SAN NICOLAS DE LOS GARZA, Mexico -- Second-half substitute Alan Pulido scored the lone goal of the match in the 74th minute to lift Tigres to a 1-0 victory over the Seattle Sounders in the first leg of the CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinals on Wednesday night.

The teams will meet in the second leg in Seattle on Tuesday, March 12. The Sounders, who were given the upcoming weekend off by Major League Soccer, will have almost an entire week to rest and prepare for that encounter. In contrast, Tigres will play at San Luis in a Liga MX match on Saturday.

On the winning goal, Lucas Lobos managed to stay onside after he took a pass in front of the net. and fired a shot on which goalkeeper Michael Gspurning made a spectacular kick save. Pulido, who came on for Elias Hernandez in the 66th minute, was unmarked. With Gspurning on the ground Pulido headed the ball into an unattended net from five yards for his fourth goal of this CCL competition.

Behind a crisp passing possession game, Tigres dominated the first half, especially the opening 25 minutes, but the Mexican club had nothing to show for its efforts.

With the match three minutes old, the host almost took advantage of a Seattle defensive error. An unmarked Lobos found himself six yards out on the right side as Gspurning went down to the ground. Lobos fired a shot, but left back Leo Gonzalez, one of two Sounders who fell back to the goal line, cleared the ball out of harm's way.

Seattle's first-half scoring attempts came from distance.

Midfielder Mario Martinez took Seattle's first try in the seventh minute, but goalkeeper Enrique Palos had no problem handling the shot from distance that bounced once before gathering in the ball.

The host came close again in the 13th minute as Luis Garcia, with a man on his back, turned and a launched a shot that Gspurning got a hand on to force a corner kick.

After a blocked a shot, Mexican international Carlos Salcido found some space at the edge of the penalty area in the 20th minute, but his attempt sailed high over the crossbar.

Martinez also put the Sounders' second attempt on net, but his long-range free kick went directly to Palos three minutes later. Teammate Mauro Rosales tested Palos on a 35-yard free kick that the keeper punched out in the 31st minute.

Tigres recaptured its rhythm later in the half as Anselmo Vendrechovski Junior, also known as Juninho, had his shot deflected to Garcia, whose close-range effort went wide left.

U.S. international striker Eddie Johnson, who was silent in the opening half, got around his man, but knocked a rather meek shot to Palos in the 57th minute.

Four minutes later, Alberto Acosta burst into the Seattle area on the left side, but fired a shot that bounded wide right.

Second-half sub Lamar Neagle tried to equalize for the visitors in the 82nd minute, but Palos denied him at the left post.