Liga MX Femenil recap - Week 14

After a week off, the teams are back from the international break and the pool of teams who have a realistic shot at the Liguilla keeps shrinking while the top tier of teams continues to impress.

Cruz Azul 4, Veracruz 0: Cruz Azul extends their unbeaten streak to three, downing Veracruz who are now winless in seven straight. Paola González got the home side on the board with a quick brace, scoring on a header off of a corner kick in the eighth minute and getting a glancing header in the 14th minute that went past goalkeeper María Ayala. Fatima Alonso capitalized on a mistake by center back Isela Osorio to head the ball past a diving Ayala. Alejandra Curiel added a fourth goal in the 71st minute when she crashed the net to get to a loose rebound and poke it in. Cruz Azul sit in ninth place just a point behind Toluca but have a game in hand while Veracruz sit in 16th, ten points out of a Liguilla spot. It was also revealed after the match that Veracruz wasn’t paying their players and that the players themselves were footing the bill for travel and lodging.

Querétaro 0, Atlas 4: Querétaro continues to slide down the table, losing to Atlas 4-0 at home. Adriana Iturbide had a brace before the tenth minute, getting on the end of a great square ball on the break from Zellyka Arce in the fourth minute and heading in a cross from Julissa Dávila in the seventh minute. Shortly after halftime, Fernanda Limón scored her second goal of the season after a shot by Fabiola Ibarra was stopped point blank by goalkeeper Ivette Alvarado. Ibarra had the presence of mind to flick the rebound wide to Limón, who easily shot the ball into the back of the net. Alison González rounded out the scoring by getting her left foot onto a great cross from Ibarra, guiding the ball inside of the post and then stepping over Alvarado in a move that was reminiscent of Allen Iverson stepping over a fallen Tyronn Lue in the 2001 NBA Finals. Atlas goalkeepers Ana Gaby Paz and Danna Rodríguez combined for a shutout thanks to some phenomenal saves. Quéretaro now sits in 12th place, four points out of a playoff spot while Atlas sits in fourth, nine points behind leaders Monterrey.

América 0, UNAM Pumas 0: The first Clásico Capitalino to end in a draw since February 2018 and first ever scoreless draw between the cross-town rivals. Melany Villeda and the Pumas defense got their eighth shutout in twelve games while América and Jaidy Gutiérrez got their fifth in eleven games. América sits in sixth place with 22 points while Pumas needs some help to make the Liguilla. They sit in 14th place, six points out.

Guadalajara 2, Santos Laguna 3: A surprise result for sure as Santos goes to Guadalajara and upsets Chivas, making Guadalajara’s Liguilla propositions all the more precarious. In the second minute, a mistake by goalkeeper Blanca Félix allowed Estela Gómez to get her first goal of the afternoon. Gómez would get her second of the afternoon in the 14th minute when Chivas’ defense was caught upfield on a restart from goalkeeper Wendy Toledo. Gómez chased the ball down and with two other Santos players available as outlets calmly slotted the ball past Félix. Chivas would draw one back in the 42nd minute when Nicole Pérez hit a beautiful free kick that arced in past a diving Toledo. A minute later, Gómez would get her hat trick when Daniela Degado ran through the Chivas defense and hit a perfect through ball to Gómez, who was able to get past Janelly Farías and tap the ball past Félix. After the half, Chivas kept pressuring and was able to draw one back in the 82nd when Melissa Sosa intercepted a Santos restart and played it up to María Velázquez, who shot past Toledo. But Chivas was not able to get the equalizer, and now sit in fifth place, just two points over eighth place Toluca. Santos meanwhile sit six points out of the Liguilla with 15 points.

Puebla 1, Tijuana 1: Xolos hangs on to their Liguilla position with a draw on the road against Puebla. Renae Cuellar got Xolos on the board in the 20th minute when she got onto a ball over the top from the back line. Cuellar took a touch, pushed past the defender, and knocked the ball past goalkeeper Brissa Rangel. Puebla would have a chance to equalize in the 40th minute when they were awarded a penalty but María López shot went off of the post and out. Puebla was awarded another penalty a minute later, and López converted the second try in the 42nd minute. Both teams had opportunities to take a lead but neither could convert. Xolos are in seventh place, a point clear of Toluca with 22 points. Puebla however are in eleventh place, three points out of the Liguilla with 18 points.

Toluca 3, Atlético San Luis 1: Toluca helped themselves immensely with the win over Atlético San Luis, moving into a Liguilla spot past idle Morelia. Play was even until the 42nd minute when Caro Miranda picked off a poor touch, drove down the left, and then played a great square ball across to a wide open Mariel Román. Román easily hit the ball into the back of the net past a diving Cintia Monreal. Román got her second of the afternoon in the 62nd minute when she was played through on a great ball from Yuzara López and fired past Monreal. The ball over the top would lead to a third, and this time it was Román getting the assist, knocking the ball on to Layla García who would hit a good shot in stride. Atleti would get a consolation goal in the 86th when Estefania Izaguirre fought for a ball in the box and hit a square ball over to an onrushing Aylin Mendoza, and her shot went on past goalkeeper Alondra Ubaldo. Toluca will have a tough road ahead, as they haven’t had their bye week yet. Atleti’s road is most likely impossible, as they also haven’t had their bye week and sit 13 points behind Toluca in 17th place.

Pachuca 5, Juárez 1: Pachuca is firing on all cylinders right now and put everyone on notice with a 5-1 thrashing of Juárez in a fiery affair. The visitors were actually the ones who scored first, with Jessica Vázquez hitting a stunner from just inside of the box. After that though it was all Pachuca. Karen Gómez converted a penalty in the 38th minute to draw the sides level before the end of the half. After the break, Viridiana Salazar did as she does and took the game over. In the 48th minute, she got her head onto a great cross into the box from Yanin Madrid. Then in the 66th Salazar got a pass in the box from Mónica Ocampo and hit a shot that beat goalkeeper Silvia Machuca. Five minutes later Paola López shredded the Juárez defense and hit a square ball that Salazar knocked home for the hat trick. Things got feisty in the 75th minute when Paola Monroy and Celeste Vidal were jostling for position on a free kick in the box. Monroy got her hands into Vidal’s face, and after the kick was saved the two began pushing and shoving. Play was stopped and both teams rushed in, however cooler heads prevailed and both Vidal and Monroy were shown red cards, although neither went quietly. Vidal went off yelling at the fourth official and Monroy looked ready to follow Vidal into the Juárez locker before being diverted by Pachuca staff and players. Juárez would also see Cindy Caro sent off with a second yellow card in the 81st minute for a hard foul. 14 year old Blanky Serrano scored her first goal in the 89th minute when she uncorked a shot from the top corner of the box. Pachuca is in second place, just four points behind Monterrey while Juárez is in 18th place, 15 points out of the final Liguilla spot.

Tigres UANL 4, Necaxa 0: As convincing a win as we’d expect from a team like Tigres over winless Necaxa. Necaxa to their credit looked fairly decent in stretches, but Tigres quality was just too much. Jacqueline Ovalle put Tigres on the board in the 39th minute when she made a run down the left side, gave her defender a slight push to create space, then got on the end of a cross from Nancy Antonio that missed Katty Martínez and guided it inside of the near post. Belén Cruz got her fifth goal of the season in the 52nd minute when she was able to get to a cross from Ovalle and tap it past goalkeeper Balbina Treviño. The play would turn out to be significant as Katty Martínez went down and was subbed out shortly after. Natalia Gómez Junco made it 3-0 in the 74th when she got her right foot on a cross from the left side of the box from Ovalle. Maria Elizondo rounded out the scoring in the 85th when she got to a rebound that Treviño gave up on a shot from Cruz. Tigres are in third place, five points behind their cross-town rivals while Necaxa are still winless and in last place with just two points. After the match, manager Roberto Medina confirmed Martínez had suffered a blow to the head but it didn’t sound too serious.

León 1, Monterrey 3: Monterrey once again proves why they’re the class of Liga MX Femenil, dominating a good León team by a score of 3-1. Desirée Monsiváis got her league-leading 14th goal and 60th career goal in the 42nd minute with a header off of a corner kick. Diana Evangelista got the second goal of the match for Rayadas in the 65th minute when she played a perfect give-and-go with Daniela Solís. Evangelista got her brace just seven minutes later when a poor touch from Liliana Sánchez went to her and she hit a shot that Maricruz González couldn’t stop. Sanjuana Muñoz drew one back for the home side in stoppage time when she converted a penalty, but it wasn’t enough and Rayadas maintained a four point lead over Pachuca with 33 points. León sit in 13th place, and their 16 points are just five behind Toluca for the final Liguilla spot.

Bye week: Morelia

Next week:

Friday, October 18:

Necaxa (0W 2D 11L) vs. Toluca (6W 3D 5L)

Saturday, October 19:

Monterrey (11W 0D 2L) vs. Cruz Azul (6W 2D 5L)

Atlas (6W 6D 2L) vs. Guadalajara (7W 2D 4L)

UNAM Pumas (3W 6D 4L) vs. León (4W 4D 5L)

Morelia (5W 3D 5L) vs. Querétaro (5W 2D 6L)

Monday, October 21:

Veracruz (2W 5D 6L) vs. Tigres UANL (8W 4D 1L)

Santos Laguna (4W 3D 6L) vs. América (6W 4D 3L)

Atlético San Luis (2W 2D 10L) vs. Puebla (5W 3D 6L)

Tijuana (6W 4D 3L) vs. Pachuca (9W 2D 2L)

Bye week: Juárez (1W 3D 10L)