Rayadas are back-to back Liga MX Femenil champions | OneFootball

MONTERREY, Mexico – The Clásico Regio served as the Final of the Apertura 2024 in Liga MX Femenil, as CF Monterrey overcame Tigres 4-3 on penalties after tying 3-3 on aggregate to become the back-to-back league champions.

Tigres UANL Femenil won the first leg, 1-nil, last Friday at Estadio Universitario in San Nicolás de los Garza, Nuevo Leon. Rayadas responded with a 3-2 win in the second leg on Monday at Estadio BBVA in Guadalupe, Nuevo Leon. The tied aggregate forced a penalty shootout to decide a champion.

The matchup between crosstown rivals marked the sixth time a “Final Regia” decided the Liga MX Femenil winners. Rayadas earned their fourth star and first back-to-back league championships, successfully defending their Clausura 2024 title. The club’s other conquests came in the Aperturas 2019 and 2021 seasons.

Greta Espinoza scored the lone goal of the first leg, striking a late header in the 79’ to give Las Amazonas the slight lead in the series.

Tigres Femenil extended its lead to start the second leg with two goals in the first half. Lizbeth Ovalle got the first one in the 41’, concluding a run from the upper midfield with a left-foot shot in the penalty area. Ovalle reappeared, recovering the ball in the left wing to assist Ana Dias, who pushed the ball past Pamela Tajonas in the 44’ to double the lead for the visitors and make the score 3-nil on aggregate.

The defending champions would not relinquish their reign without a response. Monterrey showed its resilience with three unanswered goals in the second half.

Rayadas started their comeback in the 51’ as the recently subbed Tanna Sanchez hit a header past Cecilia Santaigo on a corner kick. Lucia Garcia got the second goal in the 55’ with a bicycle kick to capitalize on a loose ball in the box and pull within one goal from tying the series.

Monterrey’s aggregate-tying goal came from Katty Martinez, the former Tigres player, who scored in the 90’+7, striking from the right side of the six-yard box to force the match into PKs.

Pamela Tajonar, a pivotal player in Monterrey's postseason, stepped up again, stopping three penalties as her teammates scored four, to crown Rayads as back-to-back Liga MX Femenil champions.