Liga MX Femenil recap - 2019 Apertura Week 5

Five weeks into the season we are starting to see teams fall into place a bit. Pachuca, Monterrey, Cruz Azul, and Toluca all seem to be asserting themselves as the cream of the crop, while Juárez and Necaxa are struggling to get things figured out. While there is still a lot of soccer left to play, the next couple of weeks will help define which teams are contenders and which should focus on next season.

Cruz Azul 0, Toluca 1: A hard fought, physical game that saw Toluca gut out a win. Both team had chances throughout the game, and both struggled to finish them. Toluca’s Mariel Román appeared to have a goal in the 58th minute but it was ruled offside. In the 70th minute, Cruz Azul goalkeeper Gabrielle Herrera made a fantastic diving stop on a shot from the top of the box from Román to keep the sides scoreless. In the 83rd minute, Yamanic Martinez broke the deadlock when Herrera bobbled a free kick and the ball ended up at Martinez’ feet. She hit a hard shot into the top of the net that silenced the decent crowd at Estadio 10 de Diciembre in Hidalgo. Daniela Monroy had a great chance as the game headed into stoppage time, but her shot went directly to goalkeeper Alondra Tinajero.

Atlas 1, Club América 1: Two clubs looking for a win to get back in the thick of things wound up with a draw. Atlas had a golden opportunity in the 42nd minute when a penalty was awarded, but the usually sure-footed Alison González sent her shot straight at goalkeeper Jaidy Gutiérrez. Atlas would break through in the 54th minute when Karen García got to an errant clearance attempt and hit a blast from distance. The lead was brief however as just four minutes later Montserrat Hernández hit a free kick and goalkeeper Ana Gaby Paz played the dummy run from Daniela Espinosa instead, letting Hernández’ shot sneak in at the far post. Atlas’ Alejandra Franco received a red card for a bad challenge just outside of the box in the 78th minute, and América’s Marcela Valera also saw a red in stoppage time for a body check most hockey players would be proud of.

Puebla 3, Juárez 1: Puebla desperately needed a win, and they got one in convincing fashion against Juárez. Maria López put the home side on the board first when she converted a penalty in the 38th minute. Immediately after the half however, Juárez would tie the game when Silvia Elicerio sprinted down the pitch and hit a rocket of a shot that goalkeeper Brissa Rangel couldn’t stop. Ten minutes later though Puebla would take the lead for good. In the 55th, Ivonne Najar swung a pass to Miriam Castro, who then found a wide open Mirelle Arciniega. Arciniega calmly tapped the ball into the back of the net for Puebla’s second goal of the evening. Castro would get one of her own in the 74th minute when she chipped goalkeeper Silvia Machuca from about 30 yards out.

Morelia 3, Tigres UANL 3: A wild one in Morelia as Monarcas draws Tigres in a surprise result. Katty Martínez got Tigres on the board first in the seventh minute when goalkeeper Diana García gave up two rebounds to Martínez, who was able to poke it home on her second attempt. Morelia would then reel off three straight goals, starting with Karla Jiménez knocking in a rebound off of goalkeeper Vania Villalobos in the 18th minute. Dalia Molina would give Monarcas the lead in the 24th minute when she made a fantastic run with the ball down the right side of the pitch, beat her defender, and then put one past Villalobos. Jiménez would get her second of the afternoon in the 40th when she got on the end of a cross in the box while unmarked. And while a 3-1 lead at the half would be enough against most teams, Tigres is not most teams. Greta Espinoza pulled one back in the 65th when she got her head onto a corner kick and knocked it past García. Katty Martínez converted a penalty in the 86th minute to complete the comeback and the eams ended with a hard-fought draw.

UNAM Pumas 1, Pachuca 2: Pumas continues to struggle, being outplayed at home by Pachuca. Viridiana Salazar put Pachuca up in the 29th when she hit a shot from about 20 yards out that caught goalkeeper Melany Villeda off of her line. Mónica Ocampo doubled the lead in the 34th minute when she made Dirce Delgado miss on a tackle attempt, drove left, and shot past Villeda. Pumas would get one back in the 58th when Jaquelín García converted a penalty kick, but the match was mostly dominated by Pachuca.

León 2, Guadalajara 1: León continues to improve, coming from behind to down Chivas 2-1. Rubi Soto scored her second goal of the season in the 35th minute for the visitors when she hit a 35 yard golazo into the top corner of the net past a diving Sandra Lozano. Sanjuana Muñoz would pull one back for the home side just before the half when Chivas defender Melissa Sosa committed a catastrophic turnover in her own 18 yard box to Yamile Franco, who drew out goalkeeper Blanca Félix before calmly finding a wide open Muñoz. Muñoz calmly struck the ball into the back of the net to draw the teams level. Muñoz would get La Fiera their first win of the season in the 75th when she was played in alone with Félix, and hit a shot from the top of the box. There was a bit of a scary moment at the end of the match when León goalkeeper Lozano was taken off of the field in a neck brace, however she was reported back in training on Wednesday by the club.

Atlético San Luis 2, Veracruz 1: Atleti gets their first ever win over a decent Veracruz side. San Luis would take the lead in the 24th minute when Veracruz couldn’t clear a ball out of the box and Ivonne Santillán pounced on it, slamming it home past goalkeeper María Ayala. Veracruz would equalize in the 59th when Liliana Hernández forced an error by goalkeeper Cintia Monreal and Casandra Montero was able to get to the ball and score easily into an open net. In the 84th, Monique Burgess would be shown her second yellow card for a hard tackle from behind just outside of the box. A penalty was awarded for a separate incident in the 89th minute and then as the clock struck 90, Daniela Carrandi would step up and convert a penalty to give the home side their first victory in club history.

Monterrey 6, Querétaro 1: Coming into this match Querétaro was undefeated with a record of 3W 1D 0L, but they were absolutely demolished by Monterrey by a score of 6-1. Rebeca Bernal’s header in the fifth minute put Rayadas on the board, and it was followed by Dinora Garza’s free kick in the 11th and Aylin Aviléz’ stunner from the top of the box in the 17th. Garza would get her second in the 31st minute off of a great give-and-go with Desireé Monsiváis, and then Monsiváis would get one of her own just before the half when Jazmin Aguas was played onside and wide open and hit a cross to the equally wide open Monsiváis directly in front of goal. Querétaro would pull one back in the 76th when Melissa Arredondo converted a penalty to make it 5-1, but it was far too little, too late. Samantha Simental would tack on one more in stoppage for Rayadas when Diana Evangelista hit a cross to Aguas, whose scuffed shot went directly to Simental. Simental took a touch and kicked the final goal of the evening in to complete the rout.

Tijuana 2, Necaxa 0: A sorely needed win for Xolos Femenil as they give Necaxa a 2-0 defeat in Tijuana. Renae Cuellar put Tijuana on the board in the 28th minute when she got on the end of a beautiful flick-on from Sheila Pulido and put it past Balbina Treviño. Leyla Zapata would add the insurance goal in the 80th minute when she hit a tight-angle shot that managed to evade Treviño. Necaxa has zero points through four games this season.

Bye week: Santos Laguna

Next week:

Friday, August 16:

Necaxa (0W 0D 4L) vs. UNAM Pumas (1W 1D 3L)

Juárez (0W 2D 3L) vs. Atlas (1W 2D 2L)

Saturday, August 17:

Veracruz (1W 2D 2L) vs. León (1W 2D 2L)

Monday, August 19:

Club América (1W 2D 1L) vs. Morelia (1W 1D 3L)

Guadalajara (3W 0D 2L) vs. Tijuana (1W 2D 1L)

Pachuca (5W 0D 0L) vs. Toluca (3W 1D 1L)

Tigres UANL (1W 3D 2L) vs. Puebla (2W 0D 3L)

Atlético San Luis (1W 2D 2L) vs. Cruz Azul (4W 0D 1L)

Santos Laguna (1W 1D 2L) vs. Monterrey (4W 0D 1L)

Bye week: Querétaro (3W 1D 1L)

(Editor’s note: the Chivas defender that gave up the first goal to León was misidentified as Diana Rodríguez.)