Antonio Naelson scored two second-half goals and Hector Raul Mancilla added another as Mexico's Toluca rallied for a 3-2 victory on Wednesday over MLS club Columbus Crew, advancing to the semifinals of the CONCACAF Champions League.
Toluca advanced 5-4 on aggregate in the two-game quarterfinal series.
Argentine forward Guillermo Schelotto scored both Crew goals. Toluca will face fellow Mexico club Pachuca in the two-leg semifinals.
Schelotto gave the U.S. club a surprising 1-0 lead in first-half injury time when he converted a penalty after Edgar Esteban Duneas was called for a clear handball in the area. Neither team looked threatening in the first half, but Toluca had most of the chances.
Mancilla scored on a penalty in the 47th, and then Naelson scored his first in the 57th with a powerful free kick from 25 yards that hit the bottom of the crossbar and dropped in just beyond the goal line.
Schelotto gave the MLS team hope in the 70th, tying it at 2-2, but again it was a Naelson free kick in the 72nd - almost identical to the first and from nearly the same spot - which sealed the victory.
Teams from the MLS are now winless in 20 competitive games in Mexico with 18 losses and two draws. Toluca is nearly 9,000 feet above sea level.
Columbus finished with 10 men after Steven Lenhart was red carded in the 79th.
It may have been the last competitive match for an MLS club before players go on strike. Players have voted to authorize a strike if a new collective bargaining agreement is not reached by March 25, when the league kicks off.
