Monterrey 2, Xolos 2

The Tijuana Xoloitzcuintles are out of the Mexican soccer playoffs.

They did not, however, go quietly.

The Xolos tied 2-2 at Monterrey on Saturday night, not enough to overcome Wednesday’s 2-1 loss at home in their two-leg Primera Division quarterfinal series. But they made the Rayados work for it, made them sweat it out, in a wild game that featured one fewer red cards than goals.

The Xolos led 1-0 and had a man advantage (following a red card on Monterrey’s Angel Reyna) late in the first half, and a 2-1 lead inside 30 minutes to go after Egidio Arevalo’s penalty kick gave him his second goal of the night.

Each time, Monterrey responded. Carlos Delgado scored on the stroke of halftime, and another Argentine, Jose Maria Basanta, leveled it at 2-2 just three minutes after Arevalo had given Tijuana hope. What did in the Xolos were second-half red cards to Miguel Almazan and Armando Pulido, both for the same thing: two-footed, cleats-up tackles.

That left Tijuana playing nine vs. 10 for the game’s final 16 minutes, which meant a two-man backline and goalkeeper Cirilo Saucedo making audacious dribbling runs to the center circle.

Second-seeded Monterrey advances to the semifinals along with Club America, which eliminated Pachuca on a 3-2 aggregate. The two other semifinalists will be determined today, with top-seeded Santos Laguna and Tigres taking leads into their second legs.

For the Xolos, the 2012 Apertura season begins in July. Their next scheduled game is a June 30 exhibition at Qualcomm Stadium against Club America.


