Liga MX Femenil recap: 2022 Clausura, Week 10

Liga MX Femenil is back once again. After being paused due to the riot at the Querétaro vs. Atlas (men’s) match, the league played a full schedule save for postponing the match between those two teams which had the misfortune of being scheduled the week after the men’s game. Still we had a good slate of matches, chock full of the last minute heroics and golazos that make this league one of the most entertaining in the world.

América 1, Guadalajara 2: The latest iteration of the Clásico Nacional Femenil did not disappoint, with América and Chivas playing a match for the ages. América took advantage of the home crowd and got off to a flying start, pressing relentlessly and creating opportunities from the opening whistle. It paid off in the 20th minute when América was awarded a penalty kick when Michelle González was ruled to have handled the ball. Subsequent replays showed the ball hit González in the ribs and then the arm, and the penalty might not have withstood the scrutiny of a VAR review. Regardless, Katty Martínez stepped up and converted the penalty to give the hosts the lead in the 20th minute. Chivas started building some momentum and in the 49th minute got the equalizer when Caro Jaramillo played a nice ball in to Licha Cervantes. While it was a tough angle and goalkeeper Renata Masciarelli came off of her line to narrow it even further, Cervantes was still somehow able to hit it inch perfect into the back of the net far post. In the 54th minute Jaramillo hit a ball flush off of the crossbar, and then in the 61st Jaramillo and Cervantes played a succession of passes that left Cervantes in on goal. Masciarelli again played Cervantes well but Licha’s left foot had a bit of magic, squeezing it in short side for what turned out to be the game winning goal. In the 69th Cervantes was again played in on goal, but Janelly Farías was there to make the tackle. Cervantes tumbled over Farías in the box, and while the Chivas fans may have wanted a penalty call, none would come. A turnover in the 85th to Dani Espinoza almost gave the lead away, but Espinoza took one too many touches on the ball and allowed the defense to get back on it and defuse the situation. With the win, Chivas kept pace with Tigres and Monterrey while leapfrogging their archrivals.

Toluca 2, Tigres UANL 2: A wild ending at Estadio Nemesio Díez, as Toluca grabs an equalizer at the death. Toluca took the lead before the first minute of play had elapsed when Diana Guatemala took the ball off of Ceci Santiago’s foot and dribbled the ball into the empty net. Tigres though were undaunted. Jackie Ovalle came close in the third minute, chipping goalkeeper Heidi González but sending it just wide of the far post. Guatemala almost doubled the lead in the ninth minute, but her shot from close range went just wide. González made a great stop on a free kick in the 29th minute to preserve the lead. Toluca might have gotten away with one in the 38th minute when Natalia Villarreal attempted a cross into the box that was blocked by Karla Martínez, although replays showed the ball hit Martínez in the arm after making contact with her leg while inside of the box. Then in stoppage after the first half, Greta Espinoza got her head onto a free kick and knocked the ball into the post, but miraculously for Toluca, González was facing the right way and the ball deflected right into her arms. At the start of the second half, Destinney Duron was within inches of getting a free header on goal, just missing the cross in from Martínez. Tigres drew level however in the 80th minute when Ovalle made a wonderful run down the left and hit a cross back against the grain to a wide open Mia Fishel for her third goal of the season. Fishel almost got a second in the 88th minute when she headed a corner kick off of the crossbar. Luckily for Tigres Fer Elizondo was in perfect position to head in the rebound and give Tigres the lead. Unfortunately for Tigres it wouldn’t hold. In the seventh minute of stoppage, a Toluca free kick was headed by Natalia Colin past Santiago to salvage a draw for the hosts. This lead to a couple of Tigres players expressing their displeasure via social media after the match. Tigres still remained in second place, however falling to six points behind archrivals Monterrey and becoming tied with Chivas.

Monterrey 5, Necaxa 2: Rayadas remain perfect through nine, downing Necaxa 5-2 at Estadio BBVA. Monterrey came out swinging, with Diana García hitting a long distance shot that missed by inches in the fifth minute. In the eighth minute Rayadas broke through when Daniela Solís headed the ball up and over goalkeeper Lupita Olvera, who had come way off of her line. Desirée Monsiváis almost added one a minute later when she was left all alone wide, but she had a little trouble settling the ball and shot it into the side netting. The tables turned in the 23rd minute when goalkeeper Claudia Lozoya went after a ball in the box, made contact with Luciana García Riefkohl. García Riefkohl went down, and Stephanía Pérez Borja awarded the penalty. Fanny Grano converted and the sides were level, although it only lasted two minutes. In the 26th, Solís pinged a ball from well outside of the box to Christina Burkenroad, who headed it in past Olvera to regain the lead for Rayadas. In the 32nd minute Monterrey kept pressuring and Necaxa couldn’t fully clear the ball. On one such clearance attempt the ball rolled out to Diana García, who hit a rocket from at least thirty yards out. Solís got her second of the evening on a bomb from just outside of the eighteen yard box in first half stoppage time. After the half, Necaxa tightened up on defense and even got an offensive chance in the 53rd when García Riefkohl got in on goal. Lozoya made two solid saves on consecutive shots. Rayadas were gifted a goal in the 56th when Yaneisy Rodriguez inexplicably handled the ball in the box, and Rebeca Bernal converted the penalty. Grano drew one back for Las Centellas in the 83rd with a nice header off of a corner kick, but it was far too little, far too late. With just nine games played, Rayadas have a magic number of just eight.

Other scores:

Cruz Azul 2, Santos Laguna 3

Pachuca 2, Club Atlético de San Luis 0

Mazatlán FC 0, León 0

Puebla F.C. 2, FC Juárez 1

Club Tijuana 0, UNAM Pumas 0

Gallos Blancos de Querétaro vs. Atlas: Postponed

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Sub 17 results

Week 9

UNAM Pumas 1, Necaxa 1

Toluca 1, Pachuca 2

Puebla F.C. 3, FC Juárez 2

León 3, Mazatlán FC 1

Santos Laguna 2, Club Tijuana 1

Club Atlético de San Luis vs. Tigres UANL: Postponed

Guadalajara vs. Atlas: Postponed

Cruz Azul vs. América: Postponed

Week 10

Tigres UANL 0, León 1

Toluca 3, Puebla F.C. 2

Atlas 2, Santos Laguna 2

FC Juárez 0, UNAM Pumas 0

Club Atlético de San Luis 1, Guadalajara 1

Mazatlán FC 0, Monterrey 1

América 3, Gallos Blancos de Querétaro 0

Pachuca 3, Cruz Azul 0

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Notes and other things

My good friends at Diaspora United interviewed Mia Fishel. If you don’t already listen to them, do yourself a favor and subscribe to their podcast.

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I also interviewed Mia, and while the interview is similar to the one done by Diaspora United I got more into Mia’s journey through soccer. Mia was great to talk to, and I wish her nothing but success.

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With almost two months to go in Spain’s Liga Iberdrola, Barcelona has clinched the league with a 24-0-0 record. For more perspective, with six games left to play they’ve scored 136 goals while allowing six.

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México’s U20s earned a berth in the U20 Women’s World Cup in Costa Rica, but fell 2-0 to their northern neighbors in the Final. Still, this is really encouraging for México, who haven’t finished lower than third since the 2004 tournament.

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Speaking of the México U20s, their legendary coach Maribel Domínguez was inducted into the Salón de la Fama del Fútbol Internacional (International Football Hall of Fame) along with other luminaries such as Ronaldinho and Oswaldo Sánchez. Congratulations to Marigol and all of the other distinguished recipients of this award.

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The USL W (second division women’s soccer in the United States) announced they’d be doing a calendar that more closely aligned with the international calendar than that used by leagues in the US. The NWSL and MLS both use a calendar that runs from spring into early winter, playing through the brutal summers but avoiding the equally brutal winters in a lot of places. The USL W will attempt to avoid both the hottest summer months and coldest winter months in the US. How it pans out will remain to be seen, but kudos to them for thinking outside of the box on this.

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Chile’s Senate unanimously approved legislation requiring fútbol clubs to hire players. It will go to their Cámara (lower house) for review and passage into law.

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Next week (all records are in W-D-L format, all times as listed, México does not revert to Daylight Saving Time until April 3):

Wednesday, March 16:

América (6-1-2) vs. Gallos Blancos de Querétaro (3-2-3) - 3:45 PM - TUDN (Mexico)

FC Juárez (1-0-8) vs. Mazatlán FC (2-3-5) - 8:00 PM - TUDN (Mexico)

Thursday, March 17:

León (2-3-4) vs. Puebla F.C. (3-1-5) - 10:00 AM

Necaxa (2-3-5) vs. Toluca (2-3-4) - 12:00 PM - TUDN (Mexico)

Santos Laguna (2-1-6) vs. Pachuca (6-1-3) - 7:00 PM - FOX Sports (Mexico)

Tigres UANL (6-3-0) vs. Cruz Azul (2-3-4) - 7:00 PM - TUDN (Mexico)

Monterrey (9-0-0) vs. Club Atlético de San Luis (1-5-3) - 9:00 PM

Friday, March 18:

Guadalajara (6-3-0) vs. Club Tijuana (1-7-2) - 10:30 AM - Chivas TV, Telemundo Deportes App

UNAM Pumas (3-3-4) vs. Atlas (3-4-2) - 5:00 PM - TUDN (United States and Mexico)