Liga MX Femenil recap: 2022 Apertura, Week 11

This is the time of the season where those who are going to make the Liguilla start to pull away from the pack, those who aren’t going to make the Liguilla start planning for next season, and a handful of teams who are somewhere in between are gearing up for a fight. The dynamics and teams will always be in flux, but there will always be entertaining soccer.

Game of the Week

Mazatlán FC 3, Toluca 1

Heading into the week, Mazatlán had won just one game and looked to be one of the first to be mathematically eliminated from the Liguilla. They were set to host Toluca, who had five wins and sitting in eighth place wanted to grab an easy three points on the road to further solidify their Liguilla ambitions.

Mazatlán was having absolutely none of it though, downing Toluca 3-1 and simultaneously giving themselves a glimmer of hope while putting a giant dent into Toluca’s postseason plans.

Toluca had a goal called off for offside in the seventh minute before Yuliana Mora’s header after a corner kick gave Mazatlán the lead in the eleventh minute. Magaly Cortés doubled the lead in the 34th with a golazo from outside of the box.

Toluca had another goal called off in the 47th minute and then in the 66th Brenda Woch picked up a yellow card and then immediately got a second for continuing to yell at referee Katia García. Cortés notched her second of the night in the 82nd, catching Daniela Lozano out of position and booting it in from about 40 yards out. Mazatlán also went down to ten players in the 88th when Anahí Rentería was shown a red card, and Fernanda Sánchez hit a screamer from inside the box, but it was far too little, far too late.

Other scores:

Pumas UNAM 2, Cruz Azul 2

Puebla F.C. 2, Guadalajara 3

Club Atlético de San Luis 1, Tigres UANL 5

Club América 2, FC Juárez 0

Necaxa 0, Pachuca 1

León 0, Gallos Blancos de Querétaro 1

Santos Laguna 1, Club Tijuana 2

Monterrey 4, Atlas 1

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Sub 18 results

Week 12

Toluca 1, UNAM Pumas 2

Tigres UANL 2, Santos Laguna 1

Cruz Azul 2, FC Juárez 0

Gallos Blancos de Querétaro 0, Pachuca 1

León 1, Mazatlán FC 0

Puebla F.C. 1, América 1

Guadalajara 2, Club Atlético de San Luis 0

Club Tijuana 1, Monterrey 0

Week 13

Saturday, September 17:

UNAM Pumas (5-2-4) vs. Necaxa (5-3-2) - 10:00 AM

Pachuca (7-4-0) vs. Toluca (4-2-4) - 11:00 AM

América (7-2-1) vs. Cruz Azul (3-2-6) - 11:00 AM

Mazatlán FC (2-3-6) vs. Tigres UANL (6-2-2) - 11:00 AM

Santos Laguna (3-2-6) vs. Atlas (4-3-3) - 3:45 PM

Sunday, September 18:

Monterrey (3-5-2) vs. Guadalajara (9-1-1) - 10:00 AM

FC Juárez (2-1-8) vs. Gallos Blancos de Querétaro (3-3-5) - 10:00 AM

Club Atlético de San Luis (1-1-9) vs. León (5-1-5) - 3:45 PM

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Notes and other things

Apologies for this section being lean, and apologies for it being so long since the last installment. Life happens sometimes. As always, thank you for reading this column and supporting women’s soccer wherever it’s played.

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México Women’s National Team striker Diana Ordóñez was named the NWSL Rookie of the Month for August. All she’s done (so far) is smash the rookie record for goals, keep herself (11 goals / 1 PKs) close to Alex Morgan (15 goals / 5 PKs) in the Golden Boot race, make her the favorite for Rookie of the Year and a dark horse for MVP.

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Club Ñañas, an independently owned and operated women’s soccer club in Ecuador, has qualified for the Copa Libertadores Femenina for the third time in the club’s six years of existence. They play Independiente del Valle for the Superliga Femenina Championship on September 18 and 25.

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

While there are several compelling story lines including “Can Mazatlán also throw a wrench into Cruz Azul’s Liguilla ambitions” and “Third place América hosts fourth place Monterrey”, I’ve gotta go with Chivas hosting Tigres. Chivas is at the top of the table and the reigning champions, and Tigres are just two points behind and itching to show why they’re perennial favorites to earn silverware.

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

Friday, September 16:

Gallos Blancos de Querétaro (2-3-6) vs. Puebla F.C. (3-1-7) - 5:05 PM - FOX Sports (Mexico)

Saturday, September 17:

Atlas (3-5-3) vs. Club Atlético de San Luis (3-0-8) - 12:00 PM

Cruz Azul (4-3-4) vs. Mazatlán FC (2-2-7) - ViX+

Monday, September 19:

Toluca (5-1-5) vs. Necaxa (1-3-7) - 5:00 PM - ViX+

Pachuca (5-1-5) vs. UNAM Pumas (5-3-3) - 5:05 PM - FOX Sports (Mexico)

América (7-2-2) vs. Monterrey (8-2-1) - 7:00 PM - ViX+

Club Tijuana (6-2-3) vs. León (4-2-5) - 7:00 PM - FOX Deportes (United States), FOX Sports (Mexico)

Guadalajara (10-0-1) vs. UANL Tigres (9-1-1) - 9:00 PM - FOX Sports (Mexico), Chivas TV, Telemundo Deportes App (United States)

FC Juárez (3-1-7) vs. Santos Laguna (3-0-8) - 9:00 PM - FOX Deportes (United States), FOX Sports (Mexico)