October 28, 2012
LIGA MX APERTURA
Match Day 15 roundup

Leon 4, Jaguares 1
Four different players scored as Leon battered Jaguares 4-1 in a mostly-shorthanded match Friday at Estadio Nou Camp.

Eight minutes after Matias Britos staked the Esmeraldas to a 1-0 lead in the fifth minute, Leon midfielder Jose Juan Vasquez received the first of the game’s three red cards. In the 20th minute Jaguares lost defender and captain Miguel Martinez to another ejection, leaving the match ten-on-ten, but they still managed to level the score on a 20th-minute strike by Luis Gabriel Rey.

Luis Montes restored Leon’s advantage in the 28th minute, and second-half goals by Hernan Burbaro (51st) and Calos Alberto Pena (79th) put the match out of reach. In the 84th minute, Jaguares’ Franco Arizala received his second yellow card of the match, and became the third player sent off.

The win leaves Leon third in the Apertura standings at 8-3-4 and 27 points. Chiapas are still within reach of a Liguilla berth at 5-4-6 (19).

San Luis 0, Queretaro 0
Last-place Queretaro played San Luis to a scoreless draw Saturday at Estadio Alfonso Lastras Ramirez.

San Luis finished the match with ten men after Isai Arredondo received a second yellow card and was ejected in the 89th minute.

The result ended the Gladiadores’ (3-5-7, 14 pts) last slim hope of qualifying for the Liguilla. Queretaro (0-4-11) have only four points from their first 15 games.

Cruz Azul 3, Toluca 0
Gerardo Flores scored in the tenth minute, starting Cruz Azul on their way to a 3-0 win over Toluca Saturday at Estadio Azul.

Flores headed home the game-winner after Julio Cesar Dominguez relayed a corner kick from Christian Gimenez back across the goalmouth.

Cruz Azul led 2-0 at the intermission, after a 35th-minute goal by Javier Aquino, who forced a turnover upfield and ran a quick give-and-go with Mariano Pavone. Pavone capped the scoring in the 74th, with his seventh goal of the season.

The loss knocked the Diablos Rojos out of first place in the Apertura standings, leaving them one point behind Tijuana at 9-2-3 (29). La Maquina vault into fifth place at 6-7-2 and 25 points.

Morelia 1, Tijuana 1
Tijuana and Morelia traded early goals on the way to a 1-1 draw Saturday at Estadio Morelos.

Duvier Riascos gave the Xolos a leg up in the ninth minute, putting his seventh goal of the season past netminder Federico Vilar. Miguel Sabah equalized from the penalty spot in the 21st, after Rodrigo Salinas was taken down in the box by Paulo Aguilar.

The result lifted the Xolos to the top of the Apertura table at 8-6-1 and 30 points, one more point than second-place Toluca, who have a game in hand. Monarcas improve to 5-8-2 (23).

Pachuca 1, Tigres 0
Raul Meraz scored the only goal Pachuca needed to defeat Tigres 1-0 Saturday at Estadio Hidalgo.

Meraz, a halftime substitute, delivered the win with a 50th-minute header.

The Tuzos improve to 4-6-4 and 18 points, and are still within reach of a berth in the Liguilla. Tigres are right behind them in the standings, at 4-5-6 (17).

Monterrey 3, Santos Laguna 2
Second-half goals by Fabian Delgado and Aldo De Nigris helped Monterrey edge Santos Laguna 3-2 Saturday at Estadio Tecnologico.

Humberto Suazo gave Monterrey the early advantage, scoring in the 11th minute after a wild sequence that saw Cesar Delgado collect a rebound near the endline and cut the ball back to Suazo for a header past goalkeeper Oswaldo Sanchez. Oribe Peralta equalized four minutes before halftime, nodding the ball home off a long service from Daniel Luduena. Delgado made the score 2-0 in the 54th minute, and De Nigris opened up the critical two-goal lead in the 57th off a cross from Jesus Corona.

Herculez Gomez kept Santos close by scoring with five minutes left on the clock. Rafael Figueroa got the assist.

The Rayados (5-6-3, 21 points) are seventh in the standings with a game in hand, one point ahead of defending champions Santos (5-5-5, 20).

America 1, Pumas 0
Club America edged Pumas 1-0 Sunday at Estadio Olimpico Universitario.

Daniel Montenegro delivered the win to the Aguilas (7-6-2, 27 pts) in the 25th minute, with a low shot from the edge of the penalty area.

Pumas fall to 6-2-7 and 20 points.
 
Atlante 2, Puebla 1
Jose Fonseca’s stoppage-time goal gave Atlante a 2-1 win over Puebla Sunday at Estadio Cuauhtemoc.

Efrain Paredes staked the Potros to a 1-0 lead in the fourth minute, with his league-leading ninth goal of the tournament, but Herminio Miranda equalized in the 64th. In stoppage time, Paredes controlled the ball in the center of the box and found Fonseca for an empty-net finish.

Atlante (5-5-5, 20 pts) are within a tiebreaker of claiming a berth in the postseason, while La Franja fall to 3-3-9 (12).

Chivas 2, Atlas 0
Chivas de Guadalajara blanked the Zorros of Atlas 2-0 in Sunday’s Clasico Tapatio at Estadio Omnilife.

Rafael Marquez sealed the win early, with a tenth-minute header off Jesus Sanchez’s cross from the right flank. Marco Fabian doubled the Chivas lead in the 39thoff a solo breakaway that saw him dribble into the area from midfield and beat goalkeeper Jesus Gallardo with a rising shot.

The Herd move into Liguilla-eligible eighth place at 5-5-5 and 20 points. Atlas remain second from the bottom of the table at 1-8-6 and 11 points.