Merentiel fires Boca into last eight

Miguel Merentiel scored twice as Boca Juniors reached the quarterfinals of Argentina's Primera Division Clausura tournament with a 2-0 home win over Talleres Cordoba on Sunday.

Merentiel broke the deadlock in the 28th minute at La Bombonera by heading in from close range following a corner.

Mateo Caceres squandered a chance to equalize just before halftime when his penalty was saved by Agustin Marchesin.

Boca made the visitors pay for their mistake upon the restart as Merentiel slotted a low shot into the bottom-left corner after Lautaro Blanco's cross.

"It's a great feeling to go through [to the next round]," Merentiel said after the match. "Our best player today was our goalkeeper [Marchesin], because he made a save that helped us tremendously."

The result means Boca will meet Argentinos Juniors next weekend with a place in the semifinals at stake.

In Sunday's other round-of-16 duel, a first-half goal from Colombian winger Edwuin Cetre gave Estudiantes a 1-0 victory over Rosario Central. The La Plata-based club will face Central Cordoba in the quarterfinals.