Wisconsin Soccer Central

When Calum Mallace (Marquette) came off the bench with 25 minutes left in Montreal Impact's match against Mexican side Pachuca on Tuesday night, it looked like the fourth-year midfielder's main job would be to help the home side hold on for a scoreless draw in the second leg of a CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinal.

But after Pachuca's German Cano converted a penalty kick in the 80th minute, Mallace – and his teammates – had to adjust his mind-set, because Montreal needed a goal to remain alive in the competition and advance to the semifinals.

Mallace certainly did his part. Deep into stoppage time with the ball at his feet, the 25-year-old spotted Cameron Porter on the left side and launched a pinpoint long ball that found the rookie forward in stride. Porter chested the ball down, beat two defenders and nutmegged goalkeeper Oscar Perez in the final seconds to give the Impact a 1-1 tie – Montreal advanced 2-1 on away goals after the series was tied 3-3.

"That was a Beckham-type pass," Impact general manager Adam Braz told the Montreal Gazette of the ball Mallace played. "It was brilliant."

The Impact, who open the Major League Soccer season Saturday at D.C. United, will play Alajuelense in the semifinals – the Costa Rican side eliminated D.C. United 6-3 on aggregate. The first leg is scheduled for March 18 and the second will be between April 7 and 9.

On Twitter: @CMallace10

• Goalkeeper Ryan Onwukwe (UW-Milwaukee) made his professional debut Sunday as 1. FCA 04 Darmstadt tied host SpVgg 03 Neu-Isenburg 1-1 in a Verbandsliga Hessen-Süd match in Germany. The only goal Onwukwe allowed came from the penalty spot as Darmstadt (8-5-7) earned a point against third-place Isenburg (9-3-8) in their first match since December. Carlos McCrary, Onwukwe's teammate with the Madison 56ers in the National Premier Soccer League for the past three seasons, scored his ninth goal of the season to give Darmstadt the lead in the 10th minute – he's tied for eighth in the sixth-division league in scoring. On Twitter: @OnkBiggs @CarlosMcCrary
• Charles Kazlauskas (Milwaukee Thomas More) and Helmond Sport got their first victory of 2015, blanking RKC Waalwijk 3-0 in the Netherlands' second-tier Jupiler League on Friday to snap a nine-game winless streak (0-6-3). Helmond Sport (5-15-7), which hadn't won since Dec. 6, remains in the relegation zone, but is now just one point behind Fortuna Sittard with 11 matches remaining the season.
• Mark Litton (Racine St. Catherine's/UW-Parkside) will be the goalkeeper coach for the U.S. team in the Professional Futsal League International Challenge, which is March 13 to 15 in Dallas and Frisco, Texas. The U.S. team will face a Mexican side and a team from FC Barcelona in the event. Milwaukee's Keith Tozer, the PFL commissioner and U.S. futsal national team coach, will oversee the six-man coaching staff during the player and referee combines that will be held before the matches. Litton is the U.S. futsal national team keeper coach.