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TORREON, Mexico - Hercules Gomez scored his first goal of this season's CONCACAF Champions League and confirmed Santos Laguna's place in the quarterfinals with a 1-0 win over Toronto FC on Wednesday.
Needing only to not lose by three goals or more to advance, Santos became the second Mexican team to clinch its place and sixth team to advance to the knockout round.
The result finished Santos - last year's tournament runner-up -- atop Group 1 with 12 points, six better than Toronto, which was eliminated after reaching the semifinals last season.
After losing 3-1 to Santos at home on August 28, Toronto needed a lopsided score to advance. It created several chances in the first 20 minutes, two by Ryan Johnson and another by Reggie Lambe.
Johnson was played behind the Santos defense in the sixth minute, but Santos keeper Miguel Bacera was able to deflect the shot from inside the area with his right wrist. Johnson put a header wide in the 15th and Bacera then blocked Lambe from inside the six in the 18th.
Santos was able get control of the possession and create its own chances, but mostly from distance. Its best came when Carlos Darwin Quintero put a free kick from 25 meters off the right post.
However, Santos - which played with only three regulars - began to dominate in the second half, including two by Gomez in the 59th and 62nd before he finally converted in the 73rd.
Gomez, who had six goals in last year's Champions League, settled a ball off his chest just outside the 18 and volleyed the ball with a right-footed drive that sailed past Toronto keeper Freddy Hall into the upper far right corner.
The victory ended a three-game winless skid for Santos, which extended its unbeaten streak at home in all competitions to seven. It also was the 18th in 19 games at home for Santos in the Champions League, with a 3-1 loss to fellow Mexican side Cruz Azul in the 2010-11 quarterfinals its only blemish.
The loss was the third straight without a goal for Toronto, the team with the worst record in U.S. Major League Soccer and has won only one of its last 15 games in all competitions.
