Liga MX Femenil recap: 2022 Apertura, Week 15

Heading into the international break, we had not one but two major clásicos. Both of them were fantastic games that ended in dramatic 2-2 ties, setting the stage for some possible rematches in the Liguilla.

Speaking of which, Tijuana joined the list of clubs who clinched a berth, leaving three open spots for the nine teams mathematically still in it. Querétaro and Puebla are officially out, and Juárez and Santos are mathematically still alive but will have to win out, get results to go their way, and overcome significant goal differentials in order to get in. Pachuca can clinch when play resumes with a win, leaving Cruz Azul and Toluca having to fend off Pumas, Atlas, San Luis, and León for the final two slots.

Game of the Week

Guadalajara 2, América 2

You can debate all you want whether Chivas-América or Rayadas-Tigres is the Clásico Nacional Femenil, but this match did not disappoint. A tense first half ended in a scoreless draw, and even the first fifteen minutes of the second half weren’t all that action packed. The dynamic of the match changed however when in the 61st minute Alison González was subbed off for Kiana Palacios, and just two minutes later Palacios notched her 12th goal of the season by chesting down a ball that deflected off of Damaris Godínez and volleying it past Celeste Espino. Chivas fought and fought to get back into it, and all seemed lost when Palacios doubled the lead in the 86th minute on a shot from outside of the box that snuck inside near post. The hosts however drew one back a minute into stoppage when a Caro Jaramillo free kick was deflected by Rubí Soto past Itzel González. Then in the fourth minute of stoppage González came off of her line to try and clear a ball, but it made it only as far as Araceli Torres, who hit a rocket from distance into the back of the empty net, sending most of the crowd of 18,488 into ecstasy.

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Other scores:

Gallos Blancos de Querétaro 0, Cruz Azul 1

Club Tijuana 1, Toluca 0

TIgres UANL 2, Monterrey 2

UNAM Pumas 4, León 0

Puebla F.C. 1, Santos Laguna 3

Necaxa 0, Atlas 2

Pachuca 3, FC Juárez 2

Mazatlán FC 1, Club Atlético de San Luis 3

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Sub 18 results

Week 15

Pachuca 1, UNAM Pumas 4

América 1, Toluca 0

Mazatlán FC 2, Santos Laguna 3

Puebla F.C. 2, Gallos Blancos de Querétaro 2

Monterrey 0, Tigres UANL 0

Club Tijuana 0, León 1

Club Atlético de San Luis 1, Atlas 0

FC Juárez 1, Necaxa 1

Week 16 (all records are in W-D-L format, all times as listed):

Saturday, October 8

Tigres UANL (7-4-2) vs. Club Tijuana (5-3-5) - 9:00 AM

UNAM Pumas (6-3-4) vs. FC Juárez (2-2-9) - 10:00 AM

Toluca (5-3-5) vs. Puebla F.C. (1-4-8) - 11:00 AM

Gallos Blancos de Querétaro (3-5-6) vs. Cruz Azul (4-2-7) - 3:45 PM

Atlas (5-3-5) vs. Monterrey (3-7-3) - 3:45 PM

León (8-1-5) vs. Guadalajara (9-3-1) - 3:45 PM

Necaxa (6-4-2) vs. América (10-2-1) - 3:45 PM

Sunday October 9

Santos Laguna (5-2-6) vs. Club Atlético de San Luis (2-1-11) - 9:00 AM

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Notes and other things

Former US Attorney General Sally Yates’ report on the rampant sexual abuse in the NWSL was released, and as bad as anyone might have thought it would be, it turned out to be worse.

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Since awful behavior isn’t just part of the NWSL or something explicitly done by men, the University of Texas - Permian Basin in Odessa, Texas has suspended head coach Carla Tejas. An anonymous group of players came forward with allegations that the first-year coach among other things fielded an ineligible player, engaged in inappropriate conduct including distributing alcohol to minors, and engaged in abusive conduct in retaliation to players who spoke up. Perhaps the most egregious offense was Tejas reportedly demanding players pick her up and give her rides while drunk, since her license was suspended in a September 11 DWI incident.

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Maria Sole Ferrieri Caputi became the first woman to referee an Italian Serie A match, presiding over Sassuolo’s 5-0 win over Salernitana.

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Irish footballer Clare Shine’s autobiography “Scoring Goals In The Dark” has been nominated for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year. Shine’s autobiography is a great but harrowing read that deals with her struggles with alcoholism, drug abuse, and depression.

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Television cameras caught a young fan celebrating Kiana Palacios’ first goal and being moved to tears. Palacios reached out to try and find the fan on social media to send him a shirt.

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El Salvador’s Liga Femenina will be televised nationally in El Salvador on Canal 4, which is a huge step forward for women’s soccer in the country as well as Central America in general. Thanks to Ignacio Martínez for tipping me off to this.

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This was the first Clásico Regio coached by two women, and both Eva Espejo and Carmelina Moscato are fantastic coaches. These two may have a chance to go against one another in the Liguilla, and hopefully for many more times in the future.

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Speaking of the Clásico Regio, 31,537 people turned out to see Tigres host Monterrey.

Don’t ever let them tell you no one pays attention to women’s soccer.

If you have something that should be included in this segment, please reach out to me via twitter or email me at golazodelgringo@gmail.com

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Game of Next Week (in two weeks)

Teams will be off for the international break, but when play resumes the game I’m most interested in has to be Rayadas vs. Chivas. The last two league champions, Chivas beat Rayadas in the Campeon de Campeones back in March. Since then, Chivas and Rayadas have lost one game each and have goal differentials of +24 and +25 respectively. These two teams have been the dominant forces in the league for a couple of seasons, so it will be exciting to watch two of the best Mexico has to offer face one another.

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

Saturday, October 15:

Atlas (5-5-5) vs. Mazatlán FC (2-2-11) - 12:00 PM

Cruz Azul (6-4-5) vs. Pachuca (8-1-6) - 12:00 PM - ViX+

Sunday, October 16:

Club Atlético de San Luis (6-0-9) vs. Santos Laguna (5-1-9) - ESPN (Mexico)

Monday, October 17:

América (9-3-3) vs. UNAM Pumas (6-3-6) - 3:45 PM - ViX+

Toluca (7-1-7) vs. Puebla F.C. (3-1-10) - 5:00 PM - ViX+

León (4-3-7) vs. Tigres UANL (11-2-2) - 5:05 PM - FOX Sports (Mexico)

Club Tijuana (8-4-3) vs. Necaxa (1-4-10) - 7:00 PM - FOX Sports (Mexico)

Monterrey (11-3-1) vs. Guadalajara (13-1-1) - 9:00 PM - FOX Sports (Mexico)

FC Juárez (5-1-9) vs. Gallos Blancos de Querétaro (3-3-9) - 9:00 PM - FOX Sports (Mexico)

Thursday, October 20:

Puebla F.C. vs. León - 3:45 PM - Azteca Deportes (Mexico)