League Round Up for April 8 - 19: The Americas

This is a big international break for qualification. In particular, CONCACAF has some important fixtures that are eliminating nations from World Cup, W Championship, and Olympic qualification. But that doesn’t mean all of the domestic leagues are taking a break. Let’s look at the action that’s taken place during the international break.

Week 19 held course, with the top three all getting wins. Municipal Limeño had the most impressive result of the match day, seeing off Zacatecoluca. Alianza got off to a quick start, going up 4-0 in the opening 22 minutes of their match against Águila, but the hosts were able to fight it back to 4-2. After falling behind, Águila began to press higher, especially putting pressure on the Alianza defenders, and they were able to create turnovers in dangers spots that turned into a couple goals. Águila nearly scored a third in the 88', but Hazel Gonzalez made an impressive save, and the visitors were able to see out the remaining time.

Isidro Metapán saw off LA Firpo to keep themselves in the hunt of the 8th and final playoff spot. They’re behind Águila, but Águila have a much more difficult run in, so it will be an interesting few weeks.

Highlight of the Week: I though about going with Águila’s second, which was a decent finish from Meylin Sánchez, but I liked the pass from Genesis Esquival to Paola Calderón at the start of this play. It wraps a bit chaotically, but I figured the highlight should include Calderón’s goal.

Week 20 featured a big matchup for the top of the table, as Alianza hosted Municipal Limeño to close out the week. The matches are coming thick and fast, with rotations and tired legs impacting the teams, Limeño always had a difficult challenge in facing Alianza, and the result followed the trend of their recent meetings. The hosts got out to a 3-0 before Damaris Quélez scored a consolation goal for Limeño.

The win moves Alianza to the top of the table, ahead of Inter FA on goal difference. For their part, Inter FA saw off Águila with a dominant 4-0 win. Norma Mendoza and Antonella Cavigioli combined for the first two goals and were, in general, a menace to the Águila defense. Unlike last week, Águila could not find a way to turn the tide of the match and attempt a comeback.

With Águila’s loss, Metapán were able to move closer to the final playoff spot with their win over Platense. The win puts Metapán just three points behind Águila with two matches remaining in the season.

In a more controversial area, the match between Fuerte San Francisco and Zacatecoluca got aggressive, and tempers boiled over in the second half, leading to a brawl on the field. In the aftermath, extended punishments were handed down to 7 players, including multiple players with suspensions ranging from 6-8 matches. Since both teams have reached the playoffs, these suspensions will last at least that long, and may extend into next season. Although neither team is expected to win the title, these suspensions will hurt their chances even further.

Highlight of the Week: The pick of the week comes from Inter FA’s win over CD Águila. In particular, Inter’s opening goal features a lovely pass from Norma Mendoza to put Cavigioli in on goal, and the striker calmly finishes for the 1-0 lead.

The top of the table clash between Municipal Limeño and Inter FA is certainly the fixture of the day, and Limeño continued the rock-paper-scissors trend of the top three:

Limeño beats Inter FA
Inter FA beats Alianza
Alianza beats Limeño

But the key action happened in the CD Águila v Cacahuatique and Fuerte San Francisco v Isidro Metapán matchups. Águila had a decent grasp on the final playoff spot, but they’ve faced difficult opposition in the final matches of the season. This has allowed Metapán to catch up. Águila dropping points could have put them in a tight spot heading to the final match of the league season. However, both teams ended with draws, so Águila were given some relief for conceding a second half equalizer to Cacahuatique.

The results mean Águila have not officially wrapped up the final playoff spot, but they are in a very strong position. Águila need only a draw to ensure they qualify. Even if they lose, Metapán would have to win and make up the 10 goal-difference advantage that Águila possesses. So, the playoffs should be set, but we won’t know for certain until the final matches are played.

Highlight of the Week: Platense goals aren’t easy to come by. They have 9 on the season. So let’s give them some love and show their goal against Hércules.

Although Águila formalized qualifying for the playoffs, the biggest news to hit the league this weekend was the announcement that Inter FA has parted ways with head coach, Dalila Cazún. Obviously, currently unknown context may clarify, but it is really hard to figure out why the club would part with Cazún at all, let alone just before the playoffs. The club announced that Cristian Peña will take over as the interim head coach.

With victory for FAS and a loss for Zacatecoluca, the two clubs swap places in the final standings: CD FAS will go into the playoffs in 4th place and host Zacatecoluca, now the 5th place finishers.

Highlight of the Week: Águila were heavily favored to snag the 8th spot, but Sabrina Larios’s opener was the goal that made it official, so we’ll highlight it for the final round of league matches.

The Primera Femenina cramming the final 4 matchdays into a 12-day span is pretty criminal, if we’re being honest. It led to a number of teams rotating players, and it exhausts the squads just before the playoffs.

The league has announced that the final will be played on May 9. which is 20 days after the last regular-season match. So the playoff matches should have a bit more space between them, but the finalists will have played 7 matches in a month. That’s just not okay.

Highlight of the Week: The open for Cremas saw Abigail Paredes played in on the left. She cuts her defender and places an excellent curling shot into the far post.

A bit of a mea culpa, but I thought this was the last week of the season. When Unifut Juvenil withdrew after a couple weeks into the season, I thought their finished matches were removed, making the total matches played at 10. However, the league awarded 3-0 victories for all future matches that would have featured Unifut Juvenil, so all teams will have 11 matches played.

The playoff teams are set, so positioning is all that’s left to play for at this point. Cuilco is also one win away from a perfect season. The league hasn’t announced the dates of the final set of fixtures, but attention is likely turning toward the playoffs.

After riding high with a big upset win over Deportivo Cali, Inter de Palmira come crashing back down to earth via a 2-0 loss to Llaneros. The other club looking to unseat the perennial front runners -Millonarios- got another win. We’re a long way from confirming their bona fides, but it’s been a strong start to the season for the Bogotá-based club.

Nacional remain top of the table with a dominant win over Real Santander. Along with América de Cali, who got back to winning form, Nacional look the early pace setters for the season.

Highlight of the Week: Junior fell behind twice to Independiente Medellín. Both times, the fought back to draw level. Then, in the final minute of second-half stoppage time, a bit of pressure on Medellín’s defensive line created a turnover that led to Hannaceth Ruiz scoring the late winner to cap a great comeback.

Teams will get to re-integrate their international players in week 8, but week 9 is is where may eyes go, as it has some exciting fixtures. Santa Fe hosts Millonarios, and the Cali derby caps the week.

In a bit of questionably poor scheduling, the Superliga Femenina was scheduled to kick off in the midst of the U20 South American Championships. Only one of the week 1 fixtures ended up being played, so the other fixtures are being held at various times throughout the season.

Espuce hosted Barcelona this week, and the Guayaquil giants handled business with ease.

Highlight of the Week: Since there was a single match, we’ll just make Barcelona’s two goals the highlight of the week from Ecuador.

The lone match allows Barcelona to go top of the table. Still a lot of season left, and a number of teams still have to make up matches from the opening weeks. The usual players are on top, but Deportivo Ibarra and newly promoted Carneras have gotten a solid start to the early season.

In general, I’m not a fan of leagues playing matches during international breaks. Ecuador making up a postponed match is one thing, but El Salvador fitting the final four matches in this tight timeframe is inexcusable. But here we are.

I hope to integrate more leagues into the regional league roundups, but it can difficult to hunt down highlights and such. Also, as you can gather from the Salvadoran and Guatemalan leagues, matches can come fast and furious or get pushed back due to scheduling and club issues. But if I can get in the groove, I should be able to integrate more leagues into the mix.