That Other Champions League: Concacaf Santos Laguna of Mexico went to the Pacific Northwest on Tuesday night and snatched a 1-0 win against the Seattle Sounders of M.L.S. in the first leg of a semifinal series in the Concacaf Champions League. The return match is next week in Torreón. As Major League Soccer has placed added emphasis on its clubs" success in the regional club championship (Los Angeles hosts two-time defending champion Monterrey on Wednesday night), it was a former M.L.S. player - Herculez Gomez - who once again scored in a tournament match against a team from the North American league. In all Gomez, who plays internationally for the United States, has scored nine goals in nine Champions League games against M.L.S. teams. Ouch! Less than 10 minutes into the second half, Gomez lashed a rebound past Seattle goalkeeper Marcus Hahnemann for the game's only goal. Video is here and below. Video: Gomez blasts one past Hahnemann I was fortunate to get in on the rebound. It was just a blur," Gomez, 30, told The Associated Press. Any chance I can get to redeem myself is a good chance. That's part of being a striker is you have to keep working. They always say the next play is the most important play. So that's what I was looking forward to was the next play. Gomez paid tribute to Sounders fans on his Twitter page: Seattle seems headed for its second straight exit from the tournament at the hands of Santos. The Sounders are struggling - the club has an 0-3-1 record in the league and 1-2 record in the Champions League. Coach Sigi Schmid was hamstrung from the start because of the absence of the injured Eddie Johnson, David Estrada and the newly acquired Obafemi Martins. Schmid started the game with Mauro Rosales and Steve Zakuani on the bench. "We didn't play that poorly," Schmid told The Associated Press. Obviously, they're a very good team, and their front three is as dangerous a front three as you'll run into anywhere. They got it in there a few times, but I thought for the most part, we held them at bay, which was pretty good. We worked for each other. We didn't pick and choose, and that's the important part of the game is you have to work all the time. ... If Santos is in our league, they're battling for the title. For us to play a team like them that's in form and in their season is good."" You can go deeper, statistically speaking, using the Opta match chalkboard here. And full match highlights are here and below. Video: Seattle Sounders v Santos Laguna CONCACAF Champions League Highlights 04/02/13 Los Angeles- Monterrey Farther down the West Coast, the Galaxy (M.L.S. headquarters has tried to give Los Angeles and Seattle a break by postponing their league matches during the semifinals) will receive a boost with the expected return of Robbie Keane. Keane sustained a calf injury playing in a World Cup qualifying match for Ireland against Sweden. "In your head, you always believe you're going to be ready," Keane told reporters on Tuesday. But until you actually do some running. I came in Sunday myself to do some stuff with the physio and did some running on the field. Once I got through that running, I knew I was going to be ready for this game. But in the back of my mind, I kind of thought I was going to be ready [all along]. But you never know. He added: "Once I'm playing, I'm playing. Once I start, I'll be ready to go [for 90 minutes]. The Galaxy's Landon Donovan, who has been on a soccer sabbatical since the end of last season, returned in a league game last weekend, playing nearly 30 minutes in a 2-2 tie at Toronto. There is no telling how much time, if any, Coach Bruce Arena will give Donovan. Mike Magee leads M.L.S. with five goals in the early going and the U.S. under-20 international Jose Villarreal seems to be growing with each game. Is there any hope Seattle can survive the return match next week? Can the Galaxy at least put pressure on Monterrey by winning the first leg? What are the major hurdles for M.L.S. clubs as they try to win the competition and earn a place in the FIFA Club World Cup?