Santos Laguna has announced their travel roster for Tuesday’s preseason match against Pachuca at Children’s Mercy Park, presented by KC Southern. Limited tickets are still available for the match and can be purchased at Ticketmaster.com, by calling 888-4KC-GOAL or at the Children’s Mercy Park Box Office tonight or on Tuesday.
Tomorrow’s match will mark the first time Santos Laguna has played in Kansas City since a 2009 SuperLiga match at CommunityAmerica Ballpark against the Kansas City Wizards. Los Guerreros defeated the Wizards 3-1 with Claudio Lopez scoring the lone goal for Kansas City.
Santos Laguna are coming off a quarterfinal appearance in the 2016 Clausura. They have made the playoffs in six of the nine seasons and were crowned Clausura champions in 2012 and 2015.
Santos Laguna’s roster is highlighted by team captain Carlos Izquierdoz and California-born Jorge Villafaña, who led the Portland Timbers to the 2015 MLS Cup title before joining the Mexican side in December 2015. Izquierdoz has more than 200 professional appearances including 72 for Santos Laguna since joining the club in 2014. Villafaña (pictured, right) is a former winner of Sueño MLS, an annual tryout hosted by Major League soccer in conjunction with Univision. Villafaña played for Chivas USA From 2007-2013 before spending two years with the Timbers.
Tuesday’s match could also be the first opportunity for Santos fans to see a pair of newcomers to the squad. Colombian midfielder Freddy Hinestroza and Uruguayan striker Jonathan Rodriguez will both be with Santos when they play Pachuca tomorrow night. Rodriguez joins Santos from Portuguese giant Benfica and has featured nine times for the Uruguay national team. The 22-year-old made four appearances for Uruguay at the 2015 Copa America in Chile and has featured for Uruguay in 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying matches.
Ahead of Tuesday’s match, Santos Laguna will host an open training session on Monday evening at Children’s Mercy Park. The festivities will kick off at 3:45 p.m. with a festival in the Boulevard Member’s Club. The event is open to the general public and will feature live music, giveaways and a radio remote from La Grande 1340AM. Any fan who purchased a ticket to the game or who purchases tonight will also be invited to participate in a tour of Children’s Mercy Park from 4:30pm-5:15pm.
Santos Laguna’s training session will begin at 6:15 p.m. and run till 7:15 p.m. followed by a coach’s clinic on the field at 7:30 p.m. From 7:25 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. select fans will be invited to a private autograph session with Santos Laguna players.
