Dynamo to face Atlante in Champions League

HOUSTON -- Thanks to the Houston Dynamo's 1-0 win against Luis Angel Firpo on Nov. 26, the team earned a date in the quarterfinals of the inaugural edition of the CONCACAF Champions League.

Wednesday, the Orange found out their first opponent for the knockout stage. The team was placed against Mexican side Atlante FC in the quarterfinal draw held at the CONCACAF headquarters in New York City.

The Dynamo will play Atlante in the first leg of the two-game, total-goals series on either February 24, 25 or 26, 2009. A week later, the teams will play the second leg in Cancun, and the winner of the set will advance to the semifinals of the confederation's club championship, where they will play the survivor of the quarterfinal between Santos Laguna of Mexico and the USL First Division's Montreal Impact.

Atlante finished atop Group C in the CONCACAF Champions League group stage, with 11 points from six matches, tied with Montreal yet winning the head-to-head tiebreaker. The Dynamo finished second in Group B, advancing ahead of Firpo with that final day victory, finishing with nine points from their six games, three behind Mexico's Pumas UNAM.

The other quarterfinals feature an all-Mexican matchup as Pumas UNAM will take on Cruz Azul, and the second of the USL First Division sides in the final eight, the Puerto Rico Islanders, will take on CD Marathon of Honduras.

Should the Dynamo, the only MLS team in the quarterfinal round, win the tournament, they will advance to the 2009 FIFA Club World Cup, to be held next December in the United Arab Emirates.

The teams will be playing for the second time in less than a year, as Atlante will be looking to avenge a 4-0 loss at Robertson Stadium last July 12 in the opening match for both teams in SuperLiga 2008.

Dwayne De Rosario opened the scoring just 20 minutes into that match and Stuart Holden added goals in the 21st and 28th minutes to put the match out of reach. Brian Mullan capped the scoring in the 54th minute, sending the home crowd into a frenzy.

Goalkeeper Pat Onstad did not face a single shot on goal in that game, as the Orange defense led the way. The only Atlante player to come close was Ernesto Pereyra Gabriel, who broke free for a scoring chance in the eighth minute.