Miguel Ibarra netted his first Liga MX goal on Saturday, as he turned in a solid 78-minute shift for Club León in La Fiera's 2-1 win over Atlas.
After Atlas scored just two minutes into the game, León responded quickly. Cutting in from the left wing in the 8th minute, Ibarra beat Atlas goalkeeper Miguel Fraga with a low, curling drive that nestled inside the far post. Ibarra immediately raced to his team's bench area to celebrate with his US national team colleague William Yarbrough, who was in the 18 as the backup goalkeeper for the match.
Ibarra had previously scored in Copa MX, but not in league play, since his summer transfer from Minnesota United. His strike proved important. After Mauro Boselli put León in front, Juan Ignacio González received his second yellow card before halftime, forcing the Lions to defend their 2-1 lead tenaciously down the stretch. Ibarra was booked himself in the 43rd minute and made way for substitute Hernán Burbano 12 minutes from full time.
León held on for the victory and now sit in third place with 27 points from 15 matches, four points back of leaders Pumas.
Elsewhere in Mexico, Jonathan Bornstein was the winner in a meeting of US left backs as both he and Edgar Castillo went the full 90 in Querétaro's 3-1 win over Monterrey.
Michael Orozco logged 62 minutes for Tijuana in a 2-1 loss to Pumas, and Jose Torres made a brief cameo for Tigres, coming off the bench for the final seven minutes of a 2-2 draw with Santos Laguna.
