Liga MX Femenil recap: 2021 Clausura, Week 16

Heading into the last week, we know seven of the eight teams in the Liguilla however since it’s worked out that the current number two seed (Chivas will host the current number one seed (Tigres) and the current number four seed (Monterrey) will host the current number three (Atlas), things could change drastically between now and the end of the season on Monday.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. This past week had it’s ups and downs, with golazos and gaffes, tight matches and blowouts. Here’s how it all went down.

Gallos Blancos de Querétaro 2, Club Tijuana 1: A poor showing by both teams at first as both committed autogoles before the first ten minutes were done. Karen Hernández Pérez committed one in the seventh when there was a miscommunication on her pass to Tijuana goalkeeper Itzel González. Then two minutes later it was goalkeeper Ruth Arana who picked up the autogol when she tipped a free kick from Dulce Alvarado into the post and fell forward. The ricochet then hit her leg and went in before it could be cleared off of the line. Both teams settled down a bit and were able to generate some decent chances, includiung Renae Cuéllar hitting the post in the 78th minute. It wasn’t until the 88th minute when a poor clearing attempt by Tijuana lead the ball falling to Jazmin Enrigue, and she knocked it in for the game-winning goal.

Necaxa 1, Pachuca 0: Necaxa picks up a surprise win against Pachuca, who nonetheless clinched a berth in the Liguilla. Las Centellas got a strong performance in goal from Lupita Olvera and the game-winner was a fantastic effort from Shoda López when she made a great run, nutmegged goalkeeper Paola Manrique, and hit an impossibly tight angle shot to sneak in past a scrambling defender. Perhaps they’re not playing the best soccer but they’re certainly entertaining, and it’ll be interesting to see what direction they go in the offseason after having their best season ever. Pachuca meanwhile will want to move on from this quickly and focus on the Liguilla.

UNAM Pumas 1, Atlas 1: A tough battle between two teams expected to go far into the Liguilla. Pumas got on the board first in the 22nd when Marlyn Campa got to the rebound of a Fabiola Santamaria shot and knocked it into the back of the net. Atlas equalized early in the second half after a Deneva Cagigas foul on Joana Robles in the box lead to Alison González converting the penalty for her league best 17th goal of the season. Pumas looked to have scored again in the 66th minute but referee Katia García whistled a foul and annulled the goal, much to the dismay of the Pumas staff. To add injury to insult, Pumas revealed that Bibiana Quintos suffered a grade 2 sprain of her right ankle and will miss one to two weeks, while Diana Gómez suffered a broken nose, which will require surgery after the season.

América 2, Cruz Azul 1: The Clásico Joven with all sorts of Liguilla implications saw América come out on top 2-1. Dani Flores put her team up in the 28th minute when she was played in on a great pass from Diana García, beating Karla Morales with a shot to the far post. Janelly Farías doubled the lead in the 51st off of a corner kick that Cruz Azul couldn’t clear out. Renata Masciarelli then stole the show with several acrobatic saves to keep América in the lead. She couldn’t get them all however, as Rebeca Villuendas hit a perfectly placed shot top shelf from almost the halfway line to draw one back in the 83rd, but it was too little, too late for La Máquina. The result moved América up from ninth place to eighth and Cruz Azul moved down to ninth, with Las Águilas having a two point lead heading into the last week for the final playoff spot.

Atlético de San Luis 1, Toluca 2: Toluca was able to leap up a few spots in the table with a come from behind win against San Luis. Dani Carrandi put San Luis up in the 46th with a nice shot from inside of the box. Destinney Duron scored in the 67th to draw one back for Toluca when goalkeeper Stefani Jiménez tried clearing the ball but instead hit it off of Duron, who scored easily. Then just four minutes later Diana Guatemala hit a shot that appeared to deflect off of a San Luis defender and into the back of the net for the game winner.

Guadalajara 5, Monterrey 0: After a first half that was fairly even and ended in a 0-0 draw, Chivas went out and scored five to draw within one point of league leaders Tigres. Isabella Gutiérrez broke the deadlock in the 51st minute when she capitalized on a mistake by Andrea Sánchez. Then shortly after the ensuing kickoff, Joseline Montoya stole the ball and hit Carolina Jaromillo in stride and she made it 2-0 with a well placed shot. There was a bit of controversy in the 57th when it looked like a Rayadas header went over the line before being cleared out but with no VAR there was no review. Sánchez was sent off in the 58th for a foul in the box that earned her a second yellow card. Montoya converted the penalty, and then she got a second in the 67th off of a great pass into the box from Damaris Godínez. Miriam Castillo was sent off in the 82nd minute for picking up her second yellow card. Montoya got her hat trick just after the clock struck 90’ on a fantastic shot off of an even better move to elude the defender.

Santos Laguna 3, FC Juárez 0: It’s been a hard season for Santos, but everything came together against Juárez as they won their last home match of the season 3-0. “La Capi” Cinthya Peraza had a brace, hitting a beautiful shot from the top of the penalty arc in stride in the 36th minute and then a second golazo in the 62nd minute with a defender hanging on her back. Anahí Rentería got a header in the 67th minute off of a great cross from Isela Ojeda for her second goal of the season.

León 2, Puebla F.C. 1: León picks up their fifth win of the season with a 2-1 win over Puebla. Nailea Vidrio put León up in the 11th minute off of a defensive miscue by Puebla. Lupita Worbis equalized in the 40th minute on a great strike, but Yazmin Álvarez got the go-ahead goal in the 66th minute on a shot from close range.

Tigres UANL 2, Mazatlán FC 2: Full credit to Mazatlán, as they held their own against a strong Tigres team to get a 2-2 draw. After hitting a rocket off of the crossbar earlier in the match, Belén Cruz opened the scoring in the 35th minute when she knocked in a rebound off of a shot. In the 38th minute, Casandra Montero drew a penalty and Lili Hernández converted to make it 1-1 going into halftime. Montero picked up a second in the 59th on a nice move to slip past a defender and hit a bomb from about 25 yards out. Jackie Ovalle hit a fantastic free kick from almost at the end line straight into the back of the net to salvage the draw for Tigres, who are now just one point up on Chivas for the superlíder.

Liguilla matchups heading into Week 17:

#1 Tigres UANL (11-4-1) vs. #8 América (6-6-4)

#2 Guadalajara (11-3-2) vs. #7 Pachuca (8-3-5)

#3 Atlas (10-4-2) vs. #6 Toluca (8-5-3)

#4 Monterrey (9-3-4) vs. #5 UNAM Pumas (8-5-3)

Notes and other things

In order for América to make the Liguilla: América wins or América draws and Cruz Azul loses, draws, or wins by less than four goals or América loses and Cruz Azul loses or draws

In order for Cruz Azul to make the Liguilla: Cruz Azul wins and América loses or Cruz Azul wins by five or more and América draws

Regardless of the results on Monday, Necaxa has had their best season ever. They’ve gotten the most points (16), most wins (4), and scored the most goals (14) in club history with one week left to go.

Cesar Hernandez had a great interview with Janelly Farías in The Guardian. Farías is a fascinating player and Hernandez’ article captures a lot of her many facets.

Amelia Lopez at FutMexNation gives her three talking points about last week’s happenings in Liga MX Femenil, including one of my favorite quotes about Chivas Femenil “At this point, their name is a statement all on its own.”

The Equalizer is broadening their horizons, adding a weekly Liga MX Femenil column done by my friend Rachael Krieger.

Next week (all records are in W-D-L format, all times as listed):

Friday, April 30:

Cruz Azul () vs. Gallos Blancos de Querétaro () - 12:45 PM - TUDN (United States and Mexico)

Saturday, May 1:

Pachuca (8-3-5) vs. Club Atlético de San Luis (2-5-9) - 10:00 AM

Mazatlán FC (4-6-6) vs. Santos Laguna (4-5-7) - 10:00 AM - TVP (Mexico)

Sunday, May 2:

FC Juárez (2-3-11) vs. León (5-2-9) - 10:00 AM - TUDN (Mexico)

Puebla F.C. (2-4-10) vs. América (6-6-4) - 12:00 PM - TVC Deportes (Mexico)

Monday, May 3:

Toluca (8-5-3) vs. UNAM Pumas (8-5-3) - 4:00 PM - TUDN (Mexico)

Guadalajara (11-3-2) vs. Tigres UANL (11-4-1) - 7:00 PM - FOX Sports (Mexico), Telemundo Deportes (United States)

Monterrey (9-3-4) vs. Atlas (10-4-2) - 9:00 PM - FOX Sports (Mexico)

Club Tijuana (4-3-9) vs. Necaxa (4-4-8) - 9:00 PM