2020 Liga MX Femenil Clausura recap - Week 8

One of the things that makes me the most excited about Liga MX Femenil is seeing young players getting professional minutes, which helps ensure that there will be a constant pipeline of good women’s soccer players coming up to the National Team but it also pushes current players to play even better to retain their starting jobs. There’s nothing like the prospect of sitting on the bench in favor of a 15 year old to help give extra motivation for players.

This week, Pachuca’s Blanky Serrano scored two goals and Tigres’ Yenífer García scored on her debut. Both are U17 eligible and are a promising sign for Mexico’s prospects in the years to come.

Necaxa 0, Tijuana 2: This match was just what Tijuana needed, as Xolos Femenil gut out a 2-0 win over Necaxa. The first half was fairly even, with the best chance coming in the 28th minute when a Xolos Femenil shot from distance hit the crossbar and bounced to Renae Cuellar. Her shot went straight into goalkeeper Doris Meza and was cleared to safety. Meza would come up big at the start of the second half too when Cuellar was played in on goal but Meza made a sprawling save to preserve the scoreline. Meza couldn’t stop them all however, and in the 72nd minute Alondra Camargo would get a header off of a free kick that made it past Meza for what would ultimately be the game winning goal. In the following minute a defensive miscommunication by Centellas would see Rosa Aguilar in on goal and she’d add an insurance goal. Necaxa tried to draw one back, with Dulce Alvarado getting Necaxa’s best chance of the afternoon in the 86th when she hit a shot from just outside of the box, but it was well saved by Itzel González who got her second shutout in three games.

UNAM Pumas 4, FC Juárez 3: A wild one in CU as Pumas lead 4-1 at one point only to eke out the 4-3 win. Jaquelín García converted a penalty in the 22nd minute to put Pumas up, but Juárez would answer just three minutes later when Cindy Caro’s free kick smashed off of the crossbar and Atzimba Casas was able to put it in to draw the sides level. After the half Pumas really turned on the offense, generating several chances before a cross in from Mariela Jiménez was knocked in by Melissa Sosa for the autogol. Pumas would get another in the 69th minute when Daniela García capitalized on a defensive mistake, made a couple of moves in the box, and shot past goalkeeper Stefani Jiménez to make it 3-1 in favor of the hosts. Liliana Rodríguez would add another in the 76th with a shot from distance and it looked like the game was over. But Juárez would come roaring back and in the 80th minute Casas would make a run down the right and hit a cross in to Jessica Vázquez. Vázquez knocked the ball past goalkeeper Miriam Aguirre to make it 4-2. Vázquez wasn’t done, and four minutes later was sprung through on a great ball from deep. Aguirre was way off of her line and could only watch as Vázquez knocked the ball in from distance. Juárez had one good chance deep in stoppage on a corner kick but Aguirre was able to pounce on the ball to prevent an equalizer.

Monterrey 2, Puebla 1: Not as dominant a win as perhaps they would have liked, but Rayadas got all three points against a decent Puebla side. Annia Mejía was able to take advantage of a mis-hit clearance and head the ball up and over goalkeeper Brissa Rangel to give Rayadas the lead. Puebla would fight back however, and in the 51st a cross in would be headed in for an autogol by Rebeca Bernal. In the next minute, Rayadas would be awarded a free kick and in the ensuing scrum in the box Ariana Calderón was able to knock it in to give Rayadas the win. Monterrey currently sits in fourth place, three points behind superlíder Tigres and with a game in hand on rivals Atlas and América.

América 0, Toluca 1: A shock result as Toluca beats América in CDMX. Toluca has been playing much better than their record (2W 1D 5L) and perhaps caught América (5W 2D 1L) by surprise. Both teams came out strong, with Toluca’s Natalia Mauleon getting some good chances early and Alondra Ubaldo making some good saves for Las Diablas. In the 60th minute, Toluca’s perseverance would finally pay off with Yamanic Martínez hitting a shot through traffic off of a corner kick that beat goalkeeper Heidi González. There was some controversy in the 63rd minute when Martínez went in hard on Janae González in the box. González fell into teammate Destinney Duron and emerged with a bloody nose, but no penalty was awarded. A penalty would be awarded in the 76th minute when Jennifer Muñoz was knocked down in the box, but Mayra Ríos’ attempt was kicked out by Ubaldo. Ubaldo was able to get her first clean sheet of the season, becoming the first goalkeeper to keep Las Águilas scoreless at home since Melany Villeda and Pumas did it back in Week 14 of last season in a 0-0 draw.

Monarcas Morelia 0, Cruz Azul 1: Cruz Azul gets three critical points against another team that’s on the bubble to make the Liguilla, downing Monarcas 1-0 in Morelia. Morelia had a great opportunity in the fourth minute when Diana Guatemala was hauled down in the box but Dalia Molina’s shot was tipped over the bar by Karla Morales. In the 15th, Marylin Díaz would get the game winner with a perfectly hit free kick from distance. With the three points, Cruz Azul sits in seventh place with 12 points while Monarcas is two points behind in eleventh.

Pachuca 5, Querétaro 0: Total domination from Pachuca as they beat last place Querétaro 5-0. Paola López was the first to get on the scoresheet in the 28th with a left-footed shot in the box. Tuzos Femenil then went on an absolute tear. Viridiana Salazar would get her sixth goal of the season in the 36th minute, Diana Fierro would score in the 38th, and Blanky Serrano would make it 4-0 in the 39th. The 15 year old Serrano made her first start of the season count, bagging another goal in the 80th minute and playing all 90 minutes.

Guadalajara 0, Atlas 2: Atlas regained a part of the superlíder with a convincing 2-0 win over Clásico Tapatío rivals Chivas. Atlas dominated the run of play, finally breaking through in the 73rd when Fabiola Ibarra whipped a cross in over the scrum to Ana García. García was able to connect with the ball while falling, knocking it past Blanca Félix. Atlas would strike again in the 75th when García made a run down the right and hit a pass back to Adriana “Boyi” Iturbide, and Boyi buried it into the back of the net. Atlas is tied with Tigres with 19 points, however Tigres has a game in hand over Las Rojonegras.

Club Atlético de San Luis 1, Tigres UANL 6: Tigres hammered San Luis 6-1. Stefany Mayor scored her first of the evening in the 19th minute when she was able to corral a rebound of a corner kick and blast it past Cintia Monreal. Mayor got her second of the evening minutes later when she was able to head in a cross from the left wing. Katty Martínez converted a penalty in the 29th before Mayor was able to get her hat trick in the 32nd minute on a shot from inside the box. This was Mayor’s fifth goal in two games. Jackie Ovalle would get her second goal of the season in the 55th minute with a golazo from outside of the box. San Luis would get a consolation goal in the 65th when Isabel Kasis was played onside and caught goalkeeper Vania Villalobos way outside of the box. Kasis showed poise and composure to finish the chance, but it was ultimately much too little much too late. 16 year old Yenífer García scored on her debut, hitting a shot from distance in the 71st minute to complete the scoring.

Santos Laguna 1, León 2: Another game that was a tough result for Santos. The home side went up in the 11th minute when Isela Ojeda was able to get onto a great feed from Cinthya Peraza and hit an angled shot past Maricruz González. León would answer five minutes later when Yamile Franco hit an olímpico goal. Santos’ protests that goalkeeper Diana Sánchez had been interfered with fell on deaf ears. Both teams would battle hard and just when it looked like a draw was the most likely result, Santos conceded a corner kick deep in stoppage time. Sánchez was able to slap the resulting kick out but only as far as Lili Sánchez, who hit a looping shot that made it into the far corner of the net.

Next week:

Friday, February 28:

Cruz Azul (3W 3D 2L) vs. Necaxa (2W 3D 3L)

Querétaro (0W 2D 6L) vs. UNAM Pumas (3W 3D 1L)

FC Juárez (1W 2D 5L) vs. Monterrey (5W 1D 1L)

Sunday, March 1:

Puebla (3W 2D 3L) vs. Guadalajara (3W 3D 2L)

Monday, March 2:

Atlas (6W 1D 1L) vs. Santos Laguna (0W 2D 6L)

Toluca (2W 1D 5L) vs. Pachuca (4W 1D 3L)

León (3W 1D 3L) vs. Club Atlético de San Luis (2W 2D 4L)

Tigres UANL (6W 1D 0L) vs. Monarcas Morelia (3W 1D 4L)

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