Liga MX Femenil recap - Week 11

The next to last midweek Jornada saw the teams in the Liguilla picture largely solidify their positions while those outside mostly faltered. Congratulations on Juárez’ first ever win in Liga MX Femenil play are also due.

Tijuana 4, Morelia 1: A shock result as the two teams were even coming into this match. Monarcas was down to ten players in the seventh minute when María Sandoval was sent off, apparently for something she said to referee Miguel González. In the 11th minute, Isabel Fonseca hit a free kick that took a deflection that beat goalkeeper Diana García. Renae Cuéllar was on the receiving end of a great through ball from Fonseca in the 23rd minute that she shot past García. 30 seconds into the second half, a poor clearance by Morelia went straight to Casandra Cuevas, who realized García was way off of her line and hit a shot from distance that arced into the back of the net. Miroslava Maprigat got her second goal of the season when Cuéllar drove to the end line and hit a pass back to Maprigat, who was wide open and camped out in front of the goal. Monarcas would pull one back in the 69th minute when Sahiry Cruz got to a clearance attempt and hit a shot that went over a jumping goalkeeper Itzel González, but it was far too little, far too late.

Atlas 3, Toluca 0: Atlas continues to keep pace with Pachuca and Monterrey, downing Toluca 3-0. In the 16th minute Fabiola Ibarra made a jumping kick to keep a cross from going over the end line, and the ball landed at the feet of Adriana Iturbide. Iturbide somehow put a shot past goalkeeper Alondra Tinajero despite having multiple defenders draped all over her. Iturbide added another in the 41st minute when she made a run down the middle of the pitch and hit a shot into the top corner of the net. María Pérez added the third and final goal in the 87th minute when she got her head onto a corner kick in traffic and redirected the ball into the back of the net.

Necaxa 2, Puebla 3: An improved performance from Necaxa but it still wasn’t enough as Puebla defeated them 3-2. Necaxa got on the board first when Brianda Escobedo hit a free kick from just outside of the area that may have taken a deflection off of the wall before looping into the back of the net. Ivonne Najar would tie it for Puebla in the 49th minute when she was played through on a great ball forward and beat goalkeeper Balbina Treviño with a shot. Necaxa was awareded a penalty in the 72nd minute but Paulina Castro’s attempt was grabbed out of the air by Brissa Rangel. In the 76th minute though Rangel was unable to stop a shot by Brenda Pedroza and Necaxa was up once more. In the 85th minute, Samantha Calvillo committed a foul just outside of the box, and on the resulting free kick Maria López was able to redirect the kick with a header in to draw both sides level. Deep in stoppage time, Puebla won another free kick just outside of the box, and this time the ball would fall to the foot of Andrea Ortega who was able to somehow get a shot off past Treviño and in to claim all three points for the visitors.

Veracruz 0, Santos Laguna 1: Santos is showing signs of steady improvement, winning their last two games in a row and sitting five points out with a game in hand on eighth place Morelia. The hero of the match for Las Guerreras was Ashly Martínez, who came on in the 81st minute. She immediately picked up a yellow card, and then scored the game winning goal in the 83rd when she was sprung on a great ball over the top. Veracruz goalkeeper María Ayala had come way too far off of her line, and Martínez was able to go around her and shoot into the wide open net.

América 0, León 0: América and León both had plenty of opportunities in this one but simply couldn’t find a way to score. With the draw, América is still outside of the Liguilla although they do have a game in hand on Monarcas. They also haven’t won in their last three outings and have been outscored by a combined score of 8-3. León on the other hand are unbeaten in their last two however are still six points out of the Liguilla picture.

Pachuca 3, Tigres UANL 2: A battle atop the standings sees one-loss Pachuca hand Tigres their first loss of the season. It could have been a lot worse for Tigres considering Selene Cortés was sent off in the 33rd minute for picking up her second yellow card. Down a player, it wasn’t long before Pachuca took advantage. Viridiana Salazar picked up her ninth goal of the season in the 39th minute when Lizbeth Ángeles played her through with a brilliant ball. Goalkeeper Ofelia Solís had come too far off of her line, and Viri chipped the ball into the back of the net. Tigres would answer in the 43rd minute when Lydia Rangel got her head onto a corner kick. The ball was redirected and Katty Martínez headed the rebound in to level the score. After the half Tigres would take the lead when Belén Cruz was able to take advantage of a poorly defended free kick and hit a shot past goalkeeper Alejandría Godínez. Mónica Ocampo would then take matters into her own hands. In the 83rd minute she hit a shot from the left side that Solís didn’t get all of and rolled into the back of the net for the equalizer. Just four minutes later she did it again, getting a pass and tapping the game winner home.

Atlético San Luis 1, Monterrey 5: A blowout win for Rayadas, enabling them to stay one point ahead of Pachuca at the top of the standings. Desirée Monsiváis converted a penalty in the second minute, but San Luis responded in the 16th when Daniela Carrandi hit a free kick from distance that simply slipped through the fingers of goalkeeper Claudia Lozoya. Rebeca Bernal would convert a penalty in the 20th minute to put Rayadas up for good. After the half, Dinora Garza hit a laser from distance in the 60th, Monsiváis got her league leading 13th goal in the 89th minute with a header from close range, and Jazmin Aguas got her second of the season in stoppage to complete the rout.

Juárez 1, Pumas UNAM 0: Juárez gets their first win in club history at the expense of floundering Pumas. Jessica Vázquez was the game winner for the hosts, hitting a shot form distance in the fourth minute. Pumas had opportunities to equalize, however they were unable to finish, being unlucky to have two shots hit off of the woodwork as well as wasteful with some poor shots taken.

Guadalajara 2, Querétaro 1: Chivas remains in the Liguilla picture with a win over Querétaro, who is now winless in three. Yashira Barrientos put Chivas on the board in the 30th minute when her header off of a corner kick went past a diving Natalia Acuña. Gallos Femenil equalized ten minutes later when Janelly Farías mis-hit a clearance attempt and Daniela Vázquez was able to corral the ball and hit it past Ana Ruvalcaba. Farías would make up for her mistake however when she put her head on a corner kick and the ball went over Acuña’s outstretched arms but underneath of the bar in the 63rd minute.

Bye week: Cruz Azul

Next week:

Sunday, September 22:

Cruz Azul (4W 1D 5L) vs. Juárez (1W 3D 7L)

Puebla (4W 1D 6L) vs. Veracruz (2W 4D 4L)

Querétaro (4W 2D 4L) vs. América (4W 3D 3L)

Monday, September 23:

UNAM Pumas (2W 4D 4L) vs. Atlético San Luis (2W 2D 7L)

Morelia (5W 1D 5L) vs. Atlas (5W 4D 2L)

Toluca (5W 3D 3L) vs. Guadalajara (6W 1D 3L)

León (2W 4D 4L) vs. Santos Laguna (3W 2D 5L)

Tigres UANL (5W 4D 1L) vs. Tijuana (5W 3D 2L)

Monterrey (9W 0D 2L) vs. Necaxa (0W 2D 8L)

Bye week: Pachuca (8W 2D 1L)