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Diego Rossi scored in the 43rd minute to even up the match and the score held from there as the Columbus Crew and Tigres UANL played to a 1-1 draw in the first leg of their CONCACAF Champions Cup quarterfinal series in Columbus, Ohio, on Tuesday night.

Andre-Pierre Gignac opened the scoring in the 18th minute for Tigres. Diego Lainez worked his way to the top-left corner of the 18-yard box and sent the ball toward the penalty spot. Gignac got in front of his defender and flicked the ball with a header just past a diving Patrick Schulte in the lower left corner of the goal.

It was the Frenchman’s 19th career goal in CONCACAF competitions.

With time winding down in the first half, Aidan Morris intercepted an attempted clearing pass out of the 18-yard box and immediately passed it to Rossi. As the defense converged on him just inside the box, Rossi unleashed a shot that found the inside of the left post to tie the game.

While the rest of the game was uneventful in terms of scoring, the second half was anything but for Morris.

The 22-year-old midfielder drew a yellow card in the 75th minute and another two minutes later, following a hard tackle after turning the ball over in the defensive zone.

The Crew finished with six shots on goal, two more than Tigres.

Goalkeeper Felipe Rodriguez and Schulte each made four saves.

The two teams play again next Tuesday in San Nicolas de los Garza in Mexico. The winner will face the winner of the Inter Miami-Monterrey matchup in the semifinals.

–Field Level Media