2020 Liga MX Femenil Clausura recap - Week 4

The first four weeks of the Liga MX Femenil 2020 Clausura campaign have been rough for a lot of clubs who have players with the Mexico National Team as they head into Olympic Qualifying. This has however given some players who would normally ride the bench the opportunity to make a name for themselves as well as allow some others who are very good to make their case as to why they aren’t on the El Tri roster. Pachuca’s Viridiana Salazar has consistently made a case for her involvement with the national team, and Atlas’ Fabiola Ibarra this week had one of the best games of the season with a hat-trick that included an olímpico. We’ll see if they get the looks from Christopher Cuéllar in the next cycle.

Necaxa 1, América 1: Another good showing from Necaxa, who are steadily climbing up the table. Necaxa almost got a goal in the first few minutes of the game when Estefanía Fuentes turned the ball over to Dariana Rubio in front of the América goal, forcing Heidi González to make a save at close range. América had a couple of good chances early, one of which was a shot from the top of the box by Alexia Villanueva that was blocked by Lucia Muñoz short of the goal line. A few minutes later Montserrat Hernández was played in on goalkeeper Doris Meza, who made a fantastic kick save on Hernández’ shot. In the second half, Las Centellas got on the board first in the 50th minute when González came off her line to punch out a free kick and collided with her teammates. Dulce Alvarado was able to get to the ball and knock it into the open net for her second goal of the season. América drew level in the 70th when Marlyn Campa hit a ball in from the right side of the box. Meza looked like she had a bead on it but Casandra Cuevas was able to step in front of her and deflect the ball past Meza for the equalizer. Both teams had opportunities to pull ahead late but neither was able to capitalize and each team got a point from the draw.

FC Juárez 0, Pachuca 3: Juárez continues to struggle while Pachuca bounces back from a tough outing against San Luis. Juárez started poorly when Paola López hit a centering pass that Karen Lara knocked into her own net in the third minute. López would get on the scoresheet in the 24th minute when Viridiana Salazar drove in on goal and hit a shot on goalkeeper Stefani Jiménez. The rebound went to López out wide for the tap into the empty net. Ten minutes later Salazar would get one of her own when a great team build up left her alone in the box and she hit a left-footed blast past Jiménez for the third of the game.

Atlas 4, Querétaro 0: Atlas puts on a dominant performance on the back of a hat-trick from Fabiola Ibarra. Ibarra put Atlas up in the 36th minute when she was left alone in the box and got to a header from Alison González. She’d get her second of the afternoon in the 67th minute when she hit a fantastic free kick through traffic to beat goalkeeper Ivette Alvarado. A minute later González would get one of her own when she was played in onside, made a move to get Alvarado to commit to a diving or sliding stop, then went around her for the easy goal off of the far post. But the best of the day and perhaps the year (I know it’s still January) was in the 77th minute when Ibarra got her hat trick on an olímpico. Atlas goalkeeper Ana Gaby Paz had a fantastic game as well, making several saves for her third shutout in four games.

Puebla 0, Tigres UANL 2: Tigres is another club who improved greatly over the previous week, rebounding from a disappointing draw with Toluca at El Volcán to beat Puebla at Estadio Cuauhtémoc 2-0. Katty Martínez converted a penalty in the first minute and Nayeli Rangel got her head onto a free kick from Natalia Gómez Junco in the 79th, book-ending a stellar performance in goal from Ofelia Solís, who got her second shutout in as many appearances this season.

Toluca 1, Cruz Azul 2: Toluca squandered a standout performance by goalkeeper Alondra Ubaldo, only scoring once despite a number of chances as they fell 2-1 to Cruz Azul. Ubaldo made a few huge saves throughout the match but couldn’t stop them all. Rebeca Villuendas hit a blistering shot from the top of the box in the 24th that Ubaldo couldn’t get to, and Susana Romero hit a shot up and over Ubaldo in the 81st minute that proved to be the game winner. Mariel Román hit a marvelous free kick from just outside of the area in stoppage time but it wasn’t enough to help the home side.

León 0, Monarcas Morelia 0: Both teams left the Nou Camp with a point after playing to a scoreless draw. Maricruz González got her first shutout of the season and the first against her old club while Diana García got her second in three starts for Monarcas.

Monterrey 3, Tijuana 1: No team has been hit harder with players out on National Team duty than Tijuana, as they suffered their third defeat of the season at the hands of the defending champions. Daniela Solís drew first blood for Rayadas in the 13th minute when she got to a great cross from Dinora Garza and knocked it into the empty net. Solís returned the favor in the 41st minute when she hit a great cut-back pass to an oncoming Andrea Hernández in the box. Hernández hit it true and beat a diving attempt by Xolos Femenil goalkeeper Guadalupe Olvera to make it 2-0. Tijuana drew one back in the 70th when center back Alondra Camargo got her head to a corner kick and knocked it in past Claudia Lozoya. But just five minutes later Desirée Monsiváis squashed any hopes of a comeback when she was able to head in a corner kick. The play of the night may however have belonged to Jazmin Aguas, with a back-legged pass past her defender that takes several views to fully process.

Club Atlético de San Luis 0, Guadalajara 2: In front of over 17,000 fans, Chivas continued to further its case as a title contender as they beat San Luis 2-0. Yashira Barrientos finally broke the scoreless tie in the 49th when she hit a shot from inside the box. Then in stoppage time María Velázquez was left unmarked and got to a rebound, hitting a shot past Cintia Monreal for the insurance goal. Blanca Félix got her second road shutout of the season as Chivas sit in third place behind Atlas and América.

Next week, all teams have off for the International Break. Play will resume the following week.

Friday, February 6:

Atlas (4W 0D 0L) vs. Monarcas Morelia (1W 1D 2L)

Saturday, February 7:

Puebla (2W 1D 1L) vs. Santos Laguna (0W 1D 3L)

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

Sunday, February 8:

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

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

León (0W 1D 3L) vs. Monterrey (2W 1D 0L)

Monday, February 9:

UNAM Pumas (2W 1D 1L) vs. Club Atlético de San Luis (2W 0D 2L)

Querétaro (0W 1D 3L) vs. América (3W 1D 0L)

FC Juárez (1W 1D 2L) vs. Necaxa (1W 2D 1L)