COLUMBUS, OHIO (Tuesday, July 23, 2024) – In a back-and-forth contest that came down to the final kick, the LIGA MX All-Stars defeated the MLS All-Stars in the 2024 MLS All-Star Skills Challenge presented by AT&T in Columbus, Ohio on Tuesday night at Lower.com Field. With the final kick of the competition, Cruz Azul defender Gonzalo Piovi struck the crossbar for the Victory Shot to give LIGA MX the win.
MLS and Liga MX competed on behalf of two local organizations, Special Olympics Ohio and Adaptive Sports Connection. Each group was provided with a donation of $25,000 to support their efforts in Columbus. Special Olympics Ohio will continue to support the growth of the Special Olympics Unified Soccer team in Columbus and Adaptive Sports Connection looks to support the mission of serving children, veterans, and adults with disabilities through sports.
Additionally, Crown Legacy FC’s Chituru Odunze took home the MLS NEXT Pro Goalie Wars belt after winning 1-0 in sudden death against Michael Collodi from North Texas SC (Watch Here). Crown Legacy FC has won back-to-back MLS NEXT Pro Goalie Wars titles after Isaac Walker brought home the honor in 2023.
MLS All-Star Shooting Challenge presented by AT&T
LIGA MX opened with a strong start as Club América midfielder and former MLS All-Star Jonathan dos Santos led the way with a 67-point performance, which was the most by a player in the past three editions of the challenge. LIGA MX All-Stars Juan Brunetta (Tigres UANL) added 47 while Salomón Rondón (CF Pachuca) contributed 37 to help their side win 158-96 in the challenge. Hometown hero Cucho Hernández (Columbus Crew) led the way for MLS after adding 47 points amidst a late comeback push (Watch Here).
MLS All-Star Touch Challenge presented by Crest
The MLS All-Stars got back on track in the MLS All-Star Touch Challenge presented by Crest, defeating LIGA MX 137-71. Former FC Barcelona teammates Jordi Alba (Inter Miami CF) and Riqui Puig (LA Galaxy) kicked things off with a 71-point performance (Watch Here), before rivals-turned-partners Cucho Hernández and Luciano Acosta (FC Cincinnati) added 66 more to take home the win (Watch Here). Acosta produced multiple 20-point efforts to seal the challenge victory.
MLS All-Star Cross & Volley Challenge presented by AT&T
In the always exciting MLS All-Star Cross & Volley Challenge presented by AT&T, LIGA MX All-Stars prevailed 90-45. It was a consistent effort from LIGA MX as both Cesar Huerta (Pumas UNAM) and André-Pierre Gignac (Tigres) contributed 45 points with acrobatic volleys past the MLS All-Star goalkeepers. Cucho Hernández did his best to give the MLS All-Stars a chance with multiple acrobatic efforts in defeat, contributing 35 of the 45 points for MLS (Watch Here).
MLS All-Star Passing Challenge presented by Old Spice
With MLS needing a point to even the score heading into the final challenge, Inter Miami CF’s Sergio Busquets came up clutch in the final leg of the best-of-three MLS All-Star Passing Challenge presented by Old Spice (Watch Here). Busquets went toe-to-toe with a familiar opponent in Andrés Guardado (Club León), narrowly defeating him as they both raced to complete the final leg. In the first leg, LIGA MX Femenil Chivas forward Alicia Cervantes beat National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) Houston Dash forward Diana Ordóñez in a clash of two of the best women’s players in North America (Watch Here). Riqui Puig produced an incredible start in the second matchup to defeat Gonzalo Piovi in record time (Watch Here), setting up Busquets’ victory.
MLS All-Star Crossbar Challenge presented by GilletteLabs
The competition came down to the MLS All-Star Crossbar Challenge presented by GilletteLabs, which saw the MLS All-Stars unlock the Victory Shot first. MLS Great Sacha Kljestan hit the crossbar twice to help MLS advance, but the LIGA MX All-Stars were right behind thanks to a great performance from LIGA MX Great Luis Hernández. As both teams traded efforts to hit the Victory Shot, the winner came from Cruz Azul’s Gonzalo Piovi, who gave LIGA MX their second-ever MLS All-Star Skills Challenge presented by AT&T victory (Watch Here).
All-time MLS All-Star Skills Challenge Winners:
2024: LIGA MX All-Stars
2023: Arsenal FC (England)
2022: MLS All-Stars
2021: LIGA MX All-Stars
2019: Orlando City SC*
*Competition was between Orlando City SC, MLS All-Stars, and Atlético Madrid.
PHOTOGRAPHY
**CLICK HERE** for select photos from Tuesday’s 2024 MLS All-Star Skills Challenge presented by AT&T.
You can find the full selection of editorial, rights-free imagery from the MLS All-Star Skills Challenge here: MLS All-Star Skills Challenge presented by AT&T
Please credit: “USA Today Sports – Daniel Bartel” or “USA Today Sports – Adam Cairns" or “USA Today Sports – Joseph Maiorana” or “USA Today Sports – Rick Osentoski” or “USA Today Sports – Trevor Ruszkowski” or “USA Today Sports – Katie Stratman”.
Media can access the full MLS All-Star Week photo gallery on Imagn with the below login credentials:
- Username: AllStarPhotos@mlssoccer.com
- Password: Columbus2024!
VIDEO & SOUNDBYTES
Rights-free video assets and soundbytes from the post-match mixed zone will be available HERE.
