Mexico City's Pumas salvage a 1-1 Champions Cup draw against Vancouver Whitecaps

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VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Adalberto Carrasquilla scored a late equalizer Wednesday to help Mexico City’s Pumas salvage a 1-1 draw with the Vancouver Whitecaps in the first leg of their CONCACAF Champions Cup quarterfinal series.

Brian White put the home team ahead in the 72nd minute, taking advantage of a mistake from goalkeeper Alex Padilla to score his fourth goal in five matches in the tournament.

Carrasquilla’s close-range shot in the 87th tied the game.

The winner of this quarterfinal will play either Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami or Los Angeles FC in the semifinals. On the other bracket, Club America is playing Cruz Azul and Los Angeles Galaxy is facing Mexican side Tigres. Both of those quarterfinals opened with scoreless draws.

The Whitecaps will face Pumas next Wednesday at Mexico City's Olympic stadium.

Vancouver is aiming to reach the semifinals for the second time, while Pumas are trying to make it back to the final four for the first time since 2022.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer