It took only four minutes for Atlas to find a winning touch against Omaha, Neb.'s Red Fury FC. An unmarked Eduardo Rergis headed low to Red Fury goalkeeper Noel Hernandez's right post to set the Guadalajara side on its way to a 6-0 victory in front of a spirited, near sellout crowd at Creighton University's Morrison Stadium.
Atlas took less than a minute to carve its first shot on goal and was rewarded for its pressure with Rergis's strike. Ten minutes later, a handball in the box gave Atlas a penalty kick, which Ulises Mendivil barely slipped past a diving Hernandez to give Atlas a 2-0 advantage. Red Fury initially responded by throwing men forward, but Atlas's backline proved too quick for long balls over the top to be effective, and the Omaha side instead began holding possession for long spells without pushing forward aggressively.
Another handball cost Red Fury again shortly before halftime. With Hernandez off his line, Mendivil looked certain to make the game 3-0, but Red Fury center back Kyle Kirkland used his hands to stop the Atlas striker's powerful shot from going in. Kirkland was shown a red card and sent off, and Atlas midfielder Jorge Torres sent Hernandez the wrong way from the penalty spot. In a gesture of sportsmanship, Atlas allowed Red Fury to substitute Oscar Medina for the ejected Kirkland instead of playing with 10 men.
Atlas made four substitutions at the break, but it took only six minutes for the newcomers to find their stride. Uruguayan international Gonzalo Vargas provided the most memorable moment of the evening shortly after coming on, waiting on a cross before unleashing an unstoppable volley from about nine yards out in the 51st minute.
Red Fury carved its best scoring chance only moments after kicking off. Manuel Lira, one of two 15-year-old starters for the Omaha club, flicked a looping header on goal off a free kick. Pedro Hernandez Calderon, who had entered the match at half time, dove backwards to tip Lira's shot over the crossbar.
The remainder of the match was all Atlas, with defender Ricardo Jimenez heading home a corner kick in the 79th minute and Alfredo Sanchez dribbling through the Red Fury defense before cooly finishing to the upper corner from 14 yards out with the last kick of the match.
ATLAS
Jorge Bava (Pedro Hernandez Calderon 46), Hugo Ayala (Luis Ramos 56), Diego Coloto (Darvin Chavez 62), Omar Flores (Nestor Vicente Vidrio 46), Jorge Torres, Jorge Hernandez (Edgar Ivan Pacheco 46, re-entered 62), Christian Valdez (Jorge Hernandez 62), Luis Robles (Oscar Salvador Vera Anguiano 62), Mauricio Romero (Alfredo Sanchez 56), Eduardo Rergis (Carlos Gutierrez Armas 56), Ulises Mendivil (Gonzalo Vargas 46)
Scoring summary: Rergis 4, Mendivil (pen.) 15, J. Hernandez (pen.) 44, Vargas 51, Jimenez 79, Sanchez 90
Discipline: None
RED FURY FC
Noel Hernandez (Luis Miguel Cruz 57), Kyle Kirkland (ejected 43, replaced by Oscar Medina), Diego Ozuna (Moises Duran 34, Reifer Johnson 76), Oscar Onofre, Felipe Devora (Matias Capriz 56), Alexander Stika, Eduardo Suarez (Raul Anguiano 69), Isidro Flores (Raul Mendoza 65), Hector Flores (Luis Avila 34), Manuel Lira (Mario Alarcon 60), Santos Cruz (Bello 46)
Scoring summary: None
Discipline: Kyle Kirkland (ejection, denied goal scoring opportunity) 43
