Liga MX Femenil recap - 2019 Clausura Week 14

Another wild week in the books, and while the Clásico Regio will get the headlines (and rightfully so) there were some other exciting matchups this past week in Liga MX Femenil.

Necaxa 1, Guadalajara 2: Necaxa remains the only winless team in Liga MX Femenil and one of two to lose ten games so far as they fell to Chivas. Guadalajara got the scoring started on a counterattack in the 32nd minute that was capped by a great move by Tania Morales for her first goal of the season. Chivas would double their total in the 89th minute on a header from Ana Huerta off of a free kick from about 40 yards out. Necaxa would get a consolation goal in stoppage time when Liliana Sánchez took advantage of confusion in clearing a corner kick and poked it past goalkeeper Blanca Félix for her second goal of the year. Necaxa has two points on the season, 18 behind fourth place Chivas who are in the final Liguilla spot in Group 2.

Atlas 2, León 2: Atlas started on the wrong foot but recovered to get a draw against León. In the eighth minute, León’s Diana García hit a cross from the left that Atlas’ María Martínez slid to intercept. Unfortunately for Atlas Martínez caught goalkeeper Ana Paz going the wrong way and Paz was powerless to stop Martínez’ redirection. Atlas would draw level in the 31st minute when Alison González hit a fantastic cross from the right that Adriana Iturbide was able to head past goalkeeper Sandra Lozano for her third goal of the season. Yamile Franco would put León back on top in the 53rd minute when she was able to beat the offside trap and shoot past an out-rushing Paz. Franco’s goal was the 1500th goal in Liga MX Femenil history. It looked like La Fiera would get the win until the 85th minute when Joana Robles hit a free kick from distance. Lozano got her hands on the shot but was unable to stop the ball. Atlas slips to third place in Group 2 with 28 points, just one point behind leaders Tigres. León is in fifth place with 18 points, just two behind Chivas for the final Liguilla spot in the group.

Club América 5, Tijuana 1: A decent run of form by Tijuana was ended by a strong Club América team in no uncertain terms. Las Águilas got on the board first in the 24th minute when Betzy Cuevas won a ball deep, passed it out to Lucero Cuevas, who then crossed it in to Daniela Espinosa for a shot past Xolos Femenil goalkeeper Itzel González. Tijuana drew level in the 35th minute when Shiela Pulido got a cross on the left side, caught América’s defense napping, and slotted it to Valeria Barajas back on the right who tapped it in from close range. The second half belonged to América though, and in the 48th minute when halftime sub Alondra González hit a pinpoint cross to Dorian Hernández, who snuck one in between Itzel González and the near post. In the 64th, Dayana Cazares would double the lead on a header back against the grain that Itzel González could not get to. Center back Estefanía Fuentes scored her first goal of the season in the 75th minute when Itzel González couldn’t hang on to a corner kick and Fuentes got to it, hitting a nice half-volley from close range. Espinosa would get her second in stoppage when she hit a shot from about 10 yards out far post. América sits in second place in Group 1 with 29 points, one behind Pachuca. Tijuana is in seventh place, their 12 points putting them behind fourth place Pumas by six points.

Lobos BUAP 2, UNAM Pumas 1: Lobos BUAP handed Pumas their third straight loss and dropped Universidad Nacional to fourth place in Group 1 - and only three points up on the Poblano side. María Ramírez put the hosts up in the 19th minute when Ruvi Ruvalcaba hit a great pass forward to Ramírez, who stopped the ball with her left foot and shot with her right off of the bounce. Pumas drew level in the 33rd minute when goalkeeper Paola Manrique made a diving stop on Daniela Sánchez’ free kick but couldn’t stop Lucia Rodríguez from cleaning up the rebound. Six minutes later though Pumas defender Deneva Cagigas would give the ball away to Itzia Tenahua, who would go past goalkeeper Melany Villeda and shoot past a diving Cagigas for the game winner.

Toluca 0, Puebla 1: A match Puebla dominated from start to finish, yet despite some good chances only managed one goal. In the 77th minute, Damaris Godínez would get the game winner when she was able to fight off Kenya Téllez for the ball and hit a right-footed shot from distance that beat goalkeeper Alondra Ubaldo. Toluca remains in eighth place in Group 1 with 11 points, while Puebla leapfrogged Pumas into third with 19 points.

Pachuca 2, Veracruz 0: Pachuca becomes the first team to 30 points with their win over Veracruz. Diana Fierro broke through in the 66th minute when she got a cross from the left side, took a touch, and fired it past goalkeeper Zitlalli Gazga for her second goal of the season. Ana López got the insurance goal when she got her head onto a corner kick in the 74th minute. Pachuca maintains a one point lead on Club América, who have a game in hand while Veracruz is in ninth place in Group 1 with 11 points.

Monterrey 0, Tigres UANL 1: 24,465 were on hand as Tigres UANL defeated arch-rivals Monterrey. Katty Martínez was the hero for Tigres, with her goal in the 64th minute not only winning the Clásico Regio for Tigres but pushing them into first place in Group 2 over Rayadas. Monterrey’s first loss of the season also sees Rayadas fall behind Atlas into third place in the group.

Santos Laguna 2, Querétaro 1: Santos continued a good run of form by beating Querétaro in the final match of Week 14. Nancy Quiñones got Santos on the board in the 15th minute when she hit a free kick from distance that it looked like Querétaro goalkeeper Natalia Acuña thought would be redirected on a header - but instead continued unabated into the net. In the 29th minute the visitors would equalize when Paola Urbieta played a fantastic ball forward to Andrea Romero, who was able to hit a shot that arced over goalkeeper Wendy Toledo and banked in off of the far goalpost. The match would remain tied until the 77th minute when Acuña would attempt a clearing pass that was intercepted by Isela Ojeda. Ojeda drew Acuña out and hit a shot back across the grain of play that would be the game winner and propel Santos to within two points of fourth place Chivas. Querétaro sits in eighth place in Group 2 with just four points on the season.

Next week:

Friday, March 29:

Querétaro (1W 1D 10L) vs. Monterrey (9W 2D 1L)

Tigres UANL (9W 2D 2L) vs. Necaxa (0W 2D 10L)

Saturday, March 30:

UNAM Pumas (6W 0D 6L) vs. Club América (9W 2D 1L)

Sunday, March 31:

Guadalajara (6W 2D 5L) vs. Monarcas Morelia (2W 4D 6L)

Veracruz (3W 2D 7L) vs. Lobos BUAP (4W 3D 6L)

Puebla (5W 4D 4L) vs. Cruz Azul (3W 3D 6L)

Monday, April 1:

Toluca (3W 2D 7L) vs. Tijuana (3W 3D 7L) - Univision Deportes - 7:55 PM Eastern / 4:55 PM Pacific

León (5W 3D 4L) vs. Santos Laguna (5W 3D 5L)

Bye week: Pachuca (9W 3D 1L), Atlas (9W 1D 3L)