Pairings were announced Thursday in New York for the Preliminary Round and Group Stage Rounds of the 2009-10 CONCACAF Champions League and teams from both Major League Soccer and the United Soccer Leagues First Division will again take part.
In three of eight Preliminary Round games, which will settled in two-game aggregate scoring series, MLS' New York Red Bulls will play Trinidad & Tobago's W Connection; the winner of this Wednesday's Nutrilite Canadian Championship -- either the defending USL1 champion Vancouver Whitecaps or MLS' Toronto FC -- will face the Puerto Rico Islanders of USL1 and MLS' DC United will face El Salvador's Chalatenango.
The winner of the Red Bulls-W Connection series will go to Group D play and join confirmed Mexican team Pumas UNAM, along with the winners of two other Preliminary Round series -- Guatemalan teams Communicaciones and Municipal for their country's second berth, and the series between Costa Rica's Liberia and Honduras' Real Espana.
The Vancouver/Toronto-Puerto Rico winner will join MLS's defending champion Columbus Crew, Saprissa of Costa Rica and either Cruz Azul of Mexico or Club Sport Herediano of Costa Rica in the Group C pool.
The United-Chalatenango winner will move into Group B with Mexico's Toluca, Honduras' Marathon and the winner of the series between one of Panama's two teams -- Arabe Unido or San Francisco FC.
The Houston Dynamo of MLS will play in Group A with Metapan of El Salvador, the winner of the Pachuca (Mexico) - Comunicaciones/Jalapa (Guatemala) series, and the winner of the Olimpia (Honduras) - Arabe Unido/Chorillo (Panama) series.
A full schedule of games will be announced when all the berths in the tournament are locked up.
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