Columbus Crew goalkeeper Patrick Schulte righted an early mistake in the second leg of the CONCACAF Champions Cup quarterfinal against the Mexican Tigres, saving two penalties in a shootout to lead the Crew to a victory 4-3 on PK after a 1-1. draw, 2-2 on aggregate, at Estadio Volcan in Monterrey, Mexico.
The reigning MLS Cup champions will face either Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami or Tigres’ rival CF Monterrey in the semifinals. These two teams will play the second leg of their quarter-final on Wednesday evening.
“We knew it was going to be difficult, because we are playing away, with a big crowd,” said head coach Wilfried Nancy. “Since I took office, everything depends on us. At the end of the day, we try to play our football. I believe that when you do good things, you will get results. »
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The victory marks the first time an MLS team has defeated a Liga MX team in a penalty shootout in Mexico, and also marks a rare moment of victory of any type for MLS against their Liga MX counterparts in the CONCACAF regional competition. MLS teams had won just 17 of the previous 68 home-and-away matches against Liga MX opponents in the Champions Cup and its history, including a 5-32 second-leg mark in Mexico, like during Columbus against Tigres.
But as hard as it was to imagine a Columbus triumph based on past records alone, Schulte becoming the hero of the game was even harder to predict based on the opening minutes of the game. It took just three minutes for the goalkeeper to be caught as he attempted to turn around with the ball at his feet under pressure, gifting a goal to Tigres striker André-Pierre Gignac at the Volcan, commonly considered one of the most difficult places to play in the North. America.
The Tigers take an early lead over Columbus 😱 pic.twitter.com/8vv57PwSgi
– FOX Football (@FOXSoccer) April 10, 2024
“This team is really tight,” Schulte said after the game. “And after that (mistake), it was obviously disappointing. But you know, they kind of got me back.
The Crew withstood many more close calls after that point, but slowly progressed into the game and made several big defensive plays to keep the score at 1-0, 2-1 on aggregate. Schulte himself made six saves during the rest of the match.
Diego Rossi finally brought Columbus back to level in the 59th minute, calmly finishing a poorly controlled ball off the foot of Mohamed Farsi.
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As overtime passed scoreless and penalties arrived, Schulte wasted no time in making up for his mistake.
“When we got to the penalty shootout (my teammates) all came up to me in the circle and said, ‘Alright, it’s your time.’ Go enjoy it,” Schulte said afterward. “I knew I was going to face five penalties and I just had confidence that I would get at least two and give us the best chance to win.”
The 23-year-old goalkeeper, who had never saved a penalty before in his professional career, made his first save with a fantastic throw extended low and to his right on Gignac to put the Tigres under pressure from the start of the shoot to the net.
Patrick Schulte. 🧤 pic.twitter.com/96dxf48ePK
– FOX Football (@FOXSoccer) April 10, 2024
Schulte followed up with another save, this time low and to his left, from Tigres’ Guido Pizarro.
“I’m not surprised, to be honest with you. What I’m asking him to do is not easy,” Nancy said afterward, referring to how Schulte came back from his first mistake. “The first question people ask me is: ‘Do you think Pat will be able to continue?’ And I say ‘why do you think like that? Let’s see.’ I’m really happy for him, because I know he was really disappointed when he conceded the goal.
With those two saves in hand, the Crew were able to withstand Cucho Hernández’s miss on the fourth attempt, meaning the winning penalty went to winger Max Arfsten, a relatively unknown 22-year-old winger. Like Schulte, he stepped up when needed and buried his kick to send Columbus to the semifinals.
After all this history, a clash with Lionel Messi could wait, depending on how things go on Wednesday.
Felipe Cardenas and Pablo Maurer contributed to this report.
(Top photo: Azael Rodriguez/Getty Images)