América de Calise defeated Atlético Bucaramanga 2-1 at the Olímpico Pascual Guerrero stadium and secured their passage to the group stage of the Copa Sudamericana.
The visitors took the lead in the 23rd minute of the first half with a free kick from Argentine midfielder Fabián Sambueza. His shot with an effect towards the near post surprised the goalkeeper and went in, according to the Argentine News Agency.
The equalizer came in first-half stoppage time, in the 47th minute, from a penalty kick. Yeison Guzmán struck a low, cross-shot that goalkeeper Aldair Quintana saved but could not hold.
In the second half, in the 9th minute, Tilman Palacios received a low cross from the right, shrugged off his marker, and shook the net with a powerful shot that went into the bottom-left corner of Quintana's goal, giving América the definitive lead.
The match became complicated for Bucaramanga in the 17th minute of the second half when defender Aldair Gutiérrez—already on a yellow card—was sent off for a second booking after elbowing midfielder Rafael Carrasco in the face during an aerial challenge.
In other results of the matchday, Uruguay's Boston River defeated Racing 1-0; Recoleta FC surprised Nacional of Paraguay and advanced on penalties 5-4 after a 1-1 draw in regulation time; and Peru's Cienciano eliminated Melgar with the same 1-0 score in the 90 minutes and in the decisive shootout.
