Pulido has 3, Mexico through in Olympic qualifying

Alan Pulido scored three goals to send Mexico through into the semifinals of Olympic qualifying with a 3-0 win over Honduras on Sunday.

After two comprehensive wins, Mexico is one win from making the London Games.

Mexico's skilled passing overwhelmed the Central Americans, who struggled to create offense.

Mexico was rewarded quickly enough. In the 15th minute, Javier Aquino went on a sprinting run down the field before playing off to Pulido, who beat a Honduran defender before firing in the opening goal. Pulido struck again in the 40th minute of play when he fired a shot from 22 yards that beat outstretched goalkeeper Jose Mendoza.

The forward from Tigres UNAL in the Mexican league completed his hat trick just 41 seconds into the second half when he and Aquino connected again.

The raucous crowd of 16,184 made for a contentious match from the start as referee Elmer Bonilla was forced to confront both teams for a series of hard challenges.

Down a goal, Honduras used their physical play to attempt to claw back into the match. Honduras nearly leveled in the 36th minute as a shot from Mario Martinez from distance took a deflection at the box and forced a diving save by Mexico goalkeeper Liborio Sanchez.

But Pulido got his second on a shot from over 20 yards out that beat the outstretched Mendoza. After the third goal, Honduras coach Luis Fernando Torres made a number of attacking substitutions in hopes of breaking the shutout.

D.C. United midfielder Andy Najar was an unused substitute for Honduras.

Honduras faces Trinidad and Tobago, and Mexico plays Panama. All three of the other Group B teams can still advance to the semifinals.