Tomas Chancalay scored the lone goal as the New England Revolution beat Club Atletico Independiente de La Chorrera 1-0 on Wednesday in the first leg of a CONCACAF Champions Cup opening-round match at Llano Marin, Panama.
The second leg of the total-goal, two-match series will be played on Feb. 29 in Foxborough, Mass.
In the 54th minute, New England’s Nacho Gil, near the halfway line, sent in a long centering that teammate Giacomo Vrioni headed down. Chancalay ran onto the ball in the top of the penalty area and drove his shot into the ground but saw it bounce over the head of leaping Independiente goalie Eddie Roberts.
The Revolution wound up with a 21-10 edge in shot attempts and a 6-2 advantage in shots on target.
The series’ winner will move on to face Costa Rica’s Alajuelense in the round of 16.
Another first-round CONCACAF Champions Cup series was set to start later Wednesday with Orlando City opposing Cavalry FC in Langford, British Columbia.
–Field Level Media
