GUADALAJARA, Mexico – Edgar Castillo and Atlas fell 3-1 in Estadio Hidalgo to Pachuca on Saturday in their first loss of Liga MX's Apertura 2014.
Castillo was shaky in defense, failing to get in the way of hat-trick hero Matías Alustiza when he headed in the opener from a left wing cross one minute before halftime.
The US international – playing in his usual left-back position – was yellow-carded in the 52nd minute for a late tackle and had a difficult time up against Tuzos right winger Hirving Lozano.
Michael Orozco Fiscal’s Puebla didn’t fare well either on the road, losing 1-0 in Estadio Tecnológico against Monterrey.
Orozco forced a good save from ‘keeper Jonathan Orozco in the 16th minute, when he headed a free kick swung in from the right, and featured on the left side of Rubén Omar Romano’s back three.
For Monterrey, US U-23 international Alonso Hernandez got his first minutes of the season when he came on for the final 28 minutes of the match.
On Friday, Jose Torres made the bench for Tigres following reports he would miss what turned out to be a 5-1 win over Morelia, but the Texan didn’t see any playing time, while Herculez Gomez didn’t make the 18.
In the Ascenso MX, Stevie Rodriguez made it two goals in two games for Dorados de Sinaloa on Friday, natting in the 24th in his side’s 2-2 draw with Correcaminos.
Also Friday, Juan Pablo Ocegueda completed the full game for Alebrijes de Oaxaca in their 2-2 tie against Mineros de Zacatecas, while Sonny Guadarrama went 74 minutes of Atlante’s 2-1 home loss to Coras FC.
On Saturday in the second division, Emanuel Guzman played 67 minutes in Mérida´s 2-1 away defeat to San Luis.
Tom Marshall covers Americans playing in Latin America for MLSsoccer.com. E-mail him at tom.marshall.mex@gmail.com.
