Liga MX Femenil recap - 2019 Clausura Week 9

The halfway point of the Liga MX Femenil season, and on a doble jornada! In addition to the brief recap for each match, we’ll start giving points and positions for the teams as well as they head toward the Liguilla.

UNAM Pumas 0, Puebla 1: A shock result as Maria Lopez converting a penalty in the 59th minute was enough for Puebla to get their third win of the season against Pumas. At the halfway mark of the season, Puebla sits in fourth place with 13 points, six behind Group 1 leaders Pachuca while Pumas are in third place with 15 points.

Lobos BUAP 1, Club América 2: Gloria Narváez converted a penalty for Lobos in the 24th minute, but Esmeralda Verdugo would answer in the 43rd minute on a shot from the corner of the 18 yard box to draw América level. In the 70th minute, Dayan Fuentes would attempt to head a corner kick clear but would instead put it past her own goalkeeper, and that would be the difference in the match. América is tied with Group 1 leaders Pachuca with 19 points but are in second place by virtue of having a worse goal differential (+7 to Pachuca’s +15). Lobos sit in fifth, 11 points behind Pachuca and América.

Veracruz 0, Cruz Azul 3: Another shock result as Cruz Azul routs Veracruz 3-0 for just their second win of the season. Reyna Velázquez got the scoring started in the 38th minute with a blast from 35 yards out. Norma Gaitan would double the lead in the 50th minute when she capitalized on a poor clearance attempt to corral the ball in the box and tap a shot past Tiburones goalkeeper Zitlalli Gazga. Wendy Morales would get a red card in the 86th minute to put Tiburones down to ten players. Daniela Osorio would put the exclamation point on deep in stoppage time when a turnover resulted in a give-and-go with Martha Enciso resulted on a shot that bounced off of both posts and in. Veracruz is last in Group 1, 14 points behind Pachuca while Cruz Azul moved up to seventh and are 12 points out.

Atlas 3, Necaxa 1: Atlas showed why they’re just two points off of the pace in Group 2 with a solid victory against winless Necaxa. Zellyka Arce got the scoring started in the 42nd minute due to a miscommunication on a restart between goalkeeper Andrea Rivera and a center back. Just after the halftime break, Fabiola Ibarra doubled the lead when she converted a penalty kick. Adriana Iturbide would add one more in the 77th minute when she chested down a ball in the box and hit a shot into the top corner of the net. Briana Escobedo would draw one back for Necaxa in the 88th minute when she hit a diving header through traffic, but it would be too little, too late for Rayos, who sit 15 points out of first and in last place.

Querétaro 0, Guadalajara 1: Kristal Soto’s goal in the 22nd minute would be the difference as Chivas downed Querétaro. Soto took a cross in the box surrounded, beat three defenders, and shot it past goalkeeper Natalia Acuña. Chivas sits in fifth but are tied with León with 14 points. Querétaro’s four points have them 16 behind Monterrey and in eighth place in Group 2.

León 2, Monarcas Morelia 2: A second half goal glut saw León and Monarcas get a hard earned draw. Denisse Valdez would put León on the board in the 54th minute when León was able to break down the left wing and she remained unmarked in the box. Monarcas would answer in the 79th minute on a María Cruzaley redirection of a free kick. Morelia would take the lead in the 87th when Dalia Molina would get her head onto a cross into the box. Just when it looked like Morelia would take all three points, Michelle Vargas would be the hero for León when she hit a header into the far corner of the net. León sits in fourth place in Group 2 with 14 points, while Monarcas is in seventh with six points.

Pachuca 3, Toluca 0: It was the Lizbeth Ángeles show, as she had a brace to lead Pachuca to a win over Toluca. Ángeles got the first goal in the 26th minute when she hit a shot from distance that goalkeeper Dayan Téllez got her hands on but did not stop. Mónica Ocampo doubled the lead in the 70th with a beautiful arcing shot from the top of the 18 yard box. Ángeles would finish things in the 81st minute with a laser of a free kick from 20 yards out. Pachuca is atop Group 1 with 19 points while Toluca are in eighth, 12 behind Tuzos.

Santos Laguna 0, Monterrey 1: Monterrey remains the only undefeated team in Liga MX Femenil, downing Santos Laguna 1-0 on a Rebeca Bernal rocket from about 40 yards out. Rayadas lead Group 2 with 20 points while Santos sits in sixth place with 8 points.

Next week:

Saturday, February 23:

UNAM Pumas (5W 0D 3L) vs. Tijuana (2W 2D 4L)

Sunday, February 24:

Atlas (5W 0D 3L) vs. Monarcas Morelia (1W 3D 4L)

Querétaro (1W 1D 6L) vs. Tigres UANL (5W 2D 1L)

Monday, February 25:

Lobos BUAP (2W 2D 4L) vs. Toluca (2W 1D 5L)

Veracruz (1W 2D 5L) vs. Puebla (3W 4D 1L)

Pachuca (6W 1D 1L) vs. Cruz Azul (2W 1D 5L)

Santos Laguna (2W 2D 4L) vs. Necaxa (0W 2D 6L)

León (4W 2D 2L) vs. Guadalajara (4W 2D 2L)

Bye week: Club América (6W 1D 1L), Monterrey (6W 2D 0L)