Last-minute drama brought an end to Mike Sorber’s Mexican championship dreams — at least for this year.
Within four days, U.S, midfielder Mike Sorber played two games in front of 192,000 fans and came within seconds of reaching the Mexican league semifinals.
Pumas, the youngest squad to reach the playoffs, hoped goalkeeper Jorge Campos and a tenacious defense would compensate for its low-scoring offense — and it almost worked.
A goal by Rafael “Chiquis” Garcia gave Pumas a 1-0 win at home over Cruz Azul in the first leg of the quarterfinals May 17. Then for 90 minutes, Pumas hung on to the lead during the return leg in May 20.
Campos even saved a controversial penalty-kick during stoppage time, but Guadalupe Castaneda blasted the rebound through Campos’ legs for a 1-0 win.
Though tied 1-1 on aggregate, Cruz Azul advances to the semifinals because of a superior regular-season record. It now meets Club America. Necaxa faces Chivas of Guadalajara in the other semifinal.
“I wouldn’t say we were robbed,” Sorber said, “but it sure was a bizarre ending. There’s been a lot of talk on TV and in the papers, but there’s nothing one can do now.”
At the 90th-minute mark, Campos received a back pass and took a hit from Cruz Azul forward. There was no call and Campos managed to put the ball out for a corner kick.
“The referee let them take the corner kick,” Sorber said. “We cleared the ball, they put it back into the area, and it looked like they had a man offside, but there was no call.”
Cruz Azul launched another ball into the penalty area that was cleared, but it was hit right back to Juan Reynoso, who stood at the edge of the penalty area with his back to the Pumas goal. Defender Miguel Angel Carreon made contact with Reynoso and both fell backward. Referee Arturo Brizio Carter pointed to the penalty spot.
“Campos saves the kick,” Sorber says. “We have two defenders there, but the ball goes to [Castaneda] and he puts it in between Campos’ legs. Campos said that the referee told him time had expired, so no rebound should have been allowed, but who knows?
“There were so many ups and downs in the last minute. ”
It ended on a down, but Pumas exceeded expectations this year and Sorber, a starter since he arrived in January, hopes to stay with the club.
“It’s safe to say that I’m going to stay,” Sorber said. “We are negotiating now, and it will probably be a two-year contract.”
Sorber will miss the U.S.-Costa Rica game May 28 but looks forward to the U.S. Cup and Copa America. He was satisfied with his play during the quarterfinals —
and enjoyed it.
“There were 120,000 in Azteca Stadium,” he said of the final clash between the two Mexico City clubs. “That’s the biggest crowd I ever played in front of. Pumas fans were yelling for us, but of course there were more Cruz Azul fans.
“We had a full house at our stadium [Mexico 68], and it was wonderful.”
Cruz Azul’s passage into the semifinal means that of the 10 teams that qualified for postseason play, the top-four regular season finishers all advanced to the final four.
Garcia comes through
Puebla, which reached postseason play with a wild-card spot, managed a 0-0 tie at home with Club America, whose striker Luis Garcia nevertheless announced, “Puebla is dead.”
He backed up his words in the second-leg encounter at Club America’s home —
Azteca Stadium. The Mexican national team star scored in the 36th and 58th minutes, both of which tied the game.
At 2-2, Puebla had the advantage with away goals, but a Francois Omam-Biyik penalty kick in the 65th minute and an 87th minute goal by Zaguinho — who rounded the keeper Roberto Dante Siboldi and walked the ball in — saw the “Eagles” through to the semifinals.
Santos surprised Chivas with a 3-1 first-leg win in Torreon. Colombian Miguel Asprilla — cousin of Parma’s Faustino Asprilla — scored in the eighth and 66th minutes. Argentine Hector Adomaitis scored with nine minutes left, but Chivas got the crucial away goal from Daniel Guzman in the 14th minute.
In the second leg, Adomaitis, the burly midfielder with a blond mane, was again a force in midfield, but this time Asprilla didn’t convert his chances. And Chivas kept the ball in Santos’ half most of the game.
Chivas eventually prevailed 2-0 on second-half goals by Missael Espinosa, who hit a narrow angle shot that Santos keeper Olaf Heredia knocked into his own goal, and Daniel Guzman, who was expelled with two minutes left.
Necaxa cruised into the semifinal by winning 2-0 away against UAG and 2-1 at home. Necaxa’s U.S. midfielder, Dominic Kinnear, did not play in either game.
by Soccer America Senior Editor Mike Woitalla