For the second time in Liga MX Femenil history Club América has lifted a league trophy. Las Águilas won 4-2 on aggregate, in a series of two legs, to capture victory over Pachuca Femenil for their second title.
Club América’s win is their first in over five years, with their first championship during the Apertura 2018, when they beat Tigres on penalties. Last season, in the 2022 Apertura, Club América made the trip back to the finals, but lost to Tigres, 3-0 on aggregate.
This year was a different story, with Club América having a healthy squad and a lethal attack. Katty Martínez — nicknamed “Katty Killer” — took the reins and scored two of the four goals. Alison Gonzalez won a Liga MX Femenil title in the same season she scored her 100th league goal, which she did in the quarterfinals against FC Juárez. After spending time in Spain with Sevilla, goalkeeper Itzel González returned to Mexico, signing with América in 2022 and won her first league title. Team captain Kiana Palacios, an under-the-radar scorer in Mexico, lifted up her first title with her team.
Meanwhile, for Pachuca, the mood was somber. At home, they went down in Leg 1 with a 2-1 loss. The mountain wasn’t huge to climb, but became too much on the road in Leg 2 (more on that below). This was Pachuca’s third time in the Gran Final, and third loss, losing twice before to Chivas de Guadalajara.
Here’s a look at what happened in favor of Club América in both legs — and what went wrong for Pachuca.
Leg 1
At first, it was smooth sailing for Pachuca. Shocking to no one, it was Charlyn Corral who scored the opening goal in the 18th minute. Corral won the Golden Boot this season and did so making history as the first Liga MX Femenil player to reach 20 regular-season goals. Corral’s goal came off a takeaway from Mónica Ocampo from América defender Karen Luna. Ocampo passed the ball inside the box for Corral to tap it in.
Going into halftime, Pachuca had a slim 1-0 lead. However, América found their footing in the second half and propelled themselves forward, with two goals in six minutes. Andrea Pereira scored in the 67th minute, converting a penalty past Pachuca goalkeeper Esthefanny Barreras. In the 72nd minute, Martínez scored the Leg 1 game-winner. Palacios went on a long sprint with Martínez running with her. Palacios passed the ball and all Martínez needed was one hit.
América’s advantage was small heading into Leg 2, but a win on the road meant an easier environment as Las Águilas hosted the second match at the world-famous Estadio Azteca.
Leg 2
Martínez picked up exactly where she left off in Leg 2 at the Azteca. With the home crowd on their side, Club América earned a quick goal to bring the aggregate score to 3-1, making the hill for Pachuca to climb much steeper.
The 25-year-old Martínez scored off a header in the box. Standing right in front of former América defender Janelly Farias, Martínez ducked low, as Palacios fired the ball into the box, making perfect contact with Martínez’s head for the first tally of Leg 2.
The teams went into the locker room with América having a two-goal advantage on aggregate. However, that extended to three goals after a screamer from the top of the box by Aurelie Kaci. Just look at how close goalkeeper Barreras was to saving the shot.
América looked to have put the bow on top of the win, until Alice Soto scored in the 85th minute. However, the goal from the 17-year-old wasn’t enough to spur a comeback for Pachuca.
The match ended with the same 2-1 scoreline as the first leg, and Club América lifted their second Liga MX Femenil trophy. To add more success for Club América, the final leg was played in front of 58,156 fans — the most-ever for a women’s match at the historic Azteca.
Presenting your #LigaBBVAMXFemenil champions: @AmericaFemenil!!! 
pic.twitter.com/ebEjeB0YzS
— The Equalizer (@EqualizerSoccer) June 6, 2023
pic.twitter.com/ebEjeB0YzS— The Equalizer (@EqualizerSoccer) June 6, 2023
In other Liga MX Femenil/Mexico news…
– Mexico wins U-20 Concacaf Women’s Championship over U.S. — This doesn’t happen often. The U.S. youth system has always provided victories and promising results in Concacaf. However, this time, Mexico got the better of the U.S. Youth U-20 National Team during the Concacaf Women’s Championship. Malin Orozco (Tijuana Youth Team) and Fátima Servín (C.F. Monterrey Senior Team) scored for Mexico, while Onyeka Paloma Gamero scored for the U.S. This was the second win for Mexico in the tournament, as El Tri Femenil won the 2018 tournament.
SERVING IT UP FOR MEXICO! @Miseleccionfem's Fátima Servín puts her side back on top pic.twitter.com/5kHAh76Io8
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) June 4, 2023
pic.twitter.com/5kHAh76Io8— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) June 4, 2023
– Mila Martínez has left FC Juárez Femenil, and, on June 6, was named the manager of Tigres Femenil. The Spanish manager has been with Juárez since 2022 and hinted about potentially returning to her native country. In a notie to fans, FC Juárez stated, “Mila Martínez will be an important part of the history at FC Juárez Femenil and we will always be grateful for her dedication to our team… We want to assure our fans that the Bravas project continues strong and solid for the next tournament, so in the coming days we will be informing the name of the person who will lead this project in the ‘Technical Directorate,’ as well as other additions.” Martínez took FC Juárez to their first-ever Liguilla appearance. In their press release, Tigres stated, “Welcome, Mila, to this new challenge and we are sure that all your experience will add to the Amazonas project.”
– Carmelina Moscato is leaving Tigres Femenil, as well, submitting her resignation. Moscato won a Liga MX Femenil title during last season’s Apertura. On her personal Instagram, Moscato wrote, “Making the decision to come to Mexico and embark on a new journey in my coaching career, to a new country and culture, turned out to be even more beautiful than I could have expected.” You can read Moscato’s full statement by clicking here.
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– Pablo Luna has been fired from Club Puebla Femenil. Puebla finished in 16th place during the Clausura season. In a statement, the team said, “The institution reaffirms its commitment to the fans of strengthening the women’s team to seek o raise the name of the club during the next campaign. So, in the coming days, it will be announced who will be the new helmsman.”
– Santos Femenil announced on May 29 that manager Jorge Campos has been fired. Santos finished in 14th place during the Clausura. Despite his firing from the coach position, Santos announced that Campos will remain with the “Fuerzas Básicas,” within the club.
– After being thrashed by Tigres in the Liguilla quarterfinals, Atlas FC Femenil sacked manager Fabiola Vargas. In addition, assistant coach Cristián Martínez was also fired.
– On May 31, Katty Martínez posted a cryptic message against her former club, Tigres, on her Twitter account, translated: “Now are we going to talk? Then talk. I have spent a year and a half keeping my truth silent about how things happened. They threatened me if I came to say what happened. They didn’t even let me say goodbye. Enough of them distorting everything.” Keep an eye out for anything from Martínez. She joined Club América in 2021.
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