GAME NOTES Semifinals, 1st Leg
Alajuelense (Costa Rica) v Toluca (Mexico) Alajuela, Costa Rica – Estadio Alejandro Morera Soto Scotiabank (First-ever CCL meeting)
Tuesday – April 1, 2014 •
Quarterfinals v Arabe Unido – 1st Leg: 0-0 home draw; 2nd Leg: 2-0 away win (Goals: Jerry Palacios 6’, Jonathan McDonald 58’)
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Won Group 4 to advance to quarterfinals (Alajuelense, 9 points; Club America, 6; Sporting San Miguelito, 3)
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Group 4 record: GP – 4; W – 3; D – 0; L – 1; GF – 4, GA – 1
• Group 4 results: 1-0 away loss v Sporting San Miguelito; 1-0 home win v Club America (Goal: Alvaro Sanchez 83’ pen); 2-0 home win v Sporting San Miguelito (Goals: Jerry Palacios 62’, Alejandro Alpizar 76’); 1-0 away win v Club America (Goal: Jerry Palacios 55’)
Alajuelense
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CCL appearances (4): 2008-09, 2011-12, 2012-13, 2013-14
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Best CCL finish: making first CCL semifinal appearance
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CONCACAF Champions Cup champion (2): 1986, 2004
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All-Time CCL record: GP – 18; W – 10; D – 3; L – 5; GF – 20; GA – 17
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All-Time CCL home record: GP – 9; W – 6; D – 3; L – 0; GF – 10; GA – 3
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All-Time CCL record v Mexican opposition: GP – 6; W – 3; D – 1; L – 2; GF – 6; GA – 9
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Posted 5 straight CCL shutouts, shares tournament record with Pachuca
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Conceded 0 goals in last 503 minutes of CCL play…Pachuca holds tournament record at 525 minutes
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Unbeaten in 5 straight CCL games (4 wins, 1 draw, 0 losses) and 11 of last 14 (9 wins, 2 draws, 3 losses)
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Had never been shutout at home in CCL prior to 0-0 draw v Arabe Unido … scored more than 1 CCL goal at home once (2 v Tigres, 2012-13)
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Posted shutouts in 7 of 9 all-time CCL home games, including last 4
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Jerry Palacios has 8 career CCL goals (5 with Marathon, 3 with Alajuelense)
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All-Time leading CCL scorers: Jonathan McDonald (4 goals); Allen Guevara, Jerry Palacios (3 goals each)
• Quarterfinals v San Jose Earthquakes – 1st Leg: 1-1 away draw (Goal: Raul Nava 67’); 2nd Leg: 1-1 home draw (Goals: Isaac Brizuela 69’) … advances 5-4 on penalty kicks •
Won Group 6 to advance to quarterfinals (Toluca, 12 points; Comunicaciones, 6; Caledonia AIA, 0)
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Group 6 record: GP – 4; W – 4; D – 0; L – 0; GF – 15; GA – 4 … 1 of 2 teams to have a perfect group stage record (Cruz Azul)
• Group 6 results: 3-1 home win v Caledonia AIA (Goals: Edgar Benitez 24’, Miguel Almazan 30’, Raul Nava 61’); 2-1 away win v Comunicaciones (Goals: Raul Nava 16’, Juan Carlos Cacho 25’); 5-1 away win v Caledonia AIA (Goals: Raul Nava 17’, 67; Carlos Esquivel 28’; Edy Brambila 41’; Antonio Naelson Matias – Sinha 72’); 5-1 home win v Comunicaciones (Goals: Raul Nava 6’, 89’; Edgar Benitez 23’, 72’; Erbin Trejo 67’)
Toluca
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CCL appearances (3): 2009-10, 2010-11, 2013-14
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Best CCL finish: Semifinals (2009-10), eliminated by Pachuca, 2-1 on aggregate
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CONCACAF Champions Cup champion (2): 1968, 2003
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All-Time CCL record: GP – 24; W – 12; D – 6; L – 6; GF – 53; GA – 23
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All-Time CCL away record: GP – 12; W – 4; D – 3; L – 5; GF – 17; GA – 15
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All-Time CCL semifinal record: GP – 2; W – 0; D – 1; L – 1; GF – 1; GA – 2
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CCL semifinal results: (2009-10) v Pachuca, 1-1 home draw (Goal: Edgar Dueñas 77’); 1-0 away loss
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Conceded 1 goal or fewer in 9 straight CCL games, but has allowed exactly 1 in each of last 8
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7 of last 9 CCL goals have been scored in 2nd half, including last 5
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Raul Nava is 2013-14 CCL top scorer with 7 goals … his 5-game scoring streak snapped in quarterfinal, 2nd leg
• All-Time leading CCL scorers: Raul Nava (10 goals); Hector Mancilla (9), Juan Cuevas (5), Antonio Naelson Matias – Sinha (4), Edgar Benitez, Isaac Brizuela (3 each); Nestor Calderon, Diego de la Torre, Vladimir Marin (2 each)
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