Liga MX Femenil recap: 2021 Clausura, Week 5

Maybe it’s the short turnaround time, but this week felt extra crazy. Teams getting surprising results, chippy games, and golazos helped make Week 5 seem like one we could be talking about for a while.

UNAM Pumas 1, FC Juárez 0: While not a surprise that Pumas won, the margin of victory was probably a lot less than people may have expected. Dinora Garza’s second goal of the season in the 25th minute secured the top spot in the league, but full credit to Juárez who hung in and on another day could have gotten a positive result.

Club Tijuana 0, Mazatlán FC 0: After last week’s goal-fest between Xolos Femenil and Atlético San Luis, you could be forgiven for thinking this game would be another offensive outburst, but Tijuana and Mazatlán played a conservative 0-0 draw. Mariana Zárraga got her second clean sheet in a row for Las Cañoneras, while Itzel González got her first in 2021.

Atlas 3, Pachuca 3: A game that was an instant classic. Pachuca got out to a 3-0 lead thanks to goals from Mónica Ocampo in the 16th minute and a brace from Viridiana Salazar in the 18th and 38th. But Karen García got one back for Atlas in the 40th and Alison González also got one before the half, and you got the sense this one was far from settled. But as the game wore on it seemed like Pachuca would hold out until Valeria Razo was the hero as the clock struck 90 with a shot that went up and over the mass of players in the box and fell softly into the back of the net.

Toluca 2, Puebla F.C. 1: Puebla continues to show signs of improvement, but Toluca is showing no signs that their hot start is cooling off. Natalia Mauleon put the home side up in the 20th on a great pass on the break from Zaira Miranda. Puebla battled back, and Ibeth López equalized for the visitors in the 57th. It seemed like they might get a point on the road until center back Yamanic Martínez got a header onto a free kick from Brenda Carvajal for what turned out to be the game winner in the 60th minute.

Necaxa 0, América 1: Necaxa is another team that seems to be improving weekly, holding their own against América in a nervy game. The difference was Florida native Mayra Pelayo scoring her first Liga MX Femenil goal in the 73rd minute. América meanwhile keeps pace with the pack, just five points behind Pumas.

León 2, Santos Laguna 1: León getting back to their winning ways as they hand Santos a 2-1 loss. Yazmin Álvarez took a nice backheel pass from Lucero Cuevas past the defense and gave León the lead in the fourth minute. The hosts would double their lead in the 58th on Lucero Cuevas’ second goal of the season. Santos captain Cinthya Peraza converted a penalty in the 68th minute for her second goal this season, but it wasn’t enough as León picked up their second win of the season.

Monterrey 5, Cruz Azul 1: Rayadas with an authoritative win over Cruz Azul. Desirée Monsiváis and Daniela Solis each scored a brace and Aylin Avliéz got her fifth goal of the season in the rout. Avilez’ five goals in 191 minutes puts her in pretty rarified air, as no other player who has played less than 200 minutes has scored more than two goals. Daniela Monroy got the lone goal for Cruz Azul, a stunning free kick that went in off of the crossbar.

Club Atlético de San Luis 0, Tigres UANL 0: No, that’s not a typo. After allowing Tijuana to put up five last weekend, San Luis holds Tigres to a scoreless draw. Stefani Jiménez picked up her second shutout of her career and the first of this season while got her third of the season and second in a row.

Gallos Blancos de Querétaro 3, Guadalajara 3: A wild one in Querétaro as Gallos and Chivas draw 3-3 that will unfortunately be remembered more for how the game ended than the goals that got it there. Chivas raced out to a 3-0 lead with goals from Joseline Montoya, Alicia “Licha” Cervantes, and Isabella Gutiérrez, but the home side clawed their way back. Fatima Servin pulled one back in the 36th, while Mayra Santana cut the lead to one just after the start of the second half. In the 70th minute Lizette Rodríguez converted a penalty to draw the sides even. After converting, Rodríguez extended a hand to goalkeeper Celeste Espino, who refused to acknowledge the gesture. Then as the match went to stoppage it looked like Jazmín Enrigue was taken down in the box but a penalty was not called. Moments later Enrigue was on the receiving end of a hard foul from Carolina Jaramillo, who proceeded to kick Enrigue while she was on the turf, causing the teams to almost come to blows. A Querétaro player came off of the bench and shoved Jaramillo, further escalating the situation, however thankfully cooler heads prevailed before things got even uglier. Jaromillo and Enrigue were both shown red cards and the match was ended, and it will remain to be seen if further disciplinary action will be taken.

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

Saturday, February 6:

FC Juárez (0-1-4) vs. Club Tijuana (1-1-3) - TUDN (US and Mexico) - 10:00 AM Central

Sunday, February 7:

América (2-2-1) vs. León (2-1-2) - TUDN (Mexico) - 10:00 AM Central

Mazatlán FC (2-2-1) vs. Monterrey (4-0-1) - TVP (Mexico) - 10:00 AM Central

Puebla F.C. (0-1-3) vs. Atlas (4-1-0) - TVC Deportes (Mexico) - 12:00 PM Central

Monday, February 8:

Cruz Azul (2-2-1) vs. UNAM Pumas (4-1-0) - TUDN (US and Mexico) - 3:45 PM Central

Guadalajara (3-1-1) vs. Club Atlético de San Luis (0-1-4) - FOX Sports (Mexico), Telemundo Deportes App (US) - 5:00 PM Central

Tigres UANL (3-1-1) vs. Necaxa (0-1-4) - TUDN (Mexico) - 7:00 PM Central

Santos Laguna (1-0-3) vs. Gallos Blancos de Querétaro (1-1-3) - FOX Sports (Mexico) - 8:00 PM Central

Pachuca (1-2-2) vs. Toluca (4-1-0) - 8:00 PM Central