CARSON, Calif. -- The Montreal Impact fell short of becoming the first team from Major League Soccer to lift the CONCACAF Champions League by dropping a 5-3 aggregate result to Club America in the CONCACAF Champions League final.
The Impact went into the first half ahead 1-0 but the reigning Liga MX champions roared back with four goals in the second half to lift the contintential trophy for a record sixth time. Even though the league rallying behind the Impact, Galaxy defender A.J. DeLaGarza admits that he was -- somewhat -- pleased that Montreal did not become the first MLS team to win the Champions League.
"I wasn't rooting for them, but I wasn't rooting against them," DeLaGarza said. "I wanted to be the first to five [MLS Cups] and now I want to be the first to win the CONCACAF Champions League. At the same time, they were in a position to win and you wonder if they scored one more goal like they could have, the game would have been different. But America also had their chances so it's a bit of give and take."
DeLaGarza and the Galaxy will have their chance to become the first MLS team to win the CCL this summer when the 2015-16 tournament begins. Although the club is placing a high priority on the tournament, DeLaGarza understands that achieving continential dominence won't be easy.
"I think that we should have always shot. It's always a difficult tournament when it's split up but, at the end of the day, it's a tournament where the Mexicans have had the better of the play for awhile now," said DeLaGarza. "We have to start turning things around as a league to show that we can get better. It won't be easy but we just have to win."
