Major League Soccer
·27 February 2025
FC Cincinnati & Seattle Sounders advance in Concacaf Champions Cup
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Major League Soccer
·27 February 2025
By Ari Liljenwall
FC Cincinnati and Seattle Sounders FC punched their tickets to the Concacaf Champions Cup Round of 16 on Wednesday evening, while Real Salt Lake were eliminated as all three MLS clubs completed their Round One series.
Cincinnati (Tigres UANL) and Seattle (Cruz Azul) will face LIGA MX opponents in the next round of the continental tournament.
Kévin Denkey continued his hot early-season form, netting a 19th-minute leveler as part of FC Cincinnati's 1-1 draw with Honduran outfit Motagua at TQL Stadium.
The result sealed off a 5-2 aggregate victory for Cincy following a 4-1 rout in Leg 1 and sets up a massive Round-of-16 clash with Tigres.
Denkey all but wrapped the series with his equalizer, offsetting a 9th-minute opener from Motagua's Rodrigo Auzmendi. Cincy's new club-record signing has scored in every one of his first three matches with the club, including twice in the Round One CCC series.
Protecting a 3-1 advantage over Guatemala's Antigua GFC after Leg 1, Seattle Sounders FC earned the same result at Lumen Field in Leg 2 to comfortably advance 6-2 on aggregate.
Designated Player winger Pedro de la Vega scored twice and Paul Arriola also tallied to pace Seattle, while Antigua got their lone goal just on the stroke of halftime. The duo of de la Vega and Arriola combined for five goals in the series after each also found the net in Leg 1.
Real Salt Lake saw their CCC campaign end, as Costa Rican side Herediano emerged with a 2-1 victory at America First Field after a scoreless Leg 1.
Forster Ajago put RSL in position to advance with a 26th-minute opener, only to see it canceled out by Elías Aguilar's 70th-minute equalizer.
With RSL chasing a go-ahead goal that would have restored their aggregate lead, Herediano got a late insurance tally when Randy Vega converted a penalty kick as the match hit full-time.