Liga MX Femenil recap: 2020 Apertura, Week 11

Midweek madness? Not exactly, as most of the results were what was expected. It was still an entertaining slate of games, even if the rich got richer and the bottom of the table fell further behind.

Mazatlán FC 3, FC Juárez 2: Improbably, Mazatlán is hanging around in the Liguilla hunt with a 3-2 win over Juárez. Juárez got off on the wrong foot when Melissa Sosa had the misfortune of committing an autogol in the third minute, knocking a cross in past goalkeeper Alondra Ubaldo. Melisa Ramos doubled the hosts’ lead in the 16th minute when Juárez failed to clear a ball out of the box. Juárez would pull one back in the 42nd when it was Mazatlán who failed to clear a ball in the box well and Angelica González hit a world-class volley past Mariana Zárraga. Then at the start of the second half, Atzimba Casas was played forward, drew Zárraga off of her line, and chipped her to draw the sides level. But Mazatlán didn’t give up and in the 62nd minute Magaly Cortés hit a great cross to Valeria Lagunes, who headed it in to give Mazatlán their fourth win of the season.

América 0, Puebla F.C. 0: Definitely not the result América needed to keep pace with the Monterrey clubs, as they draw Puebla 0-0 at home. Ximena Ríos was shown a straight red card in the 24th for a hard foul on Ivonne Najar. Both goalkeepers were recipients of fortunate bounces off of the crossbar, as Natalia Acuña picked up her first start and extended her shutout streak to 106 straight minutes on the year and Brissa Rangel got her fifth clean sheet in ten games.

León 0, Guadalajara 2: Due to the ongoing debacle with Estadio Nou Camp, León played a match at their Casa Club for just the second time in club history. Like the last match against Santos Laguna back in the 2018 Clausura León lost, this time 2-0. Carolina Jaramillo put Chivas up in the 54th when she converted a penalty, then it was Norma Palafox in the 74th getting to a corner kick and knocking it in.

Necaxa 0, Tigres UANL 1: Perhaps a closer game than Tigres would have wanted, but for Necaxa they may have found a moral win in a loss. The game’s lone goal came in the 72nd minute when Stephany Mayor hit Necaxa on a breakaway and fired past Doris Meza for her seventh goal of the season. Alejandra Gutiérrez picked up her second win in as many appearances this season and Akemi Yokoyama got her first start since February 2019 for Tigres, who remain the league’s only unbeaten team.

Santos Laguna 0, Pachuca 1: A frustrating result for Santos, as they lose to Pachuca 1-0 in Torreón. Viridiana Salazar scored the game’s lone goal in the 16th minute, ending Wendy Toledo’s shutout streak at 286 minutes. Pao Manrique picked up her first win and first shutout of the season for Pachuca.

Atlas 2, Club Atlético de San Luis 1: Alison González was the star of the show, picking up two goals as Atlas downed San Luis 2-1. Atleti was up for most of the match as Isabel Kasis willed a goal out of thin air in the 16th as she drove down the right flank, fought off a defender, and shot past Ana Gaby Paz. But the second half belonged to “Aligol”. Her first goal came in the 64th minute when she got her head onto a Janeth Hernández cross in from the left side, clashing heads with Kenya García. Then in the 76th she got onto a great cross from the right side, hitting a sliding, left-footed shot past past Cintia Monreal for the game winner.

Monterrey 2, Club Tijuana 1: Monterrey keeps their momentum going, downing Xolos Femenil 2-1 at El Barrial. Desirée Monsivás scored first for Rayadas, nailing a free kick from distance in the 21st minute. Diana Evangelista doubled the lead in the 49th when she got to a great ball forward, beat the defender, and slipped one past Itzel González. Tijuana made an attempt at a comeback, finally beating Claudia Lozoya in the 80th minute when Renae Cuellar made a good run and hit a perfect shot to score Tijuana’s lone goal.

UNAM Pumas 2, Cruz Azul 0: Edna Santamaría got a brace as Pumas beat Cruz Azul 2-0. Santamaría’s first came in the 14th minute when she hit a great header off of an even better cross in from Diana Gómez. She’d get her second in the 51st when she hit a strong right footed shot that Vero Jiménez got her hands to but couldn’t stop. Cruz Azul had a couple of opportunities, most notably hitting the post in the 28th minute, but Melany Villeda kept her second consecutive and fifth overall clean sheet of the season.

Gallos Blancos de Querétaro 1, Toluca 0: Querétaro continues to hold on to the final Liguilla spot as they down Toluca 1-0. Jazmín Enrigue picked up the game’s lone goal, getting some space and putting her head to a corner kick in the 32nd minute. Ruth Arana picked up her fifth shutout of the season, running her scoreless streak up to 271 minutes and counting.

Next week:

Saturday, October 17:

14. Puebla F.C. (2-3-6) vs. 17. Necaxa (2-0-9)

Sunday, October 18:

1. Tigres UANL (10-1-0) vs. 16. León (2-3-6)

4. Atlas (8-2-1) vs. 12. 12. FC Juárez (3-1-7)

13. Cruz Azui (2-3-6) vs. 10. Toluca (3-1-7) - 4:55 PM ET / 1:55 PM PT (TUDN)

15. Club Atlético de San Luis (3-0-8) vs. 3. Guadalajara (9-1-1)

Monday, October 19:

8. Gallos Blancos de Querétaro (5-2-4) vs. 11. Santos Laguna (4-5-7)

5. América (7-3-1) vs. 2. Monterrey (10-0-1) - 4:55 PM ET / 1:55 PM PT (TUDN, TUDN USA Facebook)

7. Pachuca (6-1-4) vs. 9. Mazatlán FC (4-1-6)

18. Club Tijuana (0-2-9) vs. 6. UNAM Pumas (6-2-3)

Number indicates table position. Record is in W-D-L format.