Houston Dynamo (2-3-1) 7 pts. 3rd in Group A: The Dynamo were in control of their own destiny coming into their final match of the group stage. Houston trailed Arabe Unido by three points, Unido lost to group winners Pachuca. With that result Houston need only to beat Isidro Metapan to advance. The task seemed simple enough, as Metapan were 0-5 in the Champions League. However, it would not be so in El Salvador as Metapan came to play. Elias Montes scored in the 7th for Metapan, and Anel Canales struck a minute latter to put the host up 2-0. The Dynamo came back with a goal from Geoff Cameron in the 28th. Then before the half Goalkeeper Craig Waibel sent a long ball that went over the head of the Metapan Goalkeeper, and bounced into the net, evening in the score at 2-2 at the half. However Metapan had the last laugh as Emerson Umana scored in the 57th to give Metapan the win. The Dynamo could not answer and fell 3-2. Houston finished third in the group, three points behind Arabe Unido. Houston missed an opportunity to advance to the knockout stages for the second time, by failing to beat a previously winless club.
DC United (3-2-1) 10 pts. 3rd in Group B: DC United need a win to secure advancement into the knockout stages of the tournament. Chris Pontis fired a rocket into the net in the 5th minute to give the Screaming Eagles the lead. United looked like they would hold on, but a controversial PK call allowed Israel Lopez to score in the 60th minute. United could not find a way to break the tie, and settled with a point in Mexico. With the result pointless San Juan Jabloteh to at least draw with Marathon. That was not meant to be as Marathon went on the road to beat Jaboteh 4-2, eliminating United from the competition. United fell two points shy of advance, or losing their opener at RFK proves to be the killer. Still, United faired much better in the Champions League this year, as they only managed one point in last year's tournament.
Columbus Crew (2-2-2) 8pts. 2nd in Group C: The Columbus Crew are the only American Club to advnace to the knock out round of the competions, proving that they are indeed 'America's Hardest Working Team'. The Crew needed a win at Puerto Rico to make sure that they would advance. However Noah Delgado gave the home side Islanders the lead in the 34th minute. The Crew railed for the tie thanks to the 74th minute strike by Emilio Renteria. The tie meant that the Crew would have to wait and see if what the result of the Cruz Azul Saprissa game would be. Saprissa would have to beat Azul in order jump past the Crew. But the Costa Rican club could not pull it off, as they fell to the Mexican Powerhouse 2-1. With the results the Crew are the only American side in the quarter-finals of the Champions League.
Puerto Rico Islanders (0-3-3) 3pts. 4th in Group C: The Islanders were out of contention a while ago, but the men of Puerto Rico were still playing for pride. On the final match day the Islanders were looking to stay undefeated on their island. They did so with the 1-1 draw against the Crew. While it is a far cry from their dream Cinderella semi-final run, the Islanders would not give in to the other three superior clubs in the group, as they fought hard to earn three draws in on their home soil. Look for the Islanders to be in the Champions League again, as they continue to be one of the more dominate clubs in the Caribbean.
While some critics may argue the overall worth of the CONCACAF Champion League, I still believe it is worth while. The more the tournament is played, the more rivalries can be created. Especially if American clubs play Mexican clubs more, and the heated International Soccer rivalry can trickle down to the club level. Also it gives the MLS good exposure in all of CONCACAF, which is important if the MLS is to become the dominate league in the region. While only one of the MLS clubs advanced to the quarter-finals, (and only one American based team, as the Islanders failed to advance), their still was improvement from the MLS in the CCL. Three MLS sides made it to the group stages, better than last year. Also all three MLS clubs were more than competitive, as both Houston and DC barely missed advancement. Now it is up to the Columbus Crew (who with a second straight Supporter's Shield I say is the best team in the MLS) to represent the States in the continent's premier club competition. Now for the American clubs it is back to the domestic league, as Champions League play will not resume until March.
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