A surprising 2010 Apertura season came to a close when Monterrey defeated Santos Laguna 3-0 (5-3 aggregate) in the second leg on Sunday night at the Estadio Tecnológico to become champions.

Monterrey lost the first leg of the tournament 3-2 when the teams played Dec. 2 in Torreon and that meant the team had to score more than one goal during Sunday’s game.

Monterrey scored in the 28th minute on a booming goal from outside the box by the Chilean superstar Humberto Suazo. Aldo de Nigris set up Suazo who drove it passed Santos goalkeeper Oswaldo Sánchez.

Although Santos tried to get back in the game, they couldn’t break Monterrey’s defense. The aggregate score remained at 3-3 at the half and could have gone either way, but Santos’ offensive attack disappeared in the second half. Monterrey’s midfield controlled the ball and was able to get close to scoring the second goal of the game.

It wasn’t until the 72nd minute when Monterrey scored on a corner kick by José María Basanta. Neri Cardozo took the corner and Basanta finished the play with a winning header that Sánchez couldn’t save.

Monterrey was ahead 4-3 on aggregate. Santos desperately tried to score but couldn’t break Monterrey’s momentum. They led an all out attack that was countered and resulted in a third goal for Monterrey in the 85th minute. Suazo dribbled and weaved through several Santos defenders before scoring his second goal in the game. The goal was the perfect ending to Monterrey’s championship season.

Santos suffered another devastating loss; this was the second consecutive time the team had made it to the finals. The biggest question of the final was which superstar would shine brighter, Santos’ Cristian Benitez or Suazo. Sauzo clearly played better ...