Liga MX Femenil recap: 2021 Clausura, Week 2

Another week in the books for Liga MX Femenil, and already we’re seeing some teams and players start to break out in the new season. But with these triumphs, we’ve also seen the first firing of the year as well as mourning the passing of Santos Laguna coach Martín Pérez.

Cruz Azul 1, León 1: A draw that felt more like a loss for Cruz Azul, who played their first ever match at La Noria. Karime Abud got Cruz Azul’s lone goal in the 44th and goalkeeper Karla Morales put in a wonderful shift, but Daniela Calderón’s header in the 88th minute salvaged a point on the road for León.

Gallos Blancos de Querétaro 3, Club Atlético de San Luis 2: Atlético San Luis seems to improve every week, but Querétaro proved no match as the clubs played to a thrilling 3-2 win for the home side. Isabel Kasis and Estefania Izaguirre scored for Atleti in the 27th and 59th respectively, both capitalizing on defensive mistakes from Querétaro. But Lizette Rodríguez and Maritza Maldonado were rewarded for their hard work with goals in the 46th and 68th, which set the stage for Daniela Sánchez’ game-winning golazo in the 87th.

Atlas 2, Tigres UANL 1: Last week Atlas had a statement win against Club América. This week, they beat defending Champions Tigres 2-1, handing them just their second loss since September of 2019. Former Tigres forward Alison González punished her former club once again, scoring two wonderful goals. Katty Martínez drew one back in the 61st on a nice goal in the area, but that’s as close as the visitors would get.

Mazatlán FC 1, Guadalajara 2: A good showing by Mazatlán, but in the end Chivas was too much. Casandra Montero gave Mazatlán the lead in the 20th on a golazo from distance, but Alicia “Licha” Cervantes equalized in the 40th and Carolina Jaramillo converted a penalty in the 67th to get three points on the road for Chivas.

Puebla F.C. 0, UNAM Pumas 3: A good solid road win for Pumas, who look eager to try and assert their place in the top tier of teams in the league. Daniela García scored in the 10th, Paola Chavero doubled it in the 21st, and Laura Herrera added an insurance goal in stoppage while at the other end Melany Villeda made several spectacular saves to keep her second clean sheet of the season.

América 2, FC Juárez 1: América was fortunate to escape with all three points at Coapa. Juárez center back Gabriela Álvarez committed an own goal in the 23rd but Atzimba Casas equalized in the 44th, slotting one home past Natalia Acuña who was starting in place of the injured Renata Masciarelli. Eva González was the hero for Las Águilas though, with her golazo in the 85th pulling out the win.

Pachuca 1, Santos Laguna 2: Santos gets a surprise win on the road, handing Pachuca their second straight loss under new manager Toña Is. Set pieces were critical for Santos, as captain Cinthya Peraza got her first goal of the season in the 22nd with a perfectly executed free kick from the top of the box. Alexxandra Ramírez then doubled the lead in the 50th off of a corner kick. Mónica Alvarado got a consolation goal for the hosts in the 85th but it was too little, too late. During the match Santos was managed by Jorge Campos, and the club announced the following day that coach Martín Pérez had passed away due to complications from COVID-19.

Monterrey 5, Necaxa 0: While 5-0 shouldn’t be an expected scoreline, it’s about what we expected from Rayadas and Necaxa. Aylín Aviléz continues to make her case for more playing time, as her brace giver her a share of the league lead in goals with Alison González with four. Mónica Flores, Desirée Monsiváis, and Christina Burkenroad also scored, as Rayadas pick up their second five-goal win in a row. Necaxa let manager Fabiola Vargas the day after the loss, but it’s unclear what else Vargas could have done with what she was given.

Club Tijuana 0, Toluca 1: Arlett Tovar’s penalty in the 14th minute was the difference as Toluca downs Tijuana on the road. Toluca is undefeated and along with Monterrey and Pumas still hasn’t given up a goal.

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

Thursday, January 21:

UNAM Pumas (2-0-0) vs. Monterrey (2-0-0) - TUDN (US and Mexico) - 3:45 PM Central

Friday, January 22:

Cruz Azul (1-1-0) vs. Club Atlético de San Luis (0-0-2) - TUDN (Mexico) - 3:45 PM Central

Saturday, January 23:

FC Juárez (0-0-2) vs. Pachuca (0-0-2) - TUDN (US and Mexico) - 10:00 AM Central

Sunday, January 24:

Mazatlán FC (1-0-1) vs. América (1-0-1) - TVP (Facebook) -

Monday, February 25:

Toluca (2-0-0) vs. Gallos Blancos de Querétaro () - TUDN (US and Mexico) - 3:45 PM Central

Guadalajara () vs. Santos Laguna (1-0-0) - FOX Sports (Mexico), Telemundo Deportes App (US) - 5:00 PM Central

Tigres UANL (1-0-1) vs. Puebla (0-0-1) - TUDN (Mexico) - 7:00 PM Central

León () vs. Necaxa (0-0-2) - 7:00 PM Central

Club Tijuana (0-0-2) vs. Atlas (2-0-0) - FOX Sports (Mexico) - 7:00 PM Central