The Concacaf W Champions Cup Final came to an epic conclusion as Club América beat the Washington Spirit 5-3 on a day that will go down in history. CF Pachuca trounced Gotham FC 3-0 in the third-place match before América staked their claim for the Concacaf W Champions Cup trophy.
Today was a statement day, as two clubs from Liga MX Femenil won their respective matches and made their presence known. The league has been making progress since its inception, but specifically over the last five years. From retaining native Mexican talent to attracting big names like Jenni Hermoso (Tigres UANL), Andrea Pereira (Pachuca), and Geyse (Club América), it all climaxed tonight as two Mexican clubs won on the final day of the competition.
Ángel Villacampa’s Club América came into the match on the heels of a triple assist match by Geyse and a standout performance by Scarlett Camberos, who scored five goals in the tournament so far. For Adrián González, the Spirit came into the match following a narrow 1-0 win over CF Pachuca. The ladies from the Capitol were hoping that a little luck from Jose (their club’s spirit animal) would earn them their first trophy of the season.
The match was fast, physical, and loaded with fouls on both sides. The intensity between the two sides grew in unison with the rain. As the fouls started to pile up, the rain started to come down. It was a sloppy affair at first. Neither side looked to have an advantage. Then, we went from no goals to three within a span of eight minutes.
Aylín Aviléz and Geyse score to put Club América ahead 2-0. Just three minutes after the Brazilian put her side ahead, Sofia Cantore ran 30 yards up the field and launched a long-range effort from around 35 yards that beat Itzel Velasco.
90 seconds later, the Spirit were on the attack again. Trinity Rodman sent a cross to Cantore in the middle of the box. The Italian international fired on goal once again, but this time, her shot hit the post and bounced across the face of goal. As the excitement started to climb, so did the precipitation.
With the Spirit down 2-1, they came into the second half on fire. After the official whistled the half to begin, it took 35 seconds for Rosemonde Kouassi to level the match 2-2. She simply burned her defender with breakneck speed and chipped Velasco at the last second. She would get her brace in the 58th minute.
In the 61st minute, Geyse leveled the scoreline for América. She closed down quickly on MacIver (who had possession), and the keeper couldn’t get the ball out. Her pass deflected off of Geyse and into the back of the net.
In the 78th minute, Irene Guerrero found herself in the middle of the box and scored the goal that would take back the lead. She took one touch, spun her defenders, and beat MacIver to her left. The Spirit defenders were caught on their heels as Guerrero had a few yards of space in each direction.
Scarlett Camberos put the final nail in the coffin in 90 + 5′ to clinch the historic win for Club América.
The Spirit will feel hard done by the result, but in truth, there were simply too many mistakes made. Mistakes by the goalkeeper, Sandy MacIver, defenders Esme Morgan and Tara Rudd, and defensive midfielder Rebeca Bernal. On the offensive end, too many opportunities went unfinished. The weather wasn’t ideal, and both teams made mistakes, but the other side was willing to fight to the end. On a day that saw two Champions League finals (one for Concacaf, the other for UEFA), there has never been a more exciting day of women’s football. Even though the Spirit lost, women’s football won big.
Rosemonde Kouassi (Spirit) won the Top Goalscorer of the tournament with six goals. Scarlett Camberos (América) won Best Player of the tournament.
After another second-place finish for the Spirit, they’ll return from Mexico to prepare to host Seattle Reign FC on Saturday, May 30, at 6:30 PM/ET at Audi Field.
-Jon Jones
Photo: Courtesy of Spirit Social Media