The Philadelphia Union were eliminated from the Concacaf Champions Cup Tuesday night, losing to Pachuca 6-0 in the second leg of the Round-of-16 series at Estadio Hidalgo.
After the teams played to a scoreless draw at Subaru Park in Leg 1 last week, Pachuca, powered by a Salomón Rondón hat trick, advanced 6-0 on aggregate to meet either Herediano or Robinhood in the quarterfinals.
Los Tuzos raced out to a 1-0 lead in the seventh minute with Rondón burying his penalty kick after Kai Wagner took down Emilio Rodriguez in the box.
Rondón was robbed of his second goal in the 19th minute thanks to a sensational save by Andre Blake, and the Union nearly capitalized when Jack McGlynn hit a swerving shot from distance in the 42nd minute that forced Pachuca goalkeeper Carlos Moreno into a diving save.
Rondón would go on to close the door in the sixth minute of first-half stoppage time, rifling a left-footed shot over Blake. In total, the night belonged to the Venezuelan international, who earned his hat trick in the 53rd minute on a first-time finish of a Miguel Rodríguez cross.
That tally was followed by a long-distance goal from Nelson Deossa that bounced off Blake and into the net, and Oussama Idrissi's 63rd-minute strike, on which Rondón picked up the assist, made it five for Pachuca.
Alan Bautista closed out the scoring for the hosts five minutes from full-time.
Goals
Three Things
- THE BIG PICTURE: This was a nightmare for Jim Curtin's side from the moment Rondón clinically finished his PK in the opening minutes. The Union had a sliver of a chance to make things interesting late in the first half, but Rondón effectively ended the tie with his second goal before the break, and Los Tuzos poured it on in the second half.
- MOMENT OF THE MATCH: There was some hope for the Union coming out of halftime despite a two-goal deficit. That was snuffed out when Rondón completed his hat trick in the 53rd minute.
- MAN OF THE MATCH: Rondón was on another level from everyone else.
Next Up
- PAC: Sunday, March 17 at Atlético de San Luis (9 pm ET) | Liga MX Clausura
- PHI: Saturday, March 16 at Austin FC (8:30 pm ET | Apple TV - Free) | MLS regular season
