Atlanta United in Mexico for next CONCACAF Champions League match Wednesday

After a tough loss in the Major League Soccer opener, Atlanta United return to CONCACAF Champions League action Wednesday with a trip to Mexico.

The Five Stripes will face Liga MX club C.F. Monterrey at Estadio BBVA Bancomer in the first leg of their quarterfinal series. The match is scheduled to kick off at 10 p.m. with television coverage from Yahoo Sports and Univision Deportes.

Atlanta must win the two-match series on aggregate scoring. The second match of the quarterfinal is set for March 13 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

To reach the C.F. Monterrey match, the club routed C.S. Herediano 4-0 in the round of 16. It lost 3-1 on the road to open the two-leg series, but rebounded with an impressive, and necessary, effort to win 5-3 on aggregate over the Costa Rican club.

Josef Martinez got the second match with C.S. Herediano going with a goal in 47 seconds, the fastest in club history. He added another goal in the second half, while teammates Leandro Gonzalez Pirez and Julian Gressel also added goals.

C.F. Monterrey reached the quarterfinals with a 1-0 aggregate win over El Salvador side Alianza FC. A penalty kick goal in the 86th minute decided the outcome.

The Mexican club is one of the best in Liga MX, sitting in second place at 6-0-3 and riding a nine-match unbeaten streak, the longest in the league. It sports a 6-1-1 record against MLS clubs in the tournament’s history, and it has won the CONCACAF tourney three times (2011-13).

Atlanta is in the hunt for a rare victory for American clubs. The last U.S. team to win the CONCACAF Champions League title was the L.A. Galaxy in 2000, and only one other American club has accomplished the feat — D.C. United in 1998. Mexican teams have won the last 13 titles in the competition since Costa Rica’s Saprissa won in 2005.

The CONCACAF Champions Cup began in 1962 and features the top clubs from North America, Central America and the Caribbean. The winner earns a spot in the FIFA Club World Cup.

In addition to Atlanta, three other MLS teams are in the quarterfinals — New York Red Bulls, Houston Dynamo and Sporting KC.

Atlanta, under first-year head coach Frank de Boer, also must bounce back from a 2-0 loss at D.C. United on Sunday.