Liga MX Femenil recap: 2020 Apertura, Week 6

A midweek slate of games was a boon to some teams while others could have used a couple more days of rest and to prepare. Rayadas and América remained perfect, Tigres and Chivas remained unbeaten, and we’re starting to see Pumas surging while at the other end of the spectrum Necaxa and Tijuana may be already looking forward to next season as both team have lost every game played so far in this torneo.

Club Tijuana 0, Gallos Blancos de Querétaro 3: A poor showing from Tijuana, who have now lost seven in a row stretching back to last season. In the eighth minute, Querétaro went up when Sofia Alvarez floated a cross into the box from the right side. Yadira Toraya went up against Maritza Maldonado and attempted to head it clear, but instead put it into the back of her own net. Querétaro almost added a second in the 28th minute but Alvarez’ wide-open shot slammed into the post. In the 77th minute, Mayra Santana played a ball forward out to the right side. Inglis Hernández tried to clear the ball but it wound up going up into the air and to Maritza Maldonado, who was able to control the ball and hit a shot past goalkeeper Guadalupe Olvera. Karym Iturbe rounded out the scoring two minutes later after she corralled an errant back pass and ran in on goal.

Mazatlán FC 1, Toluca 0: Mazatlán gets their second ever win and first at Estadio Kraken as they down Toluca 1-0. Liliana Hernández scored the game’s only goal when Mazatlán stole the ball off of a Toluca player’s foot and within three touches got it from midfield up to Hernández, who was sitting on the shoulder of the last defender. Mazatlán looked like they would get a second goal in the 35th but a header from close range went off of the underside of the bar and out. With the win, Mazatlán are within two points of the final playoff spot.

FC Juárez 0, Monterrey 5: A completely dominant effort from the reigning champions, as Rayadas shut out Juárez. Christina Burkenroad had a brace, redirecting a cross off of the far post in the fourth minute and chipping the goalkeeper in the 52nd minute, although she seemed unlucky to not have added a couple more to her stats. Aylin Aviléz also had a brace, losing her mark in the 42nd minute and then getting a clear shot on a breakaway in the 89th. Desirée Monsiváis rounded out the goalscoring, netting her sixth of the season in the 48th with a header off of a corner kick.

Puebla F.C. 0, León 0: Two of the league’s up and coming teams battled to a 0-0 draw. Casandra Cuevas had a good opportunity for León in the 12th minute when she got in on Brissa Rangel, who did well to stop the shot from close range. Puebla had a golden opportunity in the 88th minute when a León defender committed a handball in the box. María López took the ensuing penalty, but her shot struck the post square and caromed out of danger.

Necaxa 0, Atlas 3: Atlas gets back to their winning ways with a convincing win over Necaxa. Fabiola Ibarra got the scoring started in the 36th minute when Alison González hit a rocket from distance that Montserrate González stopped but let roll on the turf. Ibarra continued her run and was able to get to the ball and knock it home to give the visitors the lead. González would get a goal of her own in the 77th when she ripped a shot from about 20 yards out that González stood no chance on. Then in the 84th Ana García executed a perfect Cruyff turn and flicked the ball on to Isabella Amyx, who scored her second goal in four appearances.

Tigres UANL 4, Club Atlético de San Luis 1: Another doiminant win by Tigres, downing Atleti 4-1 at El Volcán. Katty Martínez scored just five minutes in when Stephany Mayor found her with a square ball, and “Killer” hit a shot that just looked effortless as it clattered in off of goalkeeper Heidi González’ gloves. Then in the 15th minute Belén Cruz would smash a volley from the top of the box to extend the lead to 2-0. In the 35th minute, Mayor got her first of the game when Aylin Hernández tried to clear a bouncing ball out and wound up kicking it off of Mayor’s leg. Mayor got her second of the evening in 57th when she got her head on a great cross into the box. Tigres took their foot off of the gas however in the second half, and San Luis drew one back in the 70th when Estefania Izaguirre forced goalkeeper Vania Villalobos into a mistake, dispossessing her and lofting a shot from inside the box into the back of the net. But that’s as close as the visitors would get, and the match ended 4-1.

Guadalajara 2, Cruz Azul 0: Chivas faced a stern test against Cruz Azul but prevailed 2-0. Carolina Jaromillo played a great give-and-go with Licha Cervantes that lead to Caro almost walking the ball into the back of the net in the 36th minute. Victoria Acevedo scored the first goal of her career in the 74th when she hit one through traffic that beat goalkeeper Karla Morales. Chivas goalkeeper Blanca Félix has conceded just one goal in six games.

Pachuca 1, UNAM Pumas 4: Don’t look now, but Pumas have won three straight (four if you don’t count the Week 1 loss to Santos that was played between Week 3 and Week 4), downing Pachuca 4-1. Jaquelín García scored a close range goal in the eighth minute and converted a penalty in the 55th. Edna Santamaría nabbed her second goal of the season just a minute later when she hit a close range shot. Daniela García rounded out the scoring for Pumas in the 74th minute when she got on the end of a Pumas break. Viridiana Salazar scored her 48th career goal in the 29th when she evaded Pachuca defenders to create space and put one past Melany Villeda.

América 2, Santos Laguna 1: A hard fought game in the rain at the Coapa. Santos got on the board first in the 12th minute when a cross in by Alexxandra Ramírez took a deflection in traffic and wound up on the foot of Estela “Paleta” Gómez. Paleta settled the ball with her dominant left and poked it home with her right past Jaidy Gutiérrez. The lead wouldn’t last however as Jocelyn Orejel got her first goal for Club América in the 16th on a header off of a corner kick. Dani Espinosa almost picked up the lead for América in the 25th but her header hit off of one post and the resulting shot off of the rebound went just wide of the other. América grabbed the lead however in the 46th minute when Montserrat Hernández sent a cross in to Jana Gutiérrez, whose touch put the ball past Wendy Toledo. Both Toledo and Jaidy Gutiérrez had stellar games.

This week:

Sunday, September 20:

UNAM Pumas (4W 1D 1L) vs. Guadalajara (5W 1D 0L) - 10:25 AM Eastern / 7:25 AM Pacific (TUDN, TUDN USA Facebook)

Cruz Azul (1W 2D 3L) vs. Necaxa (0W 0D 6L)

Monday, September 21:

Atlas (4W 1D 1L) vs. América (6W 0D 0L)

Toluca (1W 1D 4L) vs. Tijuana (0W 0D 6L)

Gallos Blancos de Querétaro (2W 2D 2L) vs. Tigres UANL (5W 1D 0L)

Pachuca (3W 1D 2L) vs. Puebla (2W 1D 3L)

Monterrey (6W 0D 0L) vs. Mazatlén FC (2W 0D 4L)

Santos Laguna (1W 1D 4L) vs. León (2W 1D 3L)

Club Atlético de San Luis (2W 0D 4L) vs. FC Juárez (1W 1D 4L)