Monterrey lifted the Copa MX after topping Pachuca in Thursday's final, 1-0.
Two Colombians combined for the winning goal with Stefan Medina playing in Aviles Hurtado in the 57th minute and Rayados' leading scorer finishing off the move to give his side the title.
#NoTeLoPierdas
G⚽⚽⚽L de Avilés Hurtado@Rayados 1-0 @Tuzos #GranFinal #CopaCoronaMX 🏆 #Apertura2017
⚽ #SienteTuLiga ⚽ #AbrazadosPorElFutbol pic.twitter.com/Q9l14mvmDnArticle continues below— #CopaCoronaMX (@CopaCoronaMx) December 22, 2017
The match was rescheduled after a strong earthquake rocked central Mexico in September, forcing postponement of matches as emergency workers responded to the tragedy. That meant the timing of the match fell just before Christmas and awkwardly after both teams had competed in more prestigious tournaments. Rayados were bounced from the Liga MX final after losing the second leg to crosstown rival Tigres earlier this month. Pachuca went to the United Arab Emirates and emerged as the third-place finisher in the Club World Cup but had hoped for more from the tournament.
In the end, Rayados found some vindication with Hurtado bouncing back from missing a penalty kick to slot home the winning goal in the cup match. Hurtado also was named the match's most valuable player.
"There are no heroes here," Hurtado told reporters after the match. "The whole team put forth effort to win this title. It's a reward."
The trophy also will remove the label that some slapped onto Monterrey manager Antonio Mohamed as a coach who was able to lead his team into big matches only for them to fall short. In addition to this year's frustration in the final, the same Pachuca team Monterrey topped Thursday had previously beaten Monterrey at Estadio BBVA Bancomer to lift the Liga MX 2016 Apertura crown.
Mohamed, who won league titles at previous stops in Mexico with Club Tijuana and Club America, now has his first trophy with the northern team.
Both teams now head into an abbreviated holiday break with their rivals already in the preseason. Pachuca opens the 2017 Clausura against Pachuca on Jan. 6, with Monterrey hosting Monarcas Morelia on the same day in its opening match of the season.
