Liga MX Femenil recap - 2019 Clausura Week 15

Three weeks left in the Liga MX Femenil 2019 Clausura, and while teams like Monterrey, Tigres, América, and Pachuca are in, most of the rest of the teams can still make the Liguilla.

In unrelated news, SB Nation has started a site devoted solely to women’s soccer. We’ll look to help them get the word out about Liga MX Femenil and Mexican soccer in general.

Querétaro 1, Monterrey 3: Monterrey resumed their winning ways, downing Querétaro 3-1. Mónica Monsiváis got on the end of a great pass from Dinora Garza, drew out goalkeeper Diana Romero, and calmly put the ball into the back of the net to give Rayadas the lead in the 17th minute. Alejandra Tapia would equalize for Querétaro in the 58th when she was played through by Elisa Espino, hitting a shot that Claudia Lozoya could only get her hands onto. Garza would get the go-ahead goal a minute later when on the kickoff she hit a shot from the center circle that Romero allowed to slip through her hands. Aylin Avliéz added an insurance goal in the 78th minute when Querétaro defender Melissa Aredondo played a pass into the box for center back Paola Urbieta that Aviléz intercepted and shot past Romero for her third goal of the season. Querétaro is in eighth place in Group 2 with four points while Monterrey is in first with 32.

Tigres UANL 0, Necaxa 0: A match that will be remembered more for what happened off of the pitch than on it, Tigres and Necaxa played to a 0-0 draw. Prior to the match, Necaxa’s bus broke down en route to the match, and Tigres sent a truck to help the stranded club and started the match late to accommodate Centellas. The draw sees Tigres slip into second place with 30 points, two behind Monterrey. Necaxa remains the lone winless team in the league, in ninth place in Group 2 with three points.

UNAM Pumas 1, Club América 2: Club América got their fourth straight win, downing Pumas 2-1 in the Clásico Capitalino. Esmeralda Verdugo got the visitors on the board in the 35th minute when she capitalized on a defensive breakdown by Pumas and hit a wide-open shot past goalkeeper Melany Villeda. Pumas would draw level in the 69th minute when she hit a bomb from just outside of the eighteen yard box. Less than a minute later however, Lucero Cuevas would hit a golazo of her own from about 20 yards out to secure the win for Las Águilas. América retains the top spot of Group 1 with 32 points while Pumas falls out of the Liguilla, sinking to fifth place with 18 points and behind Lobos BUAP on goal differential.

Guadalajara 1, Monarcas Morelia 2: A bad day at the office for Chivas, losing to Monarcas 2-1 and relinquishing the final Liguilla spot to León. Chivas would get on the board first when Ana Huerta got on the end of a cross into the box, beating goalkeeper Diana García in the 48th minute. Monarcas would get even in the 62nd minute when Alejandra Calderón would finish a good team build up, shooting past Blanca Félix from close range. Disaster struck for the hosts in the waning minutes of the game when after another good build up by Monarcas defender Angelica Torres would mis-hit a clearance attempt and put the ball into the undefended net. Chivas’ 20 points are just one point out of the Liguilla spot while Monarcas’ 13 points see them in seventh place in Group 2.

Veracruz 0, Lobos BUAP 2: A fantastic win for Lobos BUAP, beating a Veracruz team who has lost three of their last four. Gloria Narváez put Lobos up in the eighth minute when she hit a shot from the top of the box that caught goalkeeper Zitlalli Gazga flat-footed for her fourth goal of the season. Abigail De Jesús would tack on a second goal in the 53rd when she hit a perfectly executed free kick from about 25 yards out. Paola Manrique’s fourth shutout of the season sees Lobos claim fourth place in Group 1 with 18 points while Veracruz’ 11 points see them in ninth place, their Liguilla hopes growing ever dimmer.

Puebla 3, Cruz Azul 1: A dominant second half by Puebla sees them down Cruz Azul 3-1. In the 48th minute. Puebla’s ‘s Mariela Jiménez hit a cross that deflected off of defender Daniela Monroy and past goalkeeper Mariana Zárraga to give the hosts the lead. A minute later, Damaris Godínez hit a shot from just past the center line that caught Zárraga off of her line. Cruz Azul would grab one back in the 58th minute when Sharon Barba would take advantage of a collision between forward Norma Gaitan and Puebla goalkeeper Karla Morales to shoot into a wide open net. Mariela Jiménez would round out the scoring in the 69th minute when she beat a defender to get on the end of a pass and hit a right footed shot past Zárraga. Puebla stays in third place with 22 points, 10 behind América and four up on fourth place Lobos BUAP, while Cruz Azul sit in seventh place with 12 points.

Toluca 1, Tijuana 0: Andrea Hernández would get an early goal for Toluca, poking the ball past goalkeeper Itzel González in the seventh minute. Both teams would have opportunities to score throughout the remainder of the match, but neither side was able to put the ball into the net. Toluca jumped from eighth to sixth in Group 1 with 14 points, while Xolos Femenil fell to eighth with 12 points.

León 1, Santos Laguna 0: Ana Gutiérrez’ unfortunate deflection into her own net in the 71st minute saw León best Santos 1-0. León climbed over Chivas into fourth place in Group 2 with 21 points while Santos’ 18 points see them in sixth place - but very much alive in the Liguilla hunt.

Next week:

Friday, April 5:

Cruz Azul (3W 3D 7L) vs. Tijuana (3W 3D 8L)

Necaxa (0W 3D 10L) vs. Querétaro (1W 1D 11L)

Saturday, April 6:

Club América (10W 2D 1L) vs. Veracruz (3W 2D 8L) - Univision Deportes - 1:55 PM Eastern / 10:55 AM Pacific

Monday, April 8:

Lobos BUAP (5W 3D 6L) vs. Pachuca (9W 3D 1L)

Monarcas Morelia (3W 4D 6L) vs. Tigres UANL (9W 3D 2L)

Toluca (4W 2D 7L) vs. UNAM Pumas (6W 0D 7L) - Univision Deportes - 6:55 PM Eastern / 3:55 PM Pacific

Monterrey (10W 2D 1L) vs. León (6W 3D 4L)

Santos Laguna (5W 3D 6L) vs. Atlas (9W 1D 3L)

Bye week: Puebla (6W 4D 4L), Guadalajada (6W 2D 6L)