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MEXICO CITY, April 27 (Reuters) - Atlante's chances of retaining the Mexican championship ended when a 3-2 loss at home to Monterrey ensured they would be unable to reach the competition's knockout phase.
Chile striker Humberto Suazo, the championship's top scorer with 13 goals, was on target twice in the first half to guarantee Monterrey's quarter-final place with a game to spare.
Suazo opened the scoring in the 19th minute after a one-two with Jesus Arellano and the same pair combined to produce the second goal one minute before halftime of Saturday's game.
Christian Bermudez scored for Cancun-based Atlante after the restart but Diego Ordaz headed another goal for Ricardo La Volpe's side in the 59th minute. Jose Maria Cardenas pulled one back in the 71st minute.
Atlante are fourth in Group Two with 16 points from 16 games and cannot even qualify for the repechage.
Monterrey, second with 24 points, ensured a top-two finish behind leaders Santos Laguna, who won 2-1 at Tigres UANL thanks to late goals from Argentine Walter Jimenez and Mexico's Fernando Arce.
The 18 teams play each other once but are divided into three groups in the qualifying phase. The top two in each qualify for the quarter-finals while the four best teams out of the remainder, regardless of group, go into the repechage.
Group One leaders Chiapas also booked a quarter-final place by winning 1-0 at Pachuca with a second-half goal from Brazilian Itamar Batista, his ninth of the championship.
Guadalajara striker Omar Bravo scored his 100th first division goal and his ninth of the tournament as the Group Three leaders, who field only Mexicans, thrashed Puebla 4-0.
Sergio Avila, Edgar Solis and Antonio Salazar shared the other goals for the Chivas, who made sure of at least a repechage place.
Veracruz were relegated after losing 4-2 at home to Pumas UNAM. The Red Sharks have used 10 coaches since being promoted three seasons ago.
