The Boca Gladiators had Laurina Oliveros who became a giant on penalties, they beat Santos and are semi-finalists of the Copa Libertadores

In a tense, tight and highly contested match, Boca beat 1-0 Santos at the stadium of the Women’s Soccer High Performance Center (CAR-FEM), located in the town of Ypané, about 30 kilometers from Asunción, and qualified for the semifinals of the women’s Copa Libertadores. The final phase of the continental competition is being played there, in a single match. Your next rival will be Corinthianswhich earlier beat Olimpia 2-0.

The Boca team, directed by Florencia Quiñones, They dominated possession of the ball during the first half, played in the opponent’s field and generated situations based on the imbalance of the youth team. Kishi Núñez (18 years old), the figure of the field. However, flaws in the definition and good responses from the goalkeeper Kaka Hipolito They kept zero on the scoreboard. The Brazilian team, meanwhile, limited itself to some medium-distance shots that failed to bother Laurina Oliveros and he had a one-on-one from Ketlen who covered the goalkeeper very well.

In the second half the match was even, it was back and forth and both had their chances, but in the end, again, the Argentine team regained control and got closer to the goal again through Núñez. In any case, the score remained 0-0 and everything had to be decided on penalties.

In the definition, a shot that Daiana Silva crashed against the crossbar and a save by Oliveros before a cross shot by Ana Carla served as the victory for Boca, who sentenced it through Julieta Cruz, and made Yohana Masagli’s failure go unnoticed on the first run.

Once the semifinal between Boca and Corinthians has been confirmed, this Sunday the other two teams that will fight to get into the grand final will be known. In the first round, at 5 p.m. in Argentina, Independiente Santa Fe will face Alianza Lima, while at 8 p.m. Deportivo Cali and Independiente del Valle will face each other.

Corinthians, Boca’s next rival, is not an ordinary team, but the greatest champion in the history of the Copa Libertadores with four titles: 2017, 2019, 2021 and 2023. They qualified for the semis after beating 2-0 Olimpia with goals from Gabi Zanotti and Millene Fernandes.

Timão proposed an offensive game and soon put Paraguayan goalkeeper Gloria Saleb in trouble with a first shot 7 minutes into the first half by Ana Nogueira, the figure on the court.

In a match with incidents and constant interruptions, Olimpia preferred to impose defensive resistance on its territory and opted less for creating any dangerous plays. Meanwhile, Corinthians settled in the rival field and dominated the match, but failed to score in the first half.

The goals came at the beginning of the complement. Zanotti opened the scoring with a header from the center of the area after receiving a long pass from Mariza Nascimento, 5 minutes into the first half. Then, at 7′, two minutes later, Millene Fernandes scored 2-0 after appearing free inside the area on the left side.

From there, the Brazilians took refuge in the result and handed over the responsibility to the Paraguayan team, which created danger, but could not beat the goalkeeper Nicole Ramos, the protagonist at the end of the match by keeping her goal at zero with outstanding saves after attempts by Camila Barbosa and Vanessa Arce.