Alajuelense claim fourth Costa Rica championship | OneFootball

MIAMI – Costa Rican women’s football now knows its new Champion for the Liga de Clausura 2022. LD Alajuelense won the most important series of the season against Sporting FC, lifting their fourth trophy in their history, reclaiming their title and adding a new piece of hardware to their cabinet.

The Final was played over two games, the first one being on December 10, with the Estadio Alejandro Morera Soto serving as the main stage. Both teams arrived with high spirits, looking to write new history for their teams in the League.

The first game was full of excitement and was back and forth between the two teams. The Manudas struck first thanks to Viviana Chinchilla, who put the ball in the back of the net in the 15’. Not much later, Sporting FC’s determination paid off, their first goal arriving in the 39’ courtesy of a header from captain Carol Sanchez to make it 1-1.

The second half was just as action-packed, as both teams tried to go ahead on every play. It wasn’t until the 72’ that LD Alajuelense regained the lead through Costa Rica women’s football legend Shirley Cruz. Golden Boot prospect Mia Corbin then scored the third one of the night for the hosts, giving them a healthy 3-1 advantage going into the second leg.

The last game of the season came on December 18, with everything to play for both teams. The match started on a high, when hosts Sporting FC scored the first one of the evening in the 23’ on a header from Lourdes Viana to cut the gap to 3-2. Sporting FC then was able to level the series, 3-3, in the 62’ when Viana showed up again, scoring her second goal of the day from a corner kick.

But in the 85’ Corbin proved why she won this season's Golden Boot title, scoring the first goal of the night for her team off a pass from outside the area.  It served as the decisive goal in a 4-3 final on aggregate, making LD Alajuelense the Champions of this season’s La Liga de Clausura.

This is the fourth title for Las Leonas, making them one of the most dominant teams in Costa Rica in recent years.