Cavalry’s CONCACAF dream comes to an end with battling 2-0 loss to Pumas UNAM

Cavalry’s CONCACAF dream comes to an end with battling 2-0 loss to Pumas UNAM

Posted on February 13, 2025 by in CONCACAF CHAMPIONS CUP, CAVALRY FC with 0 Comments

Photo Credit: CONCACAF.com

While they battled hard in adverse conditions, Cavalry’s CONCACAF Champions Cup run came to a bittersweet end on Thursday night following a 2-0 loss to host Pumas UNAM at Mexico City’s Estádio Olimpico Universitario.

Substitute striker Guillermo Martinez scored both of Pumas’ goals in the second half against a Cavalry side that had gone down to 10 men following a red card to Jay Herdman on the cusp of half-time.

“We knew we had to be better than we were last week coming here,” said Cavalry head coach Tommy Wheeldon Jr. in the post-game press conference. “This is a historic club, a three-time champion, and we knew we’d be in tough.

“We knew we’d face the best players Pumas has, and we did. We didn’t realize we’d do it with 10 men for as long as we did. Hopefully we made (them) sweat. But we gave them our very best. I couldn’t be more proud of the way our guys (played) and we’re only five weeks into our preseason.”

Their 3-2 aggregate win means Pumas will advance to the round of 16 of the CONCACAF tournament. Pumas will play Costa Rica’s Liga Deportiva Alajuelense in the next round, which kicks off in early March.

After a historic 2-1 win over Pumas in the first leg in Langford last Thursday, Wheeldon Jr. fielded the exact same starting 11 in Mexico City. But Pumas head coach Gustavo Lema did the opposite, making eight changes to his starting 11 that began the match at Langford’s Starlight Stadium.

The game was wrought with drama (and tinged with controversy) almost immediately. Just 15 minutes into the match, Cavs midfielder Charlie Trafford appeared to be given a red card for a foul on José Caicedo. Though Trafford won the ball cleanly, his tackling leg clattered into Caicedo’s midriff, leading referee Juan Calderon to brandish the early red.

However, Cavs’ fans could breathe a sigh of relief after Calderon rescinded the ejection following a review from VAR. Instead, Trafford was given a yellow card for the challenge.

The rest of the first half saw Pumas settle into a rhythm of dominating possession and they also created a series of chances. The dynamic was understandable, considering the hosts’ desperation to avoid an embarrassing elimination.

“We knew we would have to defend,” Wheeldon Jr. said. “The players Pumas put out, I think we’d earned their respect and knew we had to change our shape to defend. We were getting close to half time when the penalty was given, and the sending-off.”

Pumas earned a crucial advantage on the stroke of half time, when Herdman was sent off for a foul in Cavalry’s 18-yard box. Similar to Trafford’s earlier incident, Herdman struck the ball first, but his follow-through struck the shin of Pumas’ forward Pablo Bennevendo, leading Calderon to call the penalty and send off the 20-year-old New Zealander.

Goalkeeper Marco Carducci was up to the task, however, heroically diving left to palm Ignacio Pussetto’s penalty away from danger.

With the score still 0-0 at half-time, Pumas’ players were showered with a chorus of boos from their fans as they made their way toward the dressing room.

For 45 minutes (plus six minutes of stoppage time) Cavalry had demonstrated they were able to withstand Pumas’ onslaught of attacks. But down to 10 men for the entire second half, that defensive effort was always going to be difficult to replicate.

In the 53rd minute, Martinez, who came on for Canadian/Mexican dual international Santiago Lopez, broke the deadlock for Pumas with a well taken header. An in-swinging cross clipped in from Pussetto was met by the tall No. 9 near the penalty spot and powered into the top corner. This time, Carducci could only flail haplessly at the perfectly-placed header.

Martinez notched his second 20 minutes later.

After Cavalry coughed up the ball in midfield, the former Houston Dynamo player pounced on the ball, dribbling with it until he was just outside Cavalry’s penalty box arch, before rifling a shot into the bottom-right corner.

Despite increasing exhaustion, Cavalry battled valiantly for the remainder of the match, knowing a goal would have been enough to force extra time.

Ali Musse came close to scoring with a great chance in stoppage time. Slipping around the Pumas left back and latching onto the ball following a long pass over the top, Musse managed to get into the box, but his tight-angled shot was blocked by the foot of goalkeeper Alex Padilla.

“We stuck together, we gambled together and we went for it,” Wheeldon said. “I’m very proud of the guys given the circumstances they had to face tonight.

“What I’ve got to reflect on is that over 180 minutes, (it was) a one-goal difference and we played with one man less. We’re seven years old and we’ve played a historic club. So I’m very proud of the performance and the attitude of our players against what I’d call a giant in Mexican football.

      
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Authored by: Scott Strasser
https://twitter.com/scottstrasser19

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