All 3 Costa Rican teams did what they had to do to get to the semifinals of the UNCAF tournament. Perez Zeledon tied 2-2 with Firpo of El Salvador to advance 6-2 in the global score.

Alajuela swam to advancement after a 1-0 loss to Municipal in Guatemala. The game was played in a severe rainshower, although the field at Mateo Flores held up well, the puddles made the going tough.

Saprissa survived a hijacking in Honduras to advance. Evidently the real Saprissa players (the ones that won 4-0 last week here) were snatched upon arrival and some imposters were played by the coach. Those clowns lost 4-0 to Marathon and the series had to be decided by a penalty shootout. Each goal keeper stopped 2 shots in the mandatory 5 shot shootout, but in the tiebreaker the Honduran player struck the crossbar and Gerald Drummond of Saprissa put his shot through to clinch the series for Saprissa.

Olimpia of Honduras plays at home tonight against Suchitepéquez de Guatemala, they are winning 4-1 from their victory in the away match. Saprissa will face the winner of this series.

Pérez Zeledon and Alajuela will play in the other semifinal. Saprissa and Perez will be hosts in the opening matches on Octubre 18 & 19 , the return matches will be played on the 25th and 26th.

Puntarenas-Santa Cruz 2-1
Alajuela-San Ramon 2-0
Liberia-Heredia 0-1
Saprissa-Pérez Zeledón 3-0
Carmelita-Santos 1-2
Cartago-Brujas 1-2

Next round October 16th
(the tournament is suspended for 2 weeks due to the national team matches on October 8th and 12th)
Heredia-Alajuela, in Heredia - Eladio Rosabal Cordero Stadium.

San Ramon-Puntarenas, in San Ramon * Guillermo Vargas Stadium.

Santa Cruz-Carmelita, in Santa Cruz - Cacique Diriá Stadium.

Santos-Cartago, in Guapiles Ebal Rodríguez Stadium.

Brujas-Saprissa, in San Jose - National Stadium.

Pérez Zeledón-Liberia, in San Isisdro, Municipal Stadium P.Z.

Standings:
GRUOP A
Heredia - 17
Alajuela - 17
Puntarenas F.C. - 13
Liberia - 6
Santa Cruz - 3
Ramonense - 1

GRUOP B
Saprissa - 21
Brujas - 15
Santos - 11
Pérez Zeledón - 11
Cartaginés - 8
Carmelita - 7

Despite a valiant effort, the under-17 team was eliminated by Mexico yesterday. The Ticos were only 3 minutes away from pulling off a huge upset. They were up 1-0 on an own goal by the Mexicans at 21 minutes in the second half. After a defensive first half, the Ticos showed some initiative in the second half and forced the own goal on a corner kick.

However in a last gasp effort, the Mexicans got a lucky break on a shot by Efraín Valdez, which was deflected by Bryan Jimenez, so that the goalie Alfonso Quesada had no chance. In the overtime the Mexican scored 2 goals early to decide the match.

In possibly one of the best weeks ever for Costa Rican soccer, local teams this week dominated in international play.

On Tuesday, Saprissa blew away Marathon of Honduras 4-0, making the return match practically unnecessary. It also resulted in the firing of the Honduran coach.

On Wednesday, Perez Zeledon stomped Firpo of El Salvador 4-0 too. That coach was not fired as yet, but the trip to El Salvador should be a nice getaway for the Guerreros del Sur.

On Thursday, Alajuela pummeled a fiesty Guatemalan squad (Municipal) 5-2.

To make things even better, the Under-17 squad classified for the 2nd phase of the World Cup by being uncharacteristically rude guests. The youth squad beat their Peruvian hosts 2-0 in the inaugural match at the new stadium in Iquitos, Peru.

So while Rita rained on the Pacific Coast, the Ticos made up for it by raining on their Latin brethren to the tune of 15-2 in only 3 days.

Costa Rica’s boys team is playing in the under 17 World Cup in Peru. On Saturday they tied China 1-1. On Monday, they tied two-time world champ Ghana 1-1. In both games the Ticos led 1-0, but gave up the tying goal after less than 10 minutes.

Since Ghana and Peru tied 1-1 on Saturday and China beat Peru 1-0 yesterday, the Costa Rican team controls their destiny. A win against Peru on Thursday will get them into the second round. With a tie, they would depend on a China win against Ghana and if they lose they will not qualify.

Ramonense 0 - Liberia 1
Carmelita 0 - Cartago 3
Perez Zeledón 1 - Brujas F.C. 1
Alajuela 3 - Santa Cruz 0
Santos - Puntarenas (today)
Saprissa - Heredia (suspended)

Next Matches - Sunday 25 September:
Puntarenas-Santa Cruz
Alajuela - San Ramon
Liberia-Heredia
Saprissa-Pérez Zeledón
Carmen-Santos
Cartago-Brujas.

Then the tournament will be suspended until mid-October so that the national team may prepare for the final 2 matches of the World Cup Qualifying Round against the USA (October and Guatemala (October 12).

Herediano 3 - Santacruceña 2
Ramonense 0 - Cartaginés 0
Brujas 1 - Carmelita 0
Liberia 2 - Alajuelense 5
Saprissa 2 - Puntarenas 1

Upcoming matches:

Wednesday 14 September
* Alajuelense - Pérez Zeledón (Estadio Morera Soto)
* Carmelita - Ramonense (Estadio Carlos Alvarado)

Thursday 15 September
* Puntarenas - Herediano (Estadio “Lito” Pérez)
* Cartaginés - Saprissa (Estadio “Fello” Meza)

Sunday 18 de September: Herediano-Saprissa, Ramonense-Liberia, Santacruceña-Alajuelense, Santos-Puntarenas, Carmelita-Cartaginés y Pérez Zeledón-Brujas.

Trinidad won’t be making any visit Costa Rica plugs anytime soon. Not only were they dominated last night by the Costa Rican side, they couldn’t even leave the country today!

The American Airlines flight to Miami that left the San José airport this morning, had to make an emergency landing 20 minutes after take off due to smoke in the cockpit. The Airbus plane landed safely in the Liberia airport. The Trinidad team, and other passengers are waiting for an alternate flight to be provided by the airline.

Last night, the Costa Rican all-stars finally hit full stride and dominated Trinidad 2 goals to none. An outstanding run up the right side by striker Ronald Gomez ended in a goal by fellow Saprissista Alvaro Saborio at th 14 minute mark.

Walter Centeno sealed the victory in the 50th minute with a wicked free kick from outside the area. While most fans and media were debating whether the coach Alexandre Guimaraes should start Wanchope or Saborio, he showed them who is top dog by starting both.

The aggressive attitude was evident from the first minute and Trinidad never really threatened with a concerted attack.

In other results Mexico spanked Panama 5-0 and the USA “B” team tied Guatemala 0-0.

The tournament finishes up on October 8th and 12th, home teams are first:

October 8th matches
Panamá vs.Trinidad (7 p.m.)
México vs. Guatemala (7 p.m.)
Costa Rica vs. Estados Unidos (7 p.m.)

October 12 th matches
Estados Unidos vs. Panamá (6 p.m.)
Guatemala vs. Costa Rica (6 p.m.)
Trinidad vs. México (6 p.m.)

Standings
J G E P GOL PTS
USA ——– 19 points + 11 goals
México —– 19 points + 11 goals
Costa Rica — 13 points - even goals
Guatemala - 8 points - 1 goal
T. y Tobago- 7 points -7 goals
Panamá —- 2 points - 14 goals

Tonight Costa Rica can practically wrap up the classification for the World Cup with a win at home over Trinidad. That would give them a 6 point advantage over Trinidad and if Guatemala is unable to tie or beat the high flying USA side, a six point advantage over the Guatemalans too.

Game time is 8:00 pm and the match will be televised live on Channels 6 and 7. The coach has gone with a very offensive”5 - 3 - 2″ line up:

Porras will repeat as the Goal Tender. Marín, Martínez and Umaña will be the central defenders. Miller and Drummond will be the “carrileros”, which means they will defend and attack along the sidelines. Centeno, Solís and Bolaños will be the midfielders. All three are better attacking than defending. Saborío, Gómez, and Wanchope will be the forwards. Gómez and Wanchope have history of scoring goals on Trinidad and Saborío is currently Fortune’s Favorite.

Keep your fingers crossed and remember: “Si Se Puede!” (yes we can1)