Costa Rican Verano regular season ends, no surprises

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Players from Alajuelense (pictured) celebrate after scoring against visiting AS Puma in a Costa Rican Verano game on May 6, 2015. (Photo courtesy of Alajuelense)

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica – The last day of play in the 2015 Costa Rican Verano’s regular season did not impact the table with the first four positions remaining unchanged after matches on Wednesday, setting up intriguing semifinal pairings.

Saprissa (14W-3D-5L, 45 points) will continue its pursuit for a third consecutive title as the top seed thanks to a 3-2 win at Carmelita. Daniel Colindres scored the game-winning goal in the 83rd minute to extend the Monstruo Morado’s unbeaten streak on the road to five games.

In the final four, the 31-time domestic champion will square off against long-time rival Alajuelense (10W-7D-5L, 37 points), which toppled AS Puma, 5-0, to finish in fourth place. Jonathan McDonald struck for a hat-trick in the victory, while Johan Venegas and Leonel Peralta added a goal each.

Santos de Guapiles (12-4-6, 40 points) and Herediano (11-6-5, 39 points) previewed their semifinal with a 1-1 draw at the Estadio Eladio Rosabal Cordero in Heredia. Jonathan Hansen gave the host a lead eight minutes into the second half, but Winston Parks leveled in the 76th minute. Although the visitor’s five-game winning streak was snapped, Herediano is now unbeaten in six of its last seven outings.

Pairings for the two-legged semifinals are (home team for second leg listed first):

Saprissa v Alajuelense