Tigres Femenil have done it again. Las Amazonas were crowned the Liga MX Femenil champions on Monday night, concluding the league’s 2023 Apertura campaign. The Gran Final is split in two parts, and Tigres won thanks to a 3-0 victory in Leg 1 on Friday night.
Monday night’s match saw no goals at the historic El Volcán stadium in Monterrey, Mexico. The stands were full to watch Tigres lift their sixth Liga MX Femenil title, this time against Club América.
Tigres were led this season by first-year head coach Mila Martínez, who joined the side from FC Juárez. Ironically, Tigres’ last title in Liga MX Femenil came in last year’s Apertura, and also against Club América.
In Leg 1, Stephany Mayor, Maricarmen Reyes and Belén Cruz found the back of the net. Mayor kicked things off with a one-touch strike past América goalkeeper Itzel González, after multiple attempts to clear the ball went right to Tigres players.
Meanwhile, Reyes, who won the league’s Golden Boot with 15 tallies, scored the second goal in the 24th minute. Reyes scored after she volleyed the ball to herself and sent it up and over goalkeeper González.
The third and final goal of the two-legged Gran Final came from Cruz, who has been with Tigres her whole career since signing in 2019 with the senior team. Cruz scored off a deflection from González, as América players pleaded for a foul against their goalkeeper. However, Cruz picked up a rebound and delivered it past a congested box.
In Leg 2, the match saw some flagrant misses from both sides, and some stellar ‘tipping over the crossbar’ from both América goalkeeper González and Tigres goalkeeper Aurora Santiago. Both kept a clean sheet, but it was Santiago that was on the winning end.
The 2023 Apertura is over and players will have some time off before the upcoming 2024 Clausura campaign. The 2023 Clausura victor was Club América, winning their second title over Pachuca. Can they make it back to the glory of the Gran Final?
The upcoming Clausura season will begin in January, with an official start date to be named soon.