Club America, Alajuelense win Mexican, Costa Rican titles

MIAMI, Florida – Lifting the trophy is what every team works for and dreams of when the season starts. Now, after a pair of intense and heart-stopping finals, two leagues in Concacaf know who their champions are for this season.

The Liga MX Femenil now has its new champion after 19 weeks of intense football, in which the teams and players left it all on the pitch, showing how far the league has come since its founding in 2017.

Club America are the champions of the Torneo de Clausura 2023 after defeating Club Pachuca 4-2 on aggregate. The Final started on Saturday with Las Tuzas taking control at home, with Charlyn Corral scoring the first goal of the series in the 18’, after Monica Ocampo stole the ball from the Aguilas’ defense. However, the Mexico City team wasn’t ready to give up yet, and in the 67’, Andrea Pereira pulled one back for her team after the referee called a penalty. Just minutes later, in the 71’, the legendary Katty Martinez gave the Aguilas a 2-1 lead after a great assist from captain Kiana Palacios.

It was all left to play for in the second leg on Monday evening at the Estadio Azteca, where 58,156 fans made themselves heard in support of their team, breaking a national record of attendance for a women’s football match. In the 7’, Martinez again helped her team take the lead, scoring a header after a great collective play. But Club America wasn’t done and in the 57’ Aurelie Kaci scored a banger from outside the area. However, Las Tuzas responded in the 85’ with a great goal from 2023 Concacaf Women’s Under-20 Championship Best Player Award winner Alice Soto, but it wasn’t enough, as Club America won their second title.

The Torneo de Apertura 2023 of Costa Rica also celebrated their big Final, repeating history from six months earlier, as Sporting FC faced defending champions LD Alajuelense.

LD Alajuelense won the title again, lifting their fifth championship after a great comeback from losing the first leg on Thursday evening 4-1. The first leg began with Sporting FC’s Cristin Granados opening up the scoring in the 11’ and then again in the 56’. Celeste Jimenez was the author of the third goal of the match for Sporting FC in the 68’ to make it 3-0.

Las Leonas of Alajuelense fought back the entire game and got themselves a reward in the 80’, with Carolina Miranda pulling one back. But Sporting FC wasn’t done, scoring their fourth goal of this first leg in the 90+1’ thanks to the services of Emily Flores, making it look like this Final was all but decided.

But there is a reason why LD Alajuelense were the defending champions, and they showed in on Saturday evening, reversing their fate in the last game of the season. The comeback started in the 5’ thanks to a goal by Kenya Rangel, who didn’t stop there and scored the second one for her team in the 20’. They didn’t back down in the second half, either, and in the 50’ they tied the series with a goal from Alexandra Pinell. Extra time was needed and the defending champions used it to their advantage, with Natalia Mils scoring the final goal in the 108’, giving her team the most precious win.

With this comeback, the legendary Shirley Cruz, who was playing her last professional club match, had the chance lift LD Alajuelense’s fifth trophy, becoming the first five-time winners of the championship in Costa Rica.

The NWSL played its 10th matchday and the Chicago Red Stars showed how hard they have been working these last couple of weeks, downing hosts Angel City FC 2-1 on Monday evening. Ava Cook showed up to play, scoring her first goal of the season in the 16’, a header that would give her team the advantage. She kept her tally going, scoring the second one for Chicago in the 27’ by firing in from inside the box.

Angel City kept their heads up, and a legend of the game helped them pull one back. Sydney Leroux, who returned after an 11-moth absence due to injury, scored the only goal for her team on Monday in the 88’, marking a dream return to the game.

The Kansas City Current stopped their winless run on Sunday afternoon, when they faced North Carolina Courage, winning 1-0. The author of the only celebration of the match was Kristen Hamilton, a former Courage player, who didn’t wait long to put her team ahead, as she showed up in the 8’, beating the goalkeeper after a great collective play.

The Courage tried to fire back, but the defense and dedication of Kansas City didn’t allow it, as they took three points for the first time since the beginning of May.