2-1-0 4-3 6
Guadalajara 0-3-0 3-6 0

Group B
W-L-T GF-GA Pts
 Atlas 2-0-1 8-3 7
America 1-0-2 6-4 5
UNL Tigres 1-1-1 4-5 4
Atlante 0-3-0 5-10 0