2019 Liga MX Femenil Final match recap: Monterrey 1, Tigres UANL 0 (2-1 aggregate)

A thrilling end to the Liga MX Femenil season as Monterrey gets a goal from Diana Evangelista and defeats their cross-town rivals to lift their first trophy.

Monterrey got out on the front foot, largely controlling possession and looking to send balls down the right wing toward Diana Evangelista in hopes of getting her in space one-on-one with left back Selene Cortés. Tigres were able to get a little bit of possession, but Monterrey was sound defensively early on. Tigres had a decent chance in the tenth minute when Claudia Lozoya was able to punch a corner kick out only as far as Katty Martínez, but her turning attempt at a shot was off balance and was easily cleared.

As the game went on Tigres slowly began to build momentum, moving the ball laterally and probing for cracks in the Rayadas defense. Rayadas held strong, not giving the visitors much of anything to work with. As the clock struck the 30 minute mark Desirée Monsiváis put one past goalkeeper Ofelia Solís but even she seemed to give up on the shot as she’d received the pass about three yards offside.

A minute later though Rayadas would score and it would not be offside. Daniela Solis stripped the ball off of the foot of the Tigres defender and made a run up the center. She passed it out to Evangelista on the right, and she made a run in on goal, hitting a tough angle shot that went past Solís and it hit off of the inside of the post and into the back of the net.

In the 39th Monterrey had a nother good chance when Daniela Solis got a great ball forward and hit it to a wide open Desirée Monsiváis, Monsiváis ripped a shot from distance that whistled just wide of Ofelia Solís’ net. In the 41st minute Tigres had a great chance when Belén Cruz chested down a corner kick and hit a great volley on net. Goalkeeper Claudia Lozoya was perfectly positioned however and stopped the shot cold.

On the start of the second half, Tigres came out swinging. Claudia Lozoya made two fantastic saves before the first full minute had passed in the second half, and Rayadas really looked on their heels. Tigres piled on the pressure, looking for an equalizing goal as the clock became their biggest enemy. Rayadas did well to keep Tigres off of their game and to take as much time off of the clock as possible.

Tigres had a fantastic chance in the first minute of stoppage when Jackie Ovalle sent in a cross that Fer Elizondo got her head onto, but the twine it tickled was on the outside of the goal instead of inside. The final whistle rang out across the stadium and the fans let out a cry of rapture. The players started celebrating; some hugging and screaming, other dropping to their knees and crying in joy. The trophy was engraved on the sidelines with “Monterrey” and Rayadas were the champions of Mexico.

Monterrey: Claudia Lozoya; Mariana Cadena, Rebeca Bernal, Annia Mejia, Ricla Rajunov; Daniela Solis (Selena Castillo, 87’), Valeria Valdez, Andrea Hernández, Diana Evangelista (Victoria López, 67’); Dinora Garza (Jazmin Aguas, 54’), Desirée Monsiváis

Tigres UANL: Ofelia Solís; Selene Cortés (Fernanda Elizondo, 57’), Greta Espinoza, Cristina Ferral, Karen Luna; Nayeli Rangel (Blanca Solís, 78’), Nancy Antonio; Jackie Ovalle, Liliana Mercado, Belén Cruz; Katty Martínez (Natalia Gómez Junco, 88’)

Scoring: Monterrey - Diana Evangelista (31’); Tigres UANL - None

Disciplinary: Monterrey - Desirée Monsiváis (Yellow - 88’); Tigres UANL - None