Winners:
With a 1-0 win over Jamaica, on an Alberto Medina goal, MEXICO finished first in the Gold Cup Group C and avoids meeting host USA in the quarterfinal, which would have been the case had Mexico lost or tied. El Tri faces Colombia on Sunday.
Both guest teams at the CONCACAF Gold Cup have advanced to the quarterfinals. SOUTH AFRICA tied Guatemala, 1-1, to finish second to Mexico in Group C and faces Panama on Sunday. COLOMBIA recovered from loses to Panama and Honduras with 2-0 win over Trinidad & Tobago to advance as a third-place finisher.
In the third round of Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup play, Isaac Romo's goal with less than 10 seconds left in overtime gave CHIVAS USA a 3-2 win over the Charlotte Eagles (USL2). Other MLS teams posting wins over USL2 teams were CHICAGO (3-1 vs. Western Mass Pioneers) and DALLAS (3-1, OT, vs. Wilmington Hammerheads).
North Carolina product CALEB NORKUS, 26, celebrated the Chilean 2005 Apertura title with his club Union Espanola, which prevailed over Coquimbo in the two-leg final. Norkus played in 15 of Union Espanola's 25 games (19 league and 6 playoff) and scored 1 goal. The club, which qualifies for the Libertadores Cup, has not decided whether to renew Norkus' contract, according to Chilean press reports.
Losers:
REAL SALT LAKE, which last weekend fell to Chivas USA, 5-1, in league play, flew out of the U.S. Open Cup with a 6-4 overtime loss to USL1's Minnesota Thunder despite a Jason Kreis hat trick.
Cuba, Canada, Guatemala and T&T were the four teams from the 12-team Gold Cup field that failed to advance to the quarterfinals.