Tag: mazatlan

Cowell makes it three in a row with banger in Chivas victory

The 20-year-old is hitting his stride in his second tournament for the Liga MX club

Cade Cowell continues to level up in his second tournament with Chivas.

The American forward scored for the third straight game on Saturday, netting a sensational goal to give Chivas the lead in a 2-0 win over Mazatlán.

Cowell showcased a deadly combination of skill, composure and power, making a run into the box and juking past two defenders before burying a shot into the top corner.

After joining Chivas from the San Jose Earthquakes in January, Cowell scored one goal in the Clausura and three in the Concacaf Champions Cup for a respectable first campaign.

But with only four games down in the Apertura, the 20-year-old already has three goals and an assist for the Guadalajara club. Just as importantly, Cowell has started all four matches after making only seven league starts out of 17 in the Clausura.

After Saturday’s match, Cowell’s coach Fernando Gago was full of praise for a man who has been his side’s best attacking player early in the campaign.

“[Cowell] completed the preseason in a very good way,” Gago said in the post-game press conference. “The conditions he has, in one-on-one duels, are natural. From his speed, his power, understanding situations of when he has to attack and when not to.

“We are working on aspects so that he has more space to play and receive in certain circumstances. He is at a very good level and we will work to ensure that he continues to do so.”

Watch Cowell’s goal vs. Mazatlan

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Pumas is struggling but won’t need much firepower to take down Mazatlan

Neither team has a league win since February.

It’s not hard to see why Mazatlan FC sits at the very bottom of the Liga MX table going into Saturday’s matchup with Pumas UNAM. They can’t keep the ball out of the net.

Mazatlan has allowed 19 goals through 10 games this season, tied for second-most in league play. Without the juggernaut of an offense necessary to overcome that type of scoring, Mazatlan has the second-worst scoring margin in Liga MX play at -8.

Pumas aren’t exactly world beaters, either, but they do enter the match significantly favored to win with -155 moneyline odds on Tipico Sportsbook. The odds on a Mazatlan win are +420, and odds on a tie are +270. The game starts Saturday at 7 p.m. ET on Univision or streamed on fuboTV. 

I’m riding the favored Pumas side due to recent scoring trends, but this game does hold some intrigue as they’ve struggled with consistency. After just two losses through their first nine matches, Pumas has lost three straight league games to fall to 13th on the table.

Last month, they were blanked by Tijuana, a team Mazatlan beat 2-0 a week later. And last weekend, Pumas gave up three goals to a Necaxa team that was held scoreless by Mazatlan a couple weeks earlier. 

Neither team has a league win since February, but Pumas did recently beat the New England Revolution in the CONCACAF Champions League. And that’s the root of my pick in this one. Pumas scored three goals in that match and have five total in their last three matches. You would have to combine Mazatlan’s last six games to get five goals.

Ultimately, I do think Mazatlan finds the net for at least one goal, as they have in their last two matches. But I think they lose 2-1 with +620 odds for a correct score value pick.

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