Liga MX Femenil Week 15 Recap

Some competitions are a marathon, not a sprint. Liga MX Femenil is not one of them, and with two games remaining the sprint has become even more intense. There are six teams mathematically alive with three spots remaining. The slightest slip-up by any of them could be the difference between playing in the Liguilla and cleaning out your locker.

But before we start looking into the future to see what could happen, we need to reflect on this past week and what it meant for the teams. The axe fell on a host of teams this week, with Querétaro, León, Santos, Cruz Azul, and Puebla formally joining Necaxa and Mazatlán in being mathematically eliminated from the Liguilla. That these teams made it to Week 15 shouldn’t be lost on anyone, especially considering how dire some of their past seasons have been. And while no one was able to clinch a Liguilla spot this week, teams moved ever closer.

Game of the Week

Tigres UANL 1, Guadalajara 1

A good game between two of the best in the league. The defenses of both teams were dialed in, limiting the chances. Chivas scored first on a fluky goal when Anette Vázquez hit a shot from distance that hit off of Licha Cervantes and went in for her ninth goal of the season. It looked like Chivas was going to get the win and almost got a second in the 83rd on an errant back pass that Ceci Santiago had to clear off of her line. Tigres kept pushing however and got the equalizer two minutes later when Jackie Ovalle got a pass from Mia Fishel, took a touch that made two defenders collide into each other, and shot past Blanca Félix for her fifth goal of the season. While the two teams both have clinched spots in the Liguilla, this result opened the door for Rayadas to re-take the superlíder spot.

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Other scores:

Pachuca 4, Club Atlético de San Luis 0

It’s a bit hard to give a goalkeeper credit in a 4-0 loss, but Nicole Buenfil did all she could to keep the score line as manageable as it wound up being. Pachuca however turned out to be too much, and eventually the dam broke in the 30th minute when Jenni Hermoso got onto a rebound of a Charlyn Corral shot and walked it into the net. Eight minutes later Karla Nieto got her first goal of the season, hit a rocket from outside of the box into the top corner of the net. Corral got her 17th goal of the season in the 55th minute when she drew and converted a penalty. Hermoso also picked up her 17th goal of the season when she got into the box and ripped a shot past Buenfil. Pachuca remain in third place, while San Luis is still alive (barely) in the Liguilla hunt.

Puebla F.C. 1, Atlas 3

Atlas needed a win to stay ahead in the Liguilla hunt and got it, although Puebla got on the board first. In the fourth minute of play Rebeca Villuendas ripped a shot from distance that seemed to catch goalkeeper Vania Villalobos by surprise to give the home side the early lead. But Puebla’s luck has been bad all season long and in the 29th minute Liliana Sánchez deflected a cross from Zellyka Arce in past Karla Morales to level the sides at 1-1. In the 58th minute Fabiola Ibarra gave Atlas the lead for good when she intercepted a pass and shot it in past Morales. Fer Limón added the insurance goal in the 75th minute, heading in a the rebound of a shot that Morales initially saved. With the win, Atlas have a magic number of four and could clinch a Liguilla spot this coming week.

Club Tijuana 1, Gallos Blancos de Querétaro 1

Tijuana really needed all three points from this one but only wound up getting the draw against a solid Querétaro team. After a scoreless first half, Dani Espinosa put the home team up in the 48th minute when she was taken down in the box by debutant goalkeeper Irais Hernández and converted the shot from the spot. That seemed to wake Gallos up, and in the 61st minute Deisy Ojeda hit a free kick beauty to get a point for Querétaro. Gallos are officially eliminated from Liguilla contention, but they’ve got a lot to build on for next season. Tijuana is still in control of their destiny, however they’ll head to León without head coach Juan Romo and assistant coach Gilberto Amavizca, who were both shown red cards.

Toluca 2, León 0

Toluca needed a win to keep up with the Liguilla pack and delivered, downing León 2-0. Vanessa Penuna put Toluca up in the 18th minute with a screamer from distance, and Brenda Woch got her fifth goal of the season when she got some space in the box and got onto a Diana Guatemala cross. Guatemala left the game in the 33rd after a collision with Sophia Braun, appearing to have injured her left ankle. Both Ángeles Martínez and Kayla Thompson put in good performances in goal, but Thompson picked up her fifth clean sheet of the season and Toluca’s improbable rise from the ashes continues. They’re tied with Juárez at 22 points but trail on goal differential (-1 to Juárez’ +8).

Mazatlán FC 0, Necaxa 1

Saira López’ goal in the 21st minute was the difference as Necaxa gets their second win of the season. López was played in and got a deft touch on the ball to put it past Jennifer Amaro for the game’s only goal. Mazatlán have allowed 52 goals this season while scoring just 5.

Rayadas de Monterrey 2, América 0

With Chivas slipping up against Tigres, Rayadas seized the opportunity and beat a tough América team at home 2-0. Monterrey’s defense put on a clinic, stymieing América’s potent offense by not allowing space in behind the defenders and not allowing balls down the flanks by shutting down passing lanes. It paid off as Aylin “La Joya” Aviléz got her second goal of the season and the 53rd of her career in the 65th minute, heading in a deflected free kick. Chinwendu Ihezuo added one more in the 78th minute, getting a great cross from Diana Evangelista and getting past Karen Luna, who slipped and fell on the play. With the win, Rayadas drew level with Chivas at 36 points but takes the superlíder on goal differential (+30 to Chivas’ +25). América meanwhile is in fifth place, one point behind Tigres.

Santos Laguna 1, Cruz Azul 1

It looked like this one was going to end in a 0-0 draw, but soccer is a trickster god(dess). Both Gaby Machuca and Paola Calderón put in great shifts in goal, but Dalia Molina broke the scoreless deadlock in the 81st with a header of a deflected cross into the box. But just when Cruz Azul thought they’d get all three points, five minutes later Santos equalized when Daniela Monroy took down Daniela Delgado in the box and Alexia Villanueva got her sixth goal of the season, converting the penalty.

UNAM Pumas 1, FC Juárez 0

Pumas picks up a massive victory, downing Juárez 1-0 in the first Liga MX Femenil match under the lights at the historic Estadio Olímpico. Juárez came out hot but Pumas was able to hold them at bay, with the teams going into the half knotted at 0-0. In the second half, Juárez looked gassed, and Pumas took them to task. In the 54th minute Stephanie Ribiero got onto a great cross into the box and deflected it into Paola González, whose momentum knocked the ball into the back of the net for an autogol. Pumas kept the pressure on and Juárez, who was missing Jermaine Seoposenwe (tendenitis), Miah Zuazua (sprained shoulder), and Miriam García (ACL), simply couldn’t respond. Pumas are still alive in the Liguilla hunt and have a massive game against San Luis next week while Juárez are now tied with Toluca on points and hanging on to the eighth spot by goal differential.

Sub 18 results

Week 17

Tigres UANL 0, Club Atlético de San Luis 0

UNAM Pumas 3, Cruz Azul 0

Toluca 1, Puebla F.C. 1

América 3, Necaxa 2

Mazatlán FC 0, Atlas 3

León 3, Santos Laguna 1

FC Juárez 2, Pachuca 4

Club Tijuana 3, Rayadas de Monterrey 3

Bye: Guadalajara (9-5-1), Gallos Blancos de Querétaro (4-5-6)

Week 18 (all records are in W-D-L format, all times as listed):

Saturday, May 6

Necaxa (4-5-6) vs. Gallos Blancos de Querétaro (4-5-6) - 9:00 AM

Pachuca (6-7-2) vs. UNAM Pumas (7-2-6) - 11:00 AM

Atlas (8-5-2) vs. Rayadas de Monterrey (4-7-4) - 3:45 PM

Guadalajara (9-5-1) vs. Mazatlán FC (2-5-8) - 3:45 PM

Puebla F.C. (5-5-5) vs. América (10-3-2) - 3:45 PM

Sunday, May 7

Santos Laguna (4-7-4) vs. Club Tijuana (1-4-10) - 9:00 AM

Club Atlético de San Luis (2-6-7) vs. León (5-4-6) - 10:00 AM

Cruz Azul (5-5-5) vs. Toluca (5-7-3) - 11:00 AM

Bye: Tigres UANL (10-3-3), FC Juárez (2-1-13)

Liga MX Femenil Table