Match recap: Rayadas de Monterrey 1, Tigres UANL 0

Rayadas and Tigres have faced one another more often than any other set of teams in the Liguilla, and this familiarity was on full display in the first match. Both sides were very evenly matched and knew what to expect from one another, however it was a mistake from the normally reliable Alejandría “Alex” Godínez that allowed Tigres to get an away goal and take the lead back to San Nicolás de la Garza for the second leg.

Both teams came out as expected, with Tigres taking to possession and trying to impose their game plan onto Monterrey. It looked like it worked in the seventh minute when Stefany Mayor looked to have scored but the play was whistled dead since she had handled the ball in an attempt to control it before shooting. Rayadas were content to sit back and wait for an opportunity to launch a counterattack. They’d get their first chance in the 12th minute when Christina Burkenroad made a run down the right and hit a cross in toward Desirée Monsivás, but she was well defended and the ball was headed out to safety. Burkenroad got a shot in the 16th minute but was well defended and her shot went well wide. Two minutes later was a bit of controversy when off of a set-piece Stefany Mayor looked to have been taken down in the box, but to the dismay of the Tigres players no penalty was awarded. Jackie Ovalle had a good look at goal in the 21st but her header went wide of the goal.

The game slowed down a bit around the half-hour mark, with the only remarkable plays being a couple of long range attempts from Tigres’ Cristina Ferral and Natalia Gómez Junco, which were well saved by Alex Godínez. At the other end, Diana Evangelista had a shot on a counterattack that missed wide. Neither team really had a threatening chance however, and the teams went to the locker room even.

The second half picked up largely where the first left off. The first good chance came in the 48th minute when Mayor hit a shot from long distance that Godínez bobbled but was able to stop nonetheless. In the 54th minute Ovalle was tackled in the box and despite her protests, referee Francia González ruled that it was clean. A minute later, Katty “Killer” Martínez put her head onto a free kick and knocked it past Godínez, but the AR had her flag raised and the goal was nullified. At the other end it was Monsiváis who was the recipient of a hard foul in the box but again no penalty was awarded. Monsiváis then had a shot in the 56th minute that just whistled over the bar.

Then in the 60th minute Valeria Valdez clipped the heels of Stefany Mayor as she made a run toward goal. Valdez was shown a yellow card, and on the ensuing free kick Godínez bobbled the free kick from Jackie Ovalle and it slipped through her fingers and into the net.

In the 70th minute, Tigres had another chance when Gómez Junco had a shot but it went into the side netting. Rayadas then started applying pressure, and was able to keep the ball in the Tigres end for some significant amounts of time but unfortunately nothing much came of it. Tigres was able to then return the favor, keeping the ball in the Rayadas end for long stretches and not doing much but running time off of the clock. Ovalle did have a good look deep in stoppage time, but her shot missed the top of the bar by a couple of inches at most.

The second leg will be played at El Volcán on Monday, December 14 at 7:00 PM local time.

Rayadas de Monterrey: Alejandría Godínez; Ricla Rajunov, Rebeca Bernal, Annia Mejía, Mariana Cadena; Diana García, Valeria Valdez; Diana Evangelista (Dinora Garza, 81’), Daniela Solís, Christina Burkenroad; Desirée Monsivás (Andrea Hernández, 71’)

Tigres UANL: Ofelia Solís; Natalia Villarreal, Greta Espinoza, Cristina Ferral, Bianca Sierra; Liliana Mercado, Natalia Gómez Junco (Fernanda Elizondo, 85’), Nancy Antonio; Jackie Ovalle, Katty Martínez, Stefany Mayor

Scoring: Rayadas de Monterrey - None; Tigres UANL - Jackie Ovalle (61’)

Disciplinary: Rayadas de Monterrey - Ricla Rajunov (Yellow - 45’), Valeria Valdez (Yellow - 59’), Rebeca Bernal (Yellow - 84’), Dinora Garza (Yellow - 89’); Tigres UANL - Cristina Ferral (Yellow - 13’), Nancy Antonio (Yellow - 66’)