Liga MX Femenil recap: 2021 Clausura, Week 1

After a short offseason, Liga MX Femenil was back in action starting with Querétaro hosting Mazatlán on Thursday. The weekend was full of good games, golazos, great saves, and already we’re seeing some teams picking up where they left off in 2020 - for better and for worse.

Gallos Blancos de Querétaro 1, Mazatlán FC 2: An encouraging start by Mazatlán, picking up all three points on the road against 2020 Apertura semifinalists Querétaro. Melisa Ramos scored the first goal of the season when she got on the end of a brilliant through ball in the ninth minute and slotted it home past Diana García. Querétaro would equalize just two minutes later however when Maritza Maldonado hit a free kick that was somehow able to make it through traffic and into the back of the net. Gallos looked the better side in the first half, pressuring Mazatlán and forcing them into making poor decisions on the ball. Mazatlán adjusted in the second half however and were the much better side, being rewarded in the 85th minute when Magaly Cortés hit a free kick from distance that went top shelf on García to pick up the first win of the season.

Necaxa 0, Cruz Azul 2: Cruz Azul gets their first win on the road of 2021 with a 2-0 win against Necaxa. For context, Cruz Azul won only three games on the road in 2020. Susana Romero put Cruz Azul on the board in the 42nd minute with a wonderful cutback move that lead to a left-footed shot into the top corner of the goal. Necaxa never really threatened, and added insult to injury when Samantha Calvillo knocked in an own goal in the 85th minute on a Cruz Azul corner kick.

UNAM Pumas 2, Club Tijuana 0: Pumas started their season off on a good note, beating Tijuana 2-0 in CU. Xolos Femenil were able to hold Pumas scoreless until the 82nd minute when new arrival Dinora Garza smashed one in off of the underside of the crossbar from distance. Patricia Jardón converted a penalty kick deep in stoppage to secure the win for Pumas. Goalkeeper Melany Villeda picked up her 31st career shutout in 65 appearances.

Club Atlético de San Luis 0, Monterrey 5: Rayadas played like a team looking to take out their frustrations at losing in the Final, putting a 5-0 thrashing on poor San Luis. Diana Evangelista scored in the fifth minute, chipping a shot that goalkeeper Stefani Jiménez was able to slap but not keep from going past her. Desirée Monsiváis got through the porous defense in the 11th minute to get her first of the season, and in a very similar play, Daniela Solís scored in the 66th when she too was played in past the defense and shot past Jiménez. Evangelista came out in the 73rd for Aylin Aviléz, who stole the show with two goals. Aviléz broke through the defense in the 77th to score and then replicated the feat in the 86th to complete the rout.

América 1, Atlas 2: Perhaps a Liguilla showdown in Week 1 as Atlas defeated América 2-1 at Coapa. Although the teams were fairly even throughout the match, Alison González was the star of this show. She converted a penalty in the 56th minute and then after Dani Espinosa tied it in the 66th with a fantastic header off of a free kick, “Aligol” hit a wonder-strike in the 69th minute to give Atlas the win.

León 0, Toluca 2: Toluca with a good win away at León. Arlett Tovar hit a fantastic free kick in the 29th and Karen Becerril got an easy tap-in goal in the 54th after a fantastic run and cut-back pass from Zaira Miranda. Toluca is looking to bounce back from a poor season, where they failed to eclipse 20 points in a full season for only the second time in club history. This should help instill them with confidence going forward, while León still must answer a lot of the same questions that dogged them during a poor season in the 2020 Apertura.

Tigres UANL 3, Pachuca 0: Tigres picked up where they left off, downing Pachuca 3-0 in their first match since winning the 2020 Apertura. Greta Espinoza put Tigres up in the 34th minute on a fluky goal when Karen Díaz attempted to clear a ball in the box and instead shot it into Espinoza’s leg and into the goal. Tigres would nurse the one goal lead until the 75th when Katty Martínez converted a penalty. Stephany Mayor got an insurance goal in the 79th when she was played on past the defense and beat Paola Manrique far side.

Guadalajara 2, FC Juárez 0: A tough loss for Juárez, as they lost 2-0 to Chivas and have lost captain Cindy Caro for at least the next two to three weeks. Chivas got on the board in the 40th minute when Carolina Jaromillo hit a free kick and there was chaos on the Juárez defense. Gabriela Álvarez crashed into goalkeeper Alondra Ubaldo and the ball hit off of Melissa Sosa and went into the back of the net. Cindy Caro was injured in the 50th minute when she collided with Damaris Godínez. She came off and was later confirmed to have suffered a grade two sprain of her left ankle. Chivas got an insurance goal in the 83rd when Joseline Montoya was played past the defense and hit a nice shot far post that Ubaldo couldn’t stop.

Santos Laguna vs. Puebla F.C. - Postponed until February 22 due to a COVID-19 outbreak at Santos Laguna.

Next week (all records are in W-D-L format):

Thursday, January 14:

Cruz Azul (1-0-0) vs. León (0-0-1) - TUDN (US and Mexico) 3:45 PM Central

Friday, January 15:

Gallos Blancos de Querétaro (0-0-1) vs. Club Atlético de San Luis (0-0-1) - TVC Deportes (Mexico) 5:00 PM Central

Saturday, January 16:

Atlas (1-0-0) vs. Tigres UANL (1-0-0) - TVC Deportes (Mexico) 10:00 AM Central

Mazatlán FC (1-0-0) vs. Guadalajara (1-0-0) - Azteca Digital (Mexico) 10:00 AM Central

Sunday, January 17:

Puebla F.C. (0-0-0) vs. UNAM Pumas (1-0-0) TVC Deportes (Mexico) 12:00 PM Central

Monday, January 18:

América (0-0-1) vs. FC Juárez (0-0-1) - TUDN (US and Mexico) 3:45 PM Central

Pachuca (0-0-1) vs. Santos Laguna (0-0-0) - FOX Sports (Mexico) 5:00 PM Central

Monterrey (1-0-0) vs. Necaxa (0-0-1) - FOX Sports (Mexico) 7:00 PM Central

Club Tijuana (0-0-1) vs. Toluca (1-0-0)