MEXICO CITY -- With six youth academy players in their starting XI, Pumas drew 2-2 against Tigres in the first leg of the Liga MX quarterfinal series at the Estadio Olimpico Universitario on Wednesday.
Former Pumas' forward, Ismael Sosa, put Tigres ahead with his eighth goal of the season. Frenchman Andre-Pierre Gignac gave Sosa a one-touch pass for him to place the ball far away from Pumas' goalkeeper Alejandro Palacios.
In the 33rd minute, Pumas won a penalty after center-back, Juninho, slapped the ball with his right arm as the ball headed in the goal's direction. Winger Pablo Barrera took the penalty and sent the ball into the lower right corner of the goal defended by Nahuel Guzman.
Early on in the second half, Tigres crushed Pumas' winning hopes as Jurgen Damm scored his first goal of the Apertura to give Tigres back the lead. With the 2-1 lead, Tigres controlled every detail of the match, but in the 66th minute, Pumas unexpectedly leveled things up thanks to Fidel Martinez's goal.
The series will now head to Monterrey, where Tigres finished the regular season with three wins, four draws and two losses. Despite Tigres holding a two away goal advantage, Pumas will enter the game with high hopes of turning the game on its head.