While Panama crowns a champion, playoff action is well underway everywhere else across the region, as Central American leagues come down to crunch time.
GUATEMALA
The Guatemalan Apertura determines its semifinalists this weekend after a rousing round of midweek quarterfinal matches.
In the opening encounter in Suchitepequez, Municipal pulled off a useful result by rescuing a point on the road, through a second half added time goal from Mario Rodriguez. The Deer had taken the first half lead on a goal from Adrian Apellaniz (42'). The teams meet in the decisive match on Saturday in El Trebol in Guatemala City.
Regular season leader Comunicaciones had similar luck on its trip to San Marcos, drawing 2-2 with eighth-seed Marquense. Two goals from Costa Rican midfielder Diego Estrada pulled the Cremas even after Marquense took an early two-goal advantage at home on dual strikes from Terencio de Oliveria (4', 34').
Estrada cut into the lead in the 41st minute and leveled matters in the 60th minute on an assist from Transito Montepeque. The two sides will meet again to resolve matters on Saturday afternoon at Estadio Cementos Progreso in Guatemala City.
Halcones will take an important advantage to Morales for the away leg of their semifinal against Heredia, after an Edoardo Isella double and a goal from Gerardo Arias gave the team from La Mesilla a 3-1 win at home. Jaguares got an important away goal with just three minutes to spare, which could prove crucial headed into the second match.
In Malacatan, the host got a penalty kick goal from Gustavo Betancourt (39'), before an avalanche of four more goals in the second half left the chances of the defending champion Xelaju hanging by a thread. Betancourt scored again from the spot (58') before Eneas Conceicao added a late hat-trick (67', 74', 91') to provide the final 5-0 score line. The Superchivos will try to mount a come back on Sunday in Quetzaltenango.
NICARAGUA
The Nicaraguan semifinals have reached their final match date, and the Apertura 2012 finalists will be decided on Sunday.
Defending champion Real Esteli, undefeated in the semifinal round and first in the table with nine points from five matches, squares off with Managua FC in the northern city of Esteli. Managua trails the Tren del Norte by a single point, but could be obligated to win if it wants to advance to the first final in the club's history.
In the other match, Walter Ferretti takes on already-eliminated Juventus de Managua. A win would assure the red and black a trip back to the final after missing out earlier this year, while a tie or even a loss could also get the capital side through to the home-and-away final round, depending on the result of the other match in Esteli.
COSTA RICA
Saprissa and Herediano face off in a match-up of Costa Rican powers in one semifinal, while Alajuelense meets Limon in the other.
The Florenses and Morados have met each other five times in the history of the Costa Rican playoffs, with Saprissa getting the better of the current CONCACAF Champions League quarter-finalist all five times. The series opens Sunday in Heredia, with the return leg to be played next week at Saprissa.
The other semifinal will kick off midweek at the National Stadium, after Limon chose to move its home leg to the capital. La Liga will then face the Caribbean-based side a second time three days later, at home in Alajuela.
EL SALVADOR
The quick-fire semifinal round starts off Saturday in El Salvador, with both matches scheduled for that evening before midweek return dates.
Third-place FAS hosts Alianza, as the Santa Anna side looks for its first title since 2009. Alianza, which last won the Salvadoran title in the Clausura 2011, will host the return leg on Wednesday in San Salvador.
The other matchup features the two teams that played for the Clausura title earlier this year, as defending champion Aguila hosts Isidro Metapan in San Miguel.
HONDURAS
The semifinals in Honduras also march into their decisive second leg, as Motagua hits the road to visit Victoria, and Atletico Choloma faces a tough test in Tegucigalpa against defending champion Olimpia.
The Lions of Olimpia, runaway leaders of the regular season, will need to overcome a 1-0 deficit picked up when Choloma came away with a victory in Cortes last weekend. Edwin Pavon's side is looking for its first-ever Honduran final, while Olimpia is in search of its 26th domestic title.
In La Ceiba, Motagua hopes to overcome some poor luck suffered at home, when defender Melvin Valladares was sent-off just 16 minutes into the opening leg. Victoria snatched a vital road point and an away goal last weekend in the 1-1 draw, and now has the wind at its back going into the home match at the Estadio Ceibeño, in its quest to win a Honduran championship for only the second time in club history.
