BUENOS AIRES, May 10 (Xinhua) -- Santiago Beltran saved two spot-kicks as River Plate reached the quarterfinals of Argentina's Apertura tournament on Sunday by beating 10-man San Lorenzo on penalties.
The visitors were reduced to 10 men in the 31st minute of the round-of-16 duel when Matias Reali was shown a straight red card for a bad challenge on Tomas Galvan.
Despite the numerical disadvantage, San Lorenzo took the lead six minutes later through Rodrigo Auzmendi, who met Nahuel Barrios' cross with a header into the bottom-left corner.
Marcos Acuna equalized just before the hour, latching onto Juan Fernando Quintero's curling cross with an acrobatic volley at the far post.
With the scores tied after 90 minutes, the match went into extra time, and San Lorenzo regained the lead when Fabricio Lopez headed in following Facundo Gulli's delivery from a set piece.
Quintero restored parity in the 121st minute, whipping in a free kick that cleared San Lorenzo's defense and caught goalkeeper Orlando Gill flat-footed as it bounced into the far corner.
Beltran was the hero of the shootout, keeping out attempts from Gregorio Rodriguez and Mathias De Ritis as River clinched a spot in the last eight.
The Buenos Aires side will host Gimnasia La Plata in a single-leg quarterfinal on Wednesday.
In other round-of-16 fixtures on Sunday, Rosario won 3-1 at home to Independiente, Racing prevailed 1-0 at Estudiantes, and Gimnasia La Plata edged to a 1-0 away win over Velez Sarsfield. ■
