Liga MX Femenil recap - 2019 Apertura Week 3

If you like a little chaos thrown into the mundane, this was your week to watch Liga MX Femenil. América and Atlas lost to what conventional wisdom stated were weaker teams, Santos drew Tigres, and Monterrey put a beating on a decent Toluca team.

Necaxa 0, Guadalajara 3: Chivas puts together a solid performance to best Necaxa in Aguascalientes. Joseline Montoya fought off three defenders to get the first goal in the 39th minute for Guadalajara. In the 56th minute, Brenda Viramontes doubled the lead in the 56th minute when she hit a tough angle shot that caught goalkeeper Doris Meza wrong-footed. Three minutes later, Rubí Soto fought off a Necaxa defender to bring the ball down and hit a shot past Meza for the third goal.

UNAM Pumas 1, Querétaro 2: One of the biggest surprises of the young season is how well Querétaro has done, and they continued that positive trend by defeating Pumas 2-1. Zoe Tapia put the visitors on the board deep into stoppage time before the end of the first half with a fantastic arcing shot from 20 yards out that sailed over the outstretched arms of Melany Villeda. In the 55th minute, Elisa Espino hit a shot from the right side of the box off of a set piece that clanged in off of the far post to extend the lead. The goal of the game however came from Jaquelín García in the 74th minute when she corralled the bouncing rebound off of a corner kick, kneed it into the air, and hit a perfectly executed chilena (bicycle kick) in what will probably be nominated for the Puskás Award.

Puebla 0, Pachuca 2: Pachuca continues to play like they have something to prove, beating an improved Puebla side 2-0. The match was scoreless until the 64th minute when Karla Nieto hit a stunner of a free kick from about 20 yards out. Mónica Ocampo would add the insurance goal in the 71st minute when she hit a free kick from just outside of the box that she made look easy.

Monterrey 4, Toluca 0: Monterrey are also playing great soccer right now, looking to exorcise the demons of losing the final to their archrivals Tigres. Rayadas dominated a decent Toluca side 4-0, and it honestly could have been more. Desirée Monsiváis got the first goal for Rayadas in the 24th minute when she hit a shot that looked to catch goalkeeper Dayan Téllez off balance. Diana Evangelista would get the second goal in the 56th minute when she was able to fight her way through the Toluca defense to hit a shot that beat Téllez. Andrea Hernández got her first goal of the season against her former team when she hit a free kick from distance that the defense and goalkeeper completely mis-played. Annia Mejia rounded out the scoring when she headed in a cross from Evangelista in the 80th minute.

Morelia 2, Juárez 1: A wild start in the pouring rain as Monarcas beats Juárez 2-1 in Morelia. La Monarquia got off to a poor start when on the opening kickoff they turned it over to Flor Rodríguez, who hit a lob that beat goalkeeper Montserrat González ten seconds into the match. The game would be stopped for approximately five minutes due to the rain, and when it resumed Karlita Jiménez would equalize for the hosts when she converted a two-on-one chance against goalkeeper Silvia Machuca. Atzimba Flores would score the game winner for Monarcas in the 39th minute when she was able to get to a loose ball in the box and hammer it home.

Veracruz 2, Atlas 0: It was the Liliana Hernández show in Veracruz as the 23 year old scored two goals to lead Tiburonas to a shock 2-0 win over Atlas. Hernández got Veracruz on the board in the sixth minute when Valeria Lagunes found her wide open near the penalty spot and Hernández was able to lob one over goalkeeper Ana Gaby Paz. In the 65th Hernández was able to duplicate her sixth minute effort, lobbing one over Paz from near the penalty spot.

León 0, Cruz Azul 2: Much like Querétaro, Cruz Azul is showing that they’re much improved over last season, downing León 2-0 on the road. The teams were deadlocked at zero until the 60th minute when Guillermina Martínez hit a cross from the left side of the pitch that Wendy Jiménez headed past Maricruz González. Three minutes later Brenda León would get the ball about 25 yards out, turn, and fire a rocket that González could only wave at as it zipped past.

Atlético San Luis 0, América 0: A nil-nil draw in front of a great crowd in San Luis Potosí. This game should be encouraging if you’re an Atleti fan and extremely worrying if you’re an América fan, as Atleti was outscored 8-2 in their first two games while América is just one year removed from hoisting the Liga MX Femenil cup.

Santos Laguna 2, Tigres UANL 2: Santos is another team that is trending in the right direction, holding the defending champs to a 2-2 draw at Estadio Corona TSM. It was a bad start for Santos though, as just 13 seconds into the game Belén Cruz hit an open Natalia Gómez Junco, who took a touch and fired past goalkeeper Wendy Toledo to give Tigres the lead. Both teams would have good chances and both would hit the woodwork before Cinthya Peraza would get onto the end of a corner kick and head it in off of goalkeeper Ofelia Solís in the 41st minute. Tigres would regain the lead though just before the halftime whistle when a defensive miscue let María Elizondo get a touch onto a ball to poke it over Toledo. But credit to Santos for battling back, as Peraza would play a fantastic give-and-go with Isela Ojeda that resulted in Peraza hitting a right-footed shot past Solís. Peraza almost had a hat-trick when her free kick in stoppage time smacked off of the crossbar.

Bye week: Tijuana

Next week:

Friday, August 2:

Querétaro (2W 1D 0L) vs. Santos Laguna (1W 1D 1L)

Cruz Azul (3W 0D 0L) vs. Morelia (1W 0D 2L)

Juárez (0W 1D 2L) vs. Atlético San Luis (0W 1D 2L)

Sunday, August 4:

Guadalajara (2W 0D 1L) vs. Puebla (1W 0D 2L)

Monday, August 5:

Toluca (2W 0D 1L) vs. León (0W 1D 2L)

América (0W 1D 1L) vs. Veracruz (1W 2D 0L)

Pachuca (3W 0D 0L) vs. Monterrey (3W 0D 0L)

Tigres UANL (1W 1D 0L) vs. UNAM Pumas (1W 0D 2L)

Tijuana (0W 1D 1L) vs. Atlas (1W 0D 2L)

Bye week: Necaxa (0W 0D 3L)