COLUMBUS, Ohio — Jose Alvarado scored in stoppage time to give Monterrey a 2-2 draw with the Columbus Crew on Wednesday night in the opening leg of their CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinal.
Ake Loba scored against the defending MLS Cup champions in the ninth minute. Monterrey, which has lost three straight Liga MX games, was without key players Vincent Janssen, Maxi Meza and Ponchito González.
Pedro Santos scored the equalizer for Columbus in the 65th minute before Zelarayan’s goal in the 87th gave the Crew a brief lead.
Columbus’ Lucas Zelarayan was given a yellow card in the 12th minute that will force him to miss next Wednesday’s game at Monterrey.
The Crew were eliminated in the quarterfinals of the Champions League in both 2010 and 2011. Monterrey has won the tournament four times in the last decade.
The winner of this quarterfinal will face the Toronto-Cruz Azul winner.
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