GUADALAJARA, Mexico – The way Herculez Gomez is carrying on, Toronto FC could be in big trouble.
The 2010 World Cup veteran scored his eighth goal in six games for Santos Laguna on Saturday, steering a header into the top corner of the net in the 75th minute to give los Guerreros a 2-0 victory over Querétaro at the Estadio Corona.
The win keeps Gomez and Santos on top of the Mexican Primera División table and riding high on momentum heading into Wednesday’s CONCACAF Champions League semifinal first leg at BMO Field.
Meanwhile, DaMarcus Beasley scored an important goal for troubled Puebla in a 1-1 draw with Cruz Azul. The former Chicago Fire man stole the ball from a defender to poke home the equalizer inside the Estadio Cuauhtémoc in the 55th minute.
Beasley started on the left wing as usual in Puebla’s first game after Juan Carlos Osorio’s resignation, and went 90 minutes before coming off in second-half injury time. The goal was Beasley’s third of the season and his fifth since joining La Franja last summer.
At the Estadio Caliente in Tijuana, Edgar Castillo played the full game in Club Tijuana’s 2-0 victory over Atlas on Saturday.
Castillo once again shone on the left of the Xolos midfield and the three points mean that the border city team cannot be relegated and will definitely be in the Primera División next season.
Greg Garza did not dress for Club Tijuana.
Michael Orozco Fiscal’s San Luis, meanwhile, fell 3-2 to Atlante on Saturday, leaving them seven points off the playoffs.
Orozco Fiscal played the full game and set up San Luis’ first goal, nodding a header into the path of Jesús Chávez, who finished first time.
In Guatemala, Jeff Cunningham scored his fourth goal of the season for Comunicaciones in their 3-0 victory over Juventud Retalteca. The victory extended las Cremas’ lead atop of the Guatemalan first division to four points.
Down in Chile, Friday was an important day for goalkeeper Jimmy Maurer. The former Atlanta Silverbacks stopper came on in the 24th minute for his Universidad de Concepción debut in their 5-2 loss to visiting Santiago Wanderers. The hosts were already down 2-0 when the Georgian was subbed on.
In Mexico’s second division, Isaac Acuña came on for the last 15 minutes in Mérida’s 2-0 victory on Friday.
Tom Marshall covers Americans playing in Latin America. E-mail him at tom.marshall.mex@gmail.com
