Liga MX Femenil recap: 2020 Apertura, Week 2

There were some really good matches in Week 2, including some surprising results as well as teams who may have lost but looked like they were improving nonetheless.

Cruz Azul 4, Atlas 1: A statement win by Cruz Azul to open the week’s slate of games. Cruz Azul got on the board in the 12th minute when they ran a give-and-go short corner. Brenda León hit a cross from the right side of the box to Karla Zempoalteca, who headed it on far post and past a diving Ana Gaby Paz. Zempoalteca would score again in the 25th when León hit another corner, this time along the turf and out toward the top of the box. Zempoalteca was the trailing runner, and connected with a shot that Paz tipped but couldn’t stop. Adriana “Boyi” Iturbide would draw one back a minute later when she was on the end of a cross from Joana Robles. Boyi slid along the turf and was able to redirect the ball in, but this was as close as Atlas would get. In the 31st a good passing sequence found Karime Abud alone in the box, and she calmly slotted the ball past Paz. In the 41st, a free kick deep from Marylin Díaz found the head of Paola González, and her header caught Paz moving the wrtong way. Atlas had a couple of good chances late, including a shot by Fabiola Ibarra that was well saved by Karla Moralez in the 65th, but were ultimately unable to make anything happen.

Gallos Blancos de Querétaro 1, FC Juárez 1: Atzimba Casas got the lone goal for the visitors when Cindy Caro played a fantastic through ball from deep that Casas was able to chase down, drawing out goalkeeper Diana García and knocking it in. Jazmín Enrigue was chasing Casas down and ran full speed into the post, and she would not return to the game. Querétaro equalized three minutes later when a poor clearing attempt on a free kick allowed Alejandra Calderón to rifle the ball into the box, and Lizette Rodríguez was able to corral it, turn, and fire a shot past Alondra Ubaldo. Juárez appealed for the play to be called offside, but to no avail. In the 11th minute Melissa Sosa had a shot from long range that García made a fantastic leaping save on. At the other end, Ubaldo made a great save on 10 in the 15th minute to keep the sides level. She made another great save on a close range shot from Karym Iturbe in the 85th to preserve the point on the road for Las Bravas.

Mazatlán FC 1, Tigres UANL 4: A dominant performance from Tigres, as Katty Martínez played in her first game after testing positive for COVID-19 earlier in the month. Mazatlán was the first to score however in the fifth minute when Liliana Hernández hit a shot from the right wing that went up and over goalkeeper Vania Villalobos. Tigres would come back with a vengeance though. Martínez leveled the sides in the 12th minute when she got an unreal touch on a ball with her back to goal and put it up over herself and in. Tigres would go ahead in the stoppage time of the first half when a counterattack lead to Martínez shooting from the top of the box and in past goalkeeper Mariana Zárraga. In the 53rd Jackie Ovalle took a left-footed shot arcing from distance that beat Zárraga. Maria Elizondo rounded out the scoring in the 68th minute when she got onto a loose corner kick in the box and somehow hit it up over her head much in the same fashion as Martínez’ first goal.

UNAM Pumas 0, Toluca 0: Dayan Téllez picked Player of the Match honors for a stellar performance, making six saves as Pumas and Toluca both picked up their first shutouts of the season. Of course this was Pumas’ first match of the season, as their Week 1 match against Santos Laguna was postponed until September.

Guadalajara 2, Necaxa 0: Although it was a good solid win for Chivas, Necaxa had a lot of positive things to take away from the game. Chivas got on the board in the 12th minute when Alicia Cervantes got her head on a cross and knocked it past Montserrat González. Nicole Pérez doubled the lead in the 20th minute when she teed up a shot at the top of the box that González got her hands to but had too much on it to be stopped. Still, Necaxa was able to frustrate Chivas for large stretches of the game and can build off of that.

Puebla F.C. 1, Club Tijuana 0: A fairly even game decided by a penalty. Diana Anguiano was taken down in the box in the 59th minute, and a minute later María López converted from the spot to give the hosts all three points on the afternoon. Tijuana has lost both matches they’ve played so far and still have yet to score a goal.

América 3, Club Atlético de San Luis 2: A good win by América but their fans must be wondering how they didn’t put Atleti away earlier. América took the lead in the 12th minute when Betzy Cuevas got on the end of a great cross from Montserrat Hernández and headed it past Cintia Monreal. In the 37th Selene Valera hit a rocket of a shot along the turf to double the lead, and Dani Espinosa converted a penalty in the 53rd to give América a 3-0 lead. But San Luis wasn’t done. Isabel Kasis rocketed a shot off of the crossbar in the 53rd minute that went in, although Citlali Hernández was there to tap in the rebound to make sure. In the 87th an error in clearing the ball saw it fall to the feet of Paola Alemán, and she rifled a shot into the top corner to make it 3-2. América was able to hold out however and preserve the win at home.

León 1, Pachuca 2: A good come from behind win by Pachuca on the road. Claudia Cid put the hosts up early when she got her head onto a cross and knocked it past Silvia Machuca in the fourth minute. León had the better of the opportunities in the first half, with Liliana Sánchez rocketing one off of the crossbar in the 30th minute. Pachuca would draw level in the 64th when Mónica Alvarado’s header off of a corner kick beat Maria Martínez, and Pachuca would take the lead in the 83rd when another corner kick was conceded and Yanin Madrid hit a right-footed volley across her body and into the back of the net.

Santos Laguna vs. Monterrey: This game occurred after this recap article was published and will be incorporated into the Week 3 recap.

Next week:

Thursday, August 27:

Toluca (0W 1D 1L) vs. Guadalajara (2W 0D 0L)

Friday, August 28:

Necaxa (0W 0D 2L) vs. Mazatlán FC (0W 0D 2L)

Saturday, August 29:

Atlas (1W 0D 1L) vs. Gallos Blancos de Querétaro (0W 1D 1L)

Sunday, August 30:

Tigres UANL (2W 0D 0L) vs. Santos Laguna (0W 0D 0L)

Club Atlético de San Luis (1W 0D 1L) vs. Puebla F.C. (1W 0D 1L)

FC Juárez (0W 1D 1L) vs. UNAM Pumas (0W 1D 0L)

Monday, August 31:

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

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

Club Tijuana (0W 0D 2L) vs. América (2W 0D 0L)