The Tijuana Xolos played their fourth game in the Liga MX 2024 Apertura season this Friday, July 19, against Atletico San Luis at the Estadio Alfonso Lastras.

Club Tijuana was coming off a rough 3-0 loss against Cruz Azul and were looking to turn things around before the start of the Leagues Cup competition against MLS sides.

Manager Juan Carlos Osorio made some surprising changes to his lineup as he benched striker Carlos Gonzalez, who had been one of the few consistent starters this season. For the first time this season, a Tijuana goalkeeper started back-to-back games as Antonio Rodriguez started in the 3-0 loss to Cruz Azul and in this match against San Luis.

Youngster Jaime Alvarez also started his first game of the season in a starting lineup that did not feature a conventional striker. The first half was a lively one, with the first goal of the game coming in the 11th minute for San Luis by former Portland Timbers striker Franck Boli. The goal came off a mess of bounces and deflections with Boli finishing the opportunity inside of the penalty area.

The Border City Dogs responded quickly with a goal from the penalty spot by Kevin Castaneda in the 24th minute. The penalty was awarded after a foul by Rodrigo Dourado on Fernando Madrigal inside of the box.

That surprisingly ended up being the last goal of the match in what was a good back-and-forth clash at the Estadio Alfonso Lastras. Club Tijuana controlled possession of the sphere for most of the match, but San Luis actually had more clear-cut scoring opportunities throughout the encounter.

Goalkeeper Antonio Rodriguez had quite an impressive game in net, but perhaps the player of the match was San Diego native Joe Corona. Corona controlled the midfield and generated plenty of offensive play with a total of four key passes in the match along with recuperating the ball as well. Defender Unai Bilbao also had a standout game against his former team with nine clearances and five tackles in the game.

This was a decent result given Tijuana’s road struggles, but considering the initial results from the season, a bit more was expected against this type of opponent. The Xoloitzcuintles are now winless in two games heading into the Leagues Cup competition, which starts next Friday, July 26, for the Aztec Canines. The Border City Dogs will face off against LAFC at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles to start the Leagues Cup, then will play against Vancouver Whitecaps on August 3.

Francisco Velasco

Francisco, 26, Chula Vista/Tijuana. I have been a Padres fan all my life, did most of the series previews and recaps in the Padres’ 2016 season for EVT. Now I focus more on the local soccer scene. Tijuana Xolos, San Diego Loyal, San Diego Wave.