Union advance to Leagues Cup semifinals with penalty kick shootout win over Mexico’s Mazatlán

The Union advanced to the Leagues Cup semifinals on Saturday, beating Mexico’s Mazatlán in a penalty kick shootout after a 1-1 tie at Subaru Park.

Mikael Uhre and Jesús Escoboza scored the goals, then Andre Blake made two saves in the shootout to help send the Union on to a Wednesday matchup at the Columbus Crew (7:30 p.m., Apple TV). Columbus beat New York City FC in the other quarterfinal of the bracket’s eastern half.

In the western half, Los Angeles routed the Seattle Sounders 3-0 on the road; and Downingtown’s Zack Steffen led the Colorado Rapids to a penalty shootout upset of Mexican powerhouse Club América after a scoreless tie.

The Union’s win guarantees that they’ll play two more games in the Leagues Cup: the semifinal, then the final or third-place game on Aug. 25. Because of the tournament’s seeding, the Union will host the last game no matter who they face. The Aug. 24 regular-season game against Columbus has been postponed to Aug. 28.

If the Union make the final or win the third-place game, they’ll qualify for next year’s Concacaf Champions Cup.

Tai Baribo drew a yellow card for what referee Selvin Brown thought was a shove in the 40th minute, while Kai Wagner was about to take a corner kick. The player who provoked the foul, Roberto Meráz, had pretty clearly flopped, but Brown didn’t see it that way.

In the 42nd, Brown ejected Baribo for charging into Meráz again as Wagner’s corner kick finally was en route — and from the look of it on replay, raising an arm toward Meráz’s neck. Meráz went down very easily again, and Brown was pretty quick to raise his red card.

Because the card given was a straight red, the video replay officials could review it. That happened, and nearly two minutes after the review began, Brown went to a sideline monitor. He ended up downgrading the red to a yellow, but because it was Baribo’s second yellow, he was ejected anyway.

The game then rolled into nine minutes of first-half stoppage time, with Baribo walking down the sideline to cheers from Union fans. Those cheers grew louder when Jack McGlynn sprung Uhre down the left wing for a breakaway past Mazatlán’s high back line.

Uhre was so far wide that Mazatlán’s defenders had enough time to get back as Uhre cut toward the middle. But as he saw the space closing down, Uhre uncorked a beautiful chip over goalkeeper Ricardo Gutiérrez that banked in off the far post, for his ninth goal of the year.

It was the Union’s fourth shot of the game and first on target, to Mazatlán’s 10 and three. But Blake was rarely troubled, with Mazatlán’s eight fouls in the half making more of an impact on anyone than those shots.

Uhre got another breakaway in the first minute of the second half but took a touch too many, and Gutiérrez was able to foil him. Uhre then got to the loose ball, but shot it right at Luis Sánchez’s face.

» READ MORE: Mikael Uhre scored a big goal for the Union at Cincinnati after an ‘honest’ talk with Jim Curtin

Escoboza tied the game in the 59th off a well-worked free-kick play: David Colman to Ramon Árciga to Escoboza, who out-jumped Jakob Glesnes — whose foul led to the free kick in the first place — for a header.

Seven minutes later, Union manager Jim Curtin made a triple substitution. Uhre, McGlynn, and Quinn Sullivan went out, and Alejandro Bedoya, Jesús Bueno, and Damion Lowe came in, with Dániel Gazdag moving up to the nominal forward role. Gazdag exited in the 81st for Sam Adeniran.

Mazatlán’s Facundo Almada came inches from scoring a winner in the 86th but put his header off the crossbar as Blake leaped at it.

Though the Union couldn’t say it aloud, José Andrés Martínez was given the honor of the pregame drum strike as an acknowledgment that he is soon to leave via a deal to sell him to Brazil’s Corinthians for around $2 million is nearing its completion.

Given his impending departure, it was a surprise that Martínez was among the available substitutes Saturday night. It turned out he’d asked Corinthians for permission to get a late-game cameo if the game had room for it, to play one more time at Subaru Park.

It turned out that the game did have room in the 90th minute. Martínez entered for Leon Flach at the start of four minutes of stoppage time. Then, it was off to penalties.

» READ MORE: A deal is in the works to sell José Andrés Martínez to Brazil's Corinthians

Blake opened with a save on Colman, then Martínez stepped up for his big moment and slammed it in. Though Subaru Park was at best one-third full, the crowd that was in attendance made a mighty noise for both — and it got louder after Blake denied Alan Torres in Mazatlán’s third round.

Jack Elliott scored just before Blake’s second save, and Lowe scored after it. Sam Adeniran hit the right post in the Union’s fourth round, but buried the game-winner, returning the Union to the semifinals for the second year in a row.