Both of these clubs are looking to send a message to the rest of the competition by reaching one step closer to glory, as Philadelphia Union and Mazatlan FC will do everything in their power to advance to the Leagues Cup semifinals this Saturday at Subaru Park at 7:30 p.m. ET on MLS Season Pass via Apple TV.
After finishing on top in East 4, the Union had two different stories to tell to get to this stage of the tournament. First, they faced CF Montréal in the Round of 32 and they executed their game plan to perfection to secure a 2-0 win with two Tai Baribo goals, both of them coming at the end of each half.
The Round of 16 game was a challenge, to say the least. Their opponent had the crowd behind them, as they had to play FC Cincinnati at TQL Stadium and it was not easy. After a hard fought first half, the goals started to fall in the second, as Mikael Uhre opened up the scoring for Philadelphia Union and Baribo increased the lead to 2-0 in the 61th minute. But the home team would not go away and two goals in a 15-minute span tied everything up until Baribo once again showed his talent to give his team the lead and Quinn Sullivan put the icing on the cake in the final minutes.
Speaking of thrillers, Mazatlan FC had a couple of those to reach the quarter-finals. In the beginning of the knockout stage, they beat DC United 2-1 taking advantage of a red card shown to Jared Stroud, but the Black and Red pressured all the way to the end. After escaping United, the Cañoneros had another nail-biter win at Audi Field, this time against Liga MX rival Cruz Azul in a penalty shootout.
Mazatlan once again jumped up in front 2-0 and they also had the advantage on the pitch after Gonzalo Piovi received two yellow cards for Los Cementeros, but La Maquina Celeste came back to tie just before the final whistle and shots from 12 yards away were required. Ricardo Gutierrez saved the first and third penalty and Mazatlan did not miss their tries, as they won the round 3-1 and punched their ticket to the next stage.
Both Tai Baribo and Ricardo Gutierrez will be key players to watch for each side and could very well determine which club advances as the teams know what’s at stake in this game. A chance to be in the door steps of the final for an opportunity to capture the Leagues Cup trophy is on the line, with Philadelphia Union and Mazatlan FC facing off for a spot in the semifinals.
