TIJUANA Pablo Aguilar sprinted away from the North goal Friday night.
With arms raised over his head and a smile on his face, the Club Tijuana Xoloitzcuintles defender then quickly stopped. Dropped to his knees and buried his face in his hands near the top of the 18-yard box.
Garcia had just scored his first goal with the Xolos. It came via a header off a Fernando Arce corner kick in the 70th minute. The scoring play capped a 2-0 win against Puebla at a sold out Estadio Caliente in the 2012 Apertura opener for both teams.
Garcia sneaked behind Puebla's defense and sprinted to near the goal line, redirecting the Arce's pass before defenders could reach it. The score sealed the win for the Xolos.
The Xolos earned the initial three points of the season much by controlling possession and striking with free kicks. That's how Tijuana midfielder Fernando Arce sent in his goal to open up the score.
Arce gave the Xolos a 1-0 lead in the 12th minute.
Arce sent a right-footed curling shot from just outside the penalty box, the ball bending from right to left. Puebla goalkeeper Alexandro Alvarez, diving to his left, got a piece of the ball but it was not enough to keep Arce's shot from crossing the goal line and into the right side of the net. It was Arce's second goal with Tijuana since being signed by the club in 2011 at the start of the Xolos' first tournament as member of the First Division.
For Aguilar, it was also his first score with the Xolos since coming to Tijuana via a loan from San Luis. The defender was part of a handful of offseason acquisitions made by Xolos coach Antonio Mohamed.
"I think we held our own despite losing Pepe (Sand) and Egidio," Mohamed said. "I think we have a good roster with plenty of options to adapt to different situations. The newcomers helped tremendously. They did well. We got a goal from one of them."
The Xolos often pressured Puebla's defense, creating a handful of scoring opportunities early on.
Alvarez kept the game relatively close with several acrobatic saves. Alvarez kept out a Pellerano shot from about 25-yards in the 19th minute. Pellerano, the Xolos last offseason acquisition, sent the one-time shot low and to the right. But Alvarez dove on the ball at the goal line to end the threat.
Part of the Xolos' early offensive pressure came minutes into the match. Midfielder Joe Corona sent a ball of his right leg over the crossbar near Puebla's right post. Corona couldn't completely control Duvier Riasco's floating pass from right to left.
Striker Fidel Martinez, who subbed in for Corona in the second half, nearly scored in the 68th minute. He took a rolling pass near the mouth of the goal and shot it with his right foot only to have Alvarez make the save.
The Xolos continued to threat in the second half. Arce nearly scored again and almost added an assist to his night. His shot from 28-yards out in the 58th minute sailed over the right post, flying into the newly added 5,000 seat section of the nearly 20,000 seat stadium.
Tijuana had a goal disallowed in the 50th minute after Javier Gandolfi headed in an Arce bending pass but was whistled offsides.
The Xolos travel next week to face Leon, the newly ascended club from La Liga de Ascenso. But before heading to the Week 2 match up, Tijuana is scheduled to play against Merida FC at Estadio Caliente Tuesday night.
The match is a "Torneo de Copa," a domestic tournament featuring four teams from the First and Second Divisions.
"We have two difficulties with the Torneo de Copa," Mohamed said. "The travel in between the week could be hectic. We will have other players to use that probably wouldn't play in the regular tournament."
ivan.orozco@sandiegored.com
