Liga MX Femenil Week 12 Recap

It was a week of celebration for Monterrey while a week of mourning for Necaxa fans as their postseason plans were cemented this past weekend. Monterrey clinched a playoff spot with a draw against Pumas, however they saw their lead over Chivas whittled down to just one point. Still, Rayadas are in the Liguilla for the tenth straight season.

Necaxa on the other hand will miss the Liguilla for the eleventh straight season if you don’t count the 2020 Clausura that was cut short by the onset of the pandemic. While they’ve turned in better performances over the past few games, they’ve still lost eleven games on the season and are at a -26 goal differential.

Game of the Week

FC Juárez 3, América 3

This one had it all. The first shot was just 16 seconds in, and the game didn’t slow down to take a breath. Nati Mauleón got her first goal of the night getting a header in the eighth minute on a great cross from Casandra Cuevas. In the 16th minute though Jermaine Seoposenwe was taken down in the box and drew a penalty. Miah Zuazua smashed the ball into the back of the net in the 18th for her sixth goal of the season. In the 21st minute Seoposenwe sent in a ball that Itzel Velasco stopped but inexplicably let roll away, straight into the path of Jazmine Casarez. Casarez easily knocked the ball into the empty net for her sixth goal of the season. Then three minutes later it was Seoposenwe’s turn when Zuazua sent a free kick in that was headed over to a wide-open Seoposenwe for her third goal of the season. But Mauleón wasn’t done, and she pulled one back in the 39th minute with a shot from the top of the box. The teams kept battling and in the 64th minute Kiana “Súper Ki” Palacios got to a corner kick, scoring off of her back. América can clinch next week with a win or an Atlas loss while Juárez remain in sixth place with 21 points.

Other scores:

Tigres UANL 1, Cruz Azul 0

Cruz Azul played a heckuva game, pushing Tigres into stoppage before Mia Fishel drew and converted a penalty to give Las Amazonas the win. Cruz Azul had several good chances in the start of the match, with Dani “Blue” Flores missing a beautiful volley just wide left in the eighth minute and then missing a sliding shot wide right in the twelfth. Both Ceci Santiago and Itzayana González had stellar games, with the former picking up her fifth shutout of the season. Fishel was the difference-maker though, drawing the penalty in the 85th minute and converting it a minute later. Tigres are in fifth place with 25 points, while Cruz Azul are in twelfth with 12 points.

Guadalajara 4, Club Atlético de San Luis 0

San Luis kept it close until the end, but Chivas better side and never were in danger of dropping points. Gabi Valenzuela’s fourth goal this season put the hosts up in the 30th minute when she was able to break past the line on a great pass and hit a shot far post. Chivas were gifted a chance in the 62nd minute when referee Ximena Márquez called a hand ball in the box on Mariela García, however replays clearly showed the ball hitting García in the midsection and not her arm. Justice however was served in a way when Caro Jaramillo pushed her penalty up and over the bar. Márquez had another controversial call in the 73rd minute when she called another handball on Casandra Montero, this time outside of the box. This call was closer, as it hit Montero in the sleeve but the resulting free kick went over the bar. Chivas put it away in the 81st minute when Damaris Godínez got to the rebound of a shot from Dr. Adriana “Boyi” Iturbide that hit off of the crossbar. Joseline Montoya then got a brace in stoppage time, first chipping Nicole Buenfil who had come way off of her line in the third minute of stoppage and thenin the fifth minute with a header in the box. Blanca Félix picked up her third shutout of the season as Chivas gained ground on Monterrey, now sitting one point out of the superlíder position. They can also clinch a Liguilla spot with a draw or an Atlas draw or loss.

UNAM Pumas 2, Rayadas de Monterrey 2

A bit of a wild one that ended in a 2-2 draw. Monterrey scored just 25 seconds into the match when Chinwendu Ihezuo slotted a perfect pass through the box to Diana Evangelista, who put it in past a supine Melany Villeda. Both teams however kept pushing for a goal, and Pumas drew one back in the 31st minute after Mariana Cadena accidentally handled the ball in the box and Marylín Díaz converted the penalty. Ihezuo put Rayadas back up just before going into the locker room when she hit a shot off of the post. There was still some stoppage time however and Pumas used it to their advantage, with Kimberli Gómez getting onto a ball in the box that Monterrey couldn’t clear out. Pumas tried for an instant strike to open the second half, but Alex Godínez made a phenomenal save to tip the ball up and over the bar. Both teams had opportunities to get a game winner, but neither could pull one out and the match ended in a just result. Pumas is still mathematically in the hunt, but are seven points behind Atlas with five games left. Monterrey meanwhile sees the gap between them and Chivas narrow to just one point.

Puebla F.C. 1, Pachuca 1

Daniela Auza put Puebla up in the eighth minute when she was able to exploit a ton of open space on Pachuca’s left flank, knocking a shot in past a relatively defenseless Renata Masciarelli. Pachuca got up and dusted themselves off and pushed for an equalizer, but Puebla made life difficult. Karla Morales made a couple of great saves to keep the lead including an incredible diving stop on a shot in the 48th minute, tipping it up and over the bar. But Pachuca broke through in the 52nd minute when Jenni Hermoso got to a loose rebound in the box and knocked it in. Pachuca kept pressing for a game winner, but couldn’t find another one and the game ended in a draw. Pachuca picks up their first draw of the season but still remain in fourth place overall, ahead of Tigres on goal differential.

Necaxa 1, Toluca 4

Another game where Necaxa performed better than the score line, but still it was a just result as Toluca continues their improbable rise toward a spot in the Liguilla. Necaxa meanwhile is mathematically eliminated from the postseason. A defensive mistake in the 21st minute allowed Brenda Woch to take the ball, dribble down the pitch, and slot one past Valeria Martínez for her fourth of the season. Necaxa kept it close though, forcing Kayla Thompson into making several fantastic saves. Saira López had an unfortunate autogol in the 55th minute when a corner kick hit off of her back and went in. Necaxa won a penalty in the 72nd minute when Sam Calvillo was taken down in the box. Diana Anguiano converted the penalty, and Necaxa looked like they might come back and grab a point. Destinney Duron however had other ideas, knocking in a shot by Mariel Román that went off of the crossbar in the 83rd minute. Then three minutes later, Duron got to a deflected shot in the box and knocked it in to put the game to bed. Toluca is hanging in there, four points behind Atlas in that eighth spot with five games to go.

Atlas 1, Gallos Blancos de Querétaro 0

Atlas did what they had to do, beating Querétaro 1-0 and staying above the line. Both teams had some good looks in the first half but couldn’t quite get anything to go. Finally in the second half Fabiola Ibarra hit a stunner to put Atlas up in the 57th, belting the ball from at least 30 yards out. Querétaro’s Marta Alemany made several fantastic saves to keep Querétaro in it but they simply couldn’t get past Ana Gaby Paz as she picked up her third shutout of the season. The win keeps a four point gap between Atlas and Toluca for the final Liguilla spot, and also keeps Atlas two points behind Xolos Femenil and Juárez.

Mazatlán FC 0, León 3

Mazatlán’s poor season continues as they suffer a 3-0 shellacking at the hands of León. Mariana Larroquette put León up in first half stoppage with a shot that deflected in off of a defender. Mayalu Rausch got a header in the 47th minute after a defensive mistake by Mazatlán conceded a corner kick. Then in the 87th minute Yashira Barrientos put her head on a Larroquette shot from distance that caught goalkeeper Fer Tarango going the wrong way. Las Cañoneras are on the cusp of being formally eliminated from Liguilla contention, having lost three in a row and having just four points after twelve games.

Club Tijuana 2, Santos Laguna 1

Santos took a lead but couldn’t hang on as Tijuana continues to make their case for the Liguilla. Both teams looked dangerous in the attack, creating plenty of chances throughout the opening half but it was Sofía Varela’s shot from distance that gave Santos the lead and Varela her fifth goal in six games. The second half however belonged to Tijuana. Santos tried to hang on as long as they could, however in the 71st minute Dani Espinosa drew the sides level with a golazo from about 25 yards out. Ten minutes later Renae Cuéllar was able to clear out a ball that Santos couldn’t clear out in time for her eighth goal of the season.

Sub 18 results

Week 13

Saturday, April 1

Guadalajara 3, Atlas 0

Santos Laguna 1, Tigres UANL 4

Pachuca 0, Cruz Azul 0

Toluca 2, Necaxa 2

Mazatlán FC 0, Club Atlético de San Luis 0

Puebla F.C. 0, UNAM Pumas 2

Sunday, April 2

FC Juárez 0, Gallos Blancos de Querétaro 1

Club Tijuana 0, León 2

Bye: América (7-2-2), Rayadas de Monterrey (3-6-2)

Week 14 (all records are in W-D-L format, all times as listed):

Wednesday, March 29

Rayadas de Monterrey 0, Tigres UANL 1

Saturday, April 8

Necaxa (3-3-5) vs. Pachuca (5-5-2) - 9:00 AM

UNAM Pumas (6-2-4) vs. América (7-2-2) - 10:00 AM

Mazatlán FC (2-5-3) vs. Santos Laguna (2-6-3) - 11:00 AM

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

Gallos Blancos de Querétaro (4-2-6) vs. Toluca (4-4-3) - 3:45 PM

Sunday, April 9

Club Atlético de San Luis (1-5-5) vs. Guadalajara (8-3-1) - 10:00 AM

Cruz Azul (4-4-3) vs. FC Juárez (2-1-9) - 11:00 AM

Bye: Puebla F.C. (4-3-5), Club Tijuana (1-3-8)

Liga MX Femenil Table

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