Liga MX Femenil 2023 Apertura, Week 3 Recap

Apologies again for the lateness of this recap. It was a fantastic week of action, full of great saves and great goals.

Game of the Week

Toluca 2, Pachuca 1

Toluca with a good win at home against Pachuca, who are struggling at the start of this season without Jenni Hermoso and Marta Cox. Miriam Aguirre made several key saves early on to keep Toluca in the match, and it paid off. At the start of the second half, Mariel Román played a great ball out to Brenda Woch, who raced in and hit a shot past Esthefanny Barreras to give Toluca the lead. Four minutes later Woch flicked a ball into the box for Cinthya Peraza, but her header hit off of the post in what would have been a magical goal. In the 70th, Woch fired a shot that hit Karen Díaz in the arm. Peraza stepped up and converted the penalty to double the lead for Las Diablas. Pachuca kept fighting, with Charlyn Corral hitting the woodwork and a goal being ruled offside nullified. The visitors were able to draw one back in the 88th minute when Karla Nieto knocked in the rebound of a Corral free kick, but it wasn’t enough as Tuzas fell to 1-0-2 on the season.

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Other scores:

Santos Laguna 0, Guadalajara 3

Only time will tell which team this match said more about, but this one seemed closer than the 3-0 score line indicates. Santos wasn’t doing bad but gave up a handball in the box in the ninth minute. Caro Jaramillo stepped up and converted in the following minute to give Chivas the lead. While the visitors had the better of the chances, Santos was able to hold firm until the 60th minute when Licha Cervantes made a late run into the box and got onto a pass from Jaramillo, knocking in her first goal of the season. Cervantes was instrumental in adding the insurance goal in the 88th minute, driving to the end line before cutting back a pass to a wide open María López for her first senior team goal.

Tigres UANL 6, Mazatlán FC 0

Another week, another Tigres rout as they thrash Mazatlán 6-0. Three games into this season, Tigres have scored 14 goals and conceded none. Tigres took the lead in the 16th minute on a Greta Espinoza header as the result of a corner kick, her second this season. Nayeli Rangel got her second goal in as many games in the 23rd minute, heading in a corner kick from the opposite side of Espinoza’s. Maricarmen Reyes notched her third of the season in the 36th, capitalizing on a defensive error, which was the last goal of the first half. In the second half, Stefany Mayor got her second of the season in the 50th minute, and Jackie Ovalle got a brace, the first off of a wonderful strike from long distance in the 53rd and the second just five minutes later on a shot from the top of the box that trickled through goalkeeper Claudia Lozoya’s hands. Cristina Torres was shown a straight red in the 73rd minute when she went in high and late on Natalia Muñoz.

Cruz Azul 2, UNAM Pumas 1

Pumas got a very early lead but couldn’t hold on as Cruz Azul downed their crosstown rivals 2-1 at La Noria. Aerial Chavarrin put the guests up in the third minute on a flying header off of a corner kick, but Cruz Azul answered right back. Three minutes later Érica da Silva capitalized on a defensive error by Pumas, intercepting a pass back to the goalkeeper and knocking it in to draw the sides level. Da Silva doubled her tally in the 40th minute on a chip from distance. Pumas had several chances to score but Itzayana González stood tall, keeping Cruz Azul in the lead by making several great saves. Desirée Monsiváis was shown a red card in the 90th minute, and will miss Pumas’ next match.

Atlas 3, FC Juárez 2

Juárez continues to struggle, losing 3-2 to Atlas in Guadalajara. Atlas got the match started off on the right foot when Paola García got a running header on a cross from Fabiola Ibarra in the fourth minute. The lead didn’t last long though, as four minutes later Jasmine Casarez found a wide open Sayuri Watari for her first goal in Liga MX Femenil. Ten minutes later Ibarra unleashed a shot that defender Alejandra Anchondo knocked off of the line, but García was in the right place at the right time to get her brace. Then in the 32nd minute, Watari had an unbelievable solo effort, getting past goalkeeper Camila Vázquez and four Atlas defenders to draw the sides level. After the half Atlas really took the game over, however it was a controversial call in the 62nd minute that decided the game. Julitha Singano made a stop on a shot from Alejandra Lomelí on the goal line. Singano turned and fell, and as she fell she landed on the ball with her arm hitting the ball as she cushioned her fall. On the ground she spun her body around and kicked the ball out to the side, but the referee showed her a red card and awarded Atlas a penalty. Ibarra’s penalty attempt was saved, but Brenda Ceren was able to get to the rebound to give Atlas the win.

Puebla F.C. 0, Rayadas de Monterrey 3

A solid win by Rayadas at Puebla. Christina Burkenroad had a brace, getting a touch on a lovely ball forward from Yamile Franco in the 58th and then pouncing on a ball sent across the box in the 64th minute. In stoppage, Hindra Pérez ran into Abril Macías in the box and a penalty was awarded. Rebeca Bernal’s attempt was unsuccessful, but then a second penalty was awarded a couple minutes later when Pérez stepped on Macías’ foot in the box. This time Bernal converted to complete the victory for Rayadas.

Atlético de San Luis 1, Necaxa 0

A tight affair between these two teams. The lone goal in the contest came off a penalty after Dayan Fuentes tripped up Jaquelín García in the box. Zellyka Arce ripped the shot from the spot into the top corner for what would be the game’s deciding goal. From there it was a goalkeeping clinic, with Nicole Buenfil and Brissa Rangel stopping everything that came their way.

León 2, Gallos Blancos de Querétaro 0

León played a great game and handed Querétaro their first defeat of the season. Los Gallos looked good but a great performance in goal from Ángeles Martínez kept them off the board. Yashira Barrientos got her second goal of the season in the 14th minute when she was left alone in space and got her head onto a nice cross in from Marlyn Campa on the right wing. Then in the 21st a nice slide by Lizbeth Ángleles kept possession in the box long enough for her to get the ball out to Dani Calderón. Calderón was in traffic and managed to backheel the ball into the net for her second goal of the season. León’s defense remained stout, with Brenda Díaz making a goal-line stop in the 31st minute, using her body to shield the goal as a ball deflected off of her knees and out. León improve to 2-0-1 on the season to match Gallos on points.

Sub 18 results

Week 2

América 3, UNAM Pumas 2

Gallos Blancos de Querétaro 0, Cruz Azul 0

Necaxa 0, Toluca 0

Puebla F.C. 0, Pachuca 0

Santos Laguna 2, León 2

Atlas 0, Tigres UANL 0

Club Tijuana 2, Atlético de San Luis 0

Mazatlán FC 1, Rayadas de Monterrey 0

Bye: FC Juárez (0-0-1), Guadalajara (0-0-0)

Week 3 (all records are in W-D-L format, all times as listed):

Saturday, August 5

Tigres UANL (0-1-0) vs. León (0-1-1) - 9:00 AM

Guadalajara (0-0-0) vs. Mazatlán FC (1-0-1) - 9:00 AM

UNAM Pumas (1-0-1) vs. Gallos Blancos de Querétaro (1-1-0) - 10:00 AM

Pachuca (0-1-1) vs. FC Juárez (0-0-1) - 11:00 AM

Toluca (1-1-0) vs. Puebla F.C. (0-1-0) - 11:00 AM

Necaxa (0-1-1) vs. Cruz Azul (0-1-1) - 3:45 PM

Sunday, August 6

Rayadas de Monterrey (0-1-1) vs. Atlas (1-1-0) - 10:00 AM

Atlético de San Luis (0-0-1) vs. Santos Laguna (1-1-0) - 10:00 AM

Bye: América (2-0-0), Club Tijuana (1-1-0)