The stage is set for the two remaining teams in the Mexican Apertura: Santos and Monterrey will battle it out for supremacy.
As expected, the two higher seeds still remaining in the Apertura playoffs went through to the finals, as Santos rode a fantastic Carlos Darwin Quintero brace to a spectacular 3-3 draw saw them past América.
Monterrey showed the public that they could indeed win in the playoffs, beating UNAM Pumas in a repeat of their Thursday night fixture, with goals by Humberto Suazo and Neri Cardozo pacing the blue and whites.
The stage is set for a scintillating final series between two spectacular offensive teams that have played in the last two final series -- albeit separately.
The first of the weekend's doubleheader of games was held in Torreón, where Santos Laguna needed to hold off América, who lost by one goal in the first match of the series.
The home team were expected to come out and hold their advantage, as their two-goal lead (with tiebreak) was a mammoth task for goal-hungry América.
Right off the bat, however, Santos surprised everyone when Darwin Quintero turned a lightning break into a fantastic goal just two minutes in; the scene was set for a scintillating second match.
A swirling Vicente Sánchez free kick in the second half made it 1-1 and reignited the flicker of hope that América fans had for their team to make it to the final. Just one minute later, Quintero struck again putting the match 2-1 and dampening the visitor's spirits.
América fought back again, making it 2-2 and sending all of their troops forward with 20 minutes remaining. The risky strategy was hit and miss: They were able to score again, but conceded once more.
That final Santos goal, scored by Christian Benitez, made the América task that of scoring two goals in five minutes, a job the yellow clad warriors were not up to task for.
With the win, Santos make it to their second consecutive final on the back of Quintero, Benitez and head coach Ruben Omar Romano's fantastic strategy.
Monterrey was faced with the strange prospect of reaching the final series without actually winning a game - as they had drawn the previous three and gone through to the semifinals via tiebreaker.
Pumas, on the other hand, were a Cinderella story just 90 minutes away from the promised land, needing a win of any kind to go through and face Santos.
Wanting to force a Monterrey mistake, Pumas dropped back into their own half and waited to strike back on a counterattack - the gambit failed, and a fantastic Humberto Suazo volley put the match 1-0.
Pumas were now obliged to go forth and get two goals back, putting their defensive line at considerable risk. Attempts by Dante Lopez, Martin Bravo and Leandro Augusto were not able to break the Monterrey stronghold, and Neri Cardozo further made matters worse for UNAM when he scored the 2-0 goal that cemented the result.
Victor Manuel Vucetich now travels to his second final with the club, wishing for a repeat of the Apertura 2009 final series in which he lifted the Mexican league trophy alongside Suazo, Cardozo and the rest of his talented northern squad.
Pumas were denied a trip to the finals, the first by rookie manager Guillermo Vazquez. Vazquez replaced Ricardo Ferretti, who took over Monterrey's cross-town rival UANL Tigres.
Tigres missed the playoffs, placing ninth.
Monterrey showed the public that they could indeed win in the playoffs, beating UNAM Pumas in a repeat of their Thursday night fixture, with goals by Humberto Suazo and Neri Cardozo pacing the blue and whites.
The stage is set for a scintillating final series between two spectacular offensive teams that have played in the last two final series -- albeit separately.
The first of the weekend's doubleheader of games was held in Torreón, where Santos Laguna needed to hold off América, who lost by one goal in the first match of the series.
The home team were expected to come out and hold their advantage, as their two-goal lead (with tiebreak) was a mammoth task for goal-hungry América.
Right off the bat, however, Santos surprised everyone when Darwin Quintero turned a lightning break into a fantastic goal just two minutes in; the scene was set for a scintillating second match.
A swirling Vicente Sánchez free kick in the second half made it 1-1 and reignited the flicker of hope that América fans had for their team to make it to the final. Just one minute later, Quintero struck again putting the match 2-1 and dampening the visitor's spirits.
América fought back again, making it 2-2 and sending all of their troops forward with 20 minutes remaining. The risky strategy was hit and miss: They were able to score again, but conceded once more.
That final Santos goal, scored by Christian Benitez, made the América task that of scoring two goals in five minutes, a job the yellow clad warriors were not up to task for.
With the win, Santos make it to their second consecutive final on the back of Quintero, Benitez and head coach Ruben Omar Romano's fantastic strategy.
Monterrey was faced with the strange prospect of reaching the final series without actually winning a game - as they had drawn the previous three and gone through to the semifinals via tiebreaker.
Pumas, on the other hand, were a Cinderella story just 90 minutes away from the promised land, needing a win of any kind to go through and face Santos.
Wanting to force a Monterrey mistake, Pumas dropped back into their own half and waited to strike back on a counterattack - the gambit failed, and a fantastic Humberto Suazo volley put the match 1-0.
Pumas were now obliged to go forth and get two goals back, putting their defensive line at considerable risk. Attempts by Dante Lopez, Martin Bravo and Leandro Augusto were not able to break the Monterrey stronghold, and Neri Cardozo further made matters worse for UNAM when he scored the 2-0 goal that cemented the result.
Victor Manuel Vucetich now travels to his second final with the club, wishing for a repeat of the Apertura 2009 final series in which he lifted the Mexican league trophy alongside Suazo, Cardozo and the rest of his talented northern squad.
Pumas were denied a trip to the finals, the first by rookie manager Guillermo Vazquez. Vazquez replaced Ricardo Ferretti, who took over Monterrey's cross-town rival UANL Tigres.
Tigres missed the playoffs, placing ninth.
