MIAMI, Florida – The first week of action in the 2022 Scotiabank Concacaf League is in the books following the results of this week’s first leg matches in the Preliminary Round.
Here are the top moments from the week.
Archila leads way for Municipal
Only one team emerged victorious from the six-match slate in this week’s matches and it was Guatemalan side Municipal, who collected an impressive 4-0 win at Atletico Vega Real of the Dominican Republic. Municipal held a 2-0 lead at halftime thanks in large part to the impressive performance of Cesar Archila, who set up the first goal with a pinpoint cross into the area and then followed that up with a fine finish of his own.
Aguilar’s super strike drops jaws in Guatemala
Guatemalan side Malacateco are one of the many teams making their SCL debut in this year’s tournament, and their first ever SCL goal arrived in style off the boot of Kevyn Aguilar. Staring at a 1-0 deficit against Sporting San Miguelito of Panama with 15 minutes to go, Aguilar managed to latch onto a ball that had popped up in the air, and as it was coming down the Malacateco man fired in a volley that produced a thunderous roar from the home fans.
Sequen’s sends in a stunner
There were just eight goals scored during the week’s six games, with Municipal accounting for half of those, including Marlon Sequen’s clever free kick that fooled the Atletico Vega Real defense to give Municipal a 3-0 lead early in the second half. From a very narrow angle on the left wing, not far away from the sideline, and with everyone expecting a cross to be played into the area, Sequen curled in a shot that landed perfectly into the top right corner of net for the goal.
West helps Verdes make history
At age 36, Woodrow West continues to show why he is one of the best goalkeepers in the Central American region. The Belize international and Verdes shot-stopper appeared in his fourth different Concacaf tournament this week, after a prior occasion in the Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League with Honduras Progreso (2015-16), the 2017 SCL with Honduras Progreso and then last year’s SCL with Verdes. West helped Verdes make history by earning its first ever result in an SCL match by keeping a clean sheet in the 0-0 draw with El Salvador’s Platense. It was West’s second career clean sheet in Concacaf club competition.
Home away from home
Usually in Concacaf play, getting a result away from home is very difficult, but in all six matches this week, the visiting team was able to secure at least a result. Alajuelense and Sporting San Miguelito got important away goals in their 1-1 draws with Aguila and Malacateco, respectively, while Platense, Real Espana and Pacific recorded 0-0 draws versus Verdes, Real Esteli and Waterhouse, respectively. Municipal was the lone winner of the week, doing so in the Dominican Republic against Atletico Vega Real. The prowess of these teams playing away could be a sign that we are in store for the most competitive SCL ever.