2017–18 Ascenso MX season


The 2017–18 Ascenso MX season is a two-part competition: Apertura 2017 and Clausura 2018. Ascenso MX is the second-tier football league of Mexico. Apertura began on 21 July 2017, and Clausura began on 5 January 2018.

Changes from the previous season

Six teams meet the requirements to be promoted to the Liga MX for the 2018–2019 season. Those teams are Atlético San Luis, Atlante, Celaya, Juárez, Sinaloa, and UdeG. The remaining teams were awarded MXN$120 million for winning the promotion playoff, which should be utilized to fulfill necessary requirements for promotion within the next season, and remain in Ascenso MX. If a team wins promotion but does not meet requirements for Liga MX, the relegated Liga MX team of the 2017–18 season will be obligated to pay the prize money to that team, and the relegated Liga MX team will remain in first division. If the relegated Liga MX team cannot distribute the prize money to the promoted Ascenso MX team, both teams will lose their right to play in Liga MX and must play in Ascenso MX the following season.
16 clubs participated in this season:

Personnel and kits

Managerial changes

The regular season began on 21 July 2017 and ended on 11 November 2017. Fixtures for the Apertura 2017 season were announced on 13 June 2017.
The ninth round of the season, scheduled for 22 and 23 September 2017, was suspended after the 2017 Central Mexico earthquake on 19 September 2017.
However, the ninth round was still the next round played, during the FIFA International break on 6,7, and 8 October 2017.
The liguilla was played from 15 November to 2 December 2017. Oaxaca won their first title after defeating Juárez on penalties.

Regular Season

Standings

Positions by round

Results

Season statistics

Top goalscorers

Players sorted first by goals scored, then by last name.
RankPlayerClubGoals
1 Luis MadrigalAlebrijes de Oaxaca12
2 Javier OrozcoTampico Madero10
3 Luciano NequecaurVenados8
4 Juan NeiraZacatepec6
4 Dante OsorioPotros UAEM6
4 Pedro RenteríaMurciélagos6
4 Hernán RiveroCorrecaminos UAT6
4 Oscar VillaCimarrones de Sonora6
9 Vinicio AnguloDorados de Sinaloa5
9 Christian BermúdezCafetaleros de Tapachula5
9 Leandro CarrijóJuárez5
9 Éder CruzMineros de Zacatecas5
9 Adolfo DomínguezCafetaleros de Tapachula5
9 Pablo OliveraAtlético San Luis5

Source:

Hat-tricks

– Home ; – Away

Attendance

Per team

Highest and lowest

Source:

Liguilla (Playoffs)

The eight best teams play two games against each other on a home-and-away basis. The higher seeded teams play on their home field during the second leg. The winner of each match up is determined by aggregate score. If the teams are tied, the away goals rule applies. In the quarterfinals and semifinals, if the two teams are tied on aggregate and away goals, the higher seeded team advances. In the final, if the two teams are tied after both legs, the match goes to extra time and, if necessary, a penalty shoot-out.

Quarterfinals

All times are except for matches in Ciudad Juárez.
First leg
Second leg

Semifinals

The first leg of the semifinals was played on 22 November 2017, and the second leg was played on 25 November 2017.
First leg
Second leg

Final

First leg
Second leg
2–2 on aggregate. Alebrijes won 4–2 on penalties.

Clausura 2018

The regular season began on 5 January 2018 and ended on 1 April 2018. The liguilla began on 7 April 2018 and ended on 29 April 2018. Alebrijes de Oaxaca are the defending champions, having won their first title. Cafetaleros de Tapachula defeated Leones Negros UdeG 3–2 on aggregate to win their first title.

Regular Season

Standings

Positions by round

The table lists the positions of teams after each week of matches. In order to preserve chronological evolvements, any postponed matches are not included in the round at which they were originally scheduled, but added to the full round they were played immediately afterwards. For example, if a match is scheduled for matchday 3, but then postponed and played between days 6 and 7, it will be added to the standings for day 6.
The eighth round was played on 13 and 14 February 2018. Due to a friendly between Atlético San Luis and New York City FC on 13 February 2018, the match between Zacatepec and Atlético San Luis was postponed until 20 February 2018, after the ninth round.

Results

Season statistics

Top goalscorers

Players sorted first by goals scored, then by last name.
RankPlayerClubGoals
1 Guillermo MartínezZacatecas11
2 Nicolás IbáñezAtlético San Luis7
2 Leonardo RamosTapachula7
4 Luis MadrigalOaxaca6
4 Roberto NurseZacatecas6
4 Miguel VallejoSonora6
7 Daniel AmadorUdeG5
7 Leandro CarrijóJuárez5
7 Luciano NequecaurVenados5
7 Oscar VillaSonora5
11 Gael AcostaOaxaca4
11 Édgar BárcenasTapachula4
11 Antonio LópezUAEM4
11 Édson RiveraSinaloa4
11 Ismael ValadézUdeG4

Source:

Hat-tricks

– Home ; – Away

Attendance

Per team

Highest and lowest

Source:

Liguilla (Playoffs)

The eight best teams play two games against each other on a home-and-away basis. The higher seeded teams play on their home field during the second leg. The winner of each match up is determined by aggregate score. If the teams are tied, the away goals rule applies. In the quarterfinals and semifinals, if the two teams are tied on aggregate and away goals, the higher seeded team advances. In the final, if the two teams are tied after both legs, the match goes to extra time and, if necessary, a penalty shoot-out.
The first legs were played on 7 and 8 April, and the second legs were played on 14 and 15 April 2018.
;Notes

All times are
First leg
Second leg

Semi-finals

The first legs were played on 18 and 19 April, and the second legs were played on 21 and 22 April 2018.
All times are
First leg
Second leg

Final

The first leg was played on 26 April, and the second leg was played on 29 April 2018.
All times are
First leg
Second leg

Promotion Final

The Promotion Final is a two-legged playoff between the winners of the Apertura and Clausura tournaments to determine which team will be promoted to Liga MX. The final would not be played if one team wins both the Apertura and Clausura tournaments, and they would be automatically promoted if they meet Liga MX requirements. The higher ranked team on the aggregate table, for the 2017–18 season, will play the second leg at home.
The Apertura 2017 champion was Oaxaca. The Clausura 2018 champion was Tapachula. Since the change in regulation for the 2017–18 season, neither team is certified to be promoted to Liga MX. The winner of the final can receive the prize money of MXN$120 million from the relegated Liga MX team, Lobos BUAP, but would not participate in the following Liga MX season. The 2018–19 Liga MX season would then be played with 17 teams. On 1 May 2018, the league announced there would be no changes to the relegation and promotion regulations agreed to before the beginning of the season. The league reiterated, on 4 May 2018, that the final would be played for a monetary prize and must be played by the participating teams who would otherwise risk their disaffiliation.

First Leg

Second Leg

Tapachula won 6–3 on aggregate

Aggregate table

The Aggregate table is the general ranking for the 2017–18 season. This table is a sum of the Apertura and Clausura tournament standings. The aggregate table is used to determine seeding for the "Promotion" Final and for Apertura 2018 Copa MX qualification.

Relegation table

The relegated team will be the one with the lowest ratio of points to matches played in the following tournaments: Apertura 2015, Clausura 2016, Apertura 2016, Clausura 2017, Apertura 2017, and Clausura 2018.
Last update: 1 April 2018
Rules for relegation: 1) Relegation coefficient; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored; 4) Head-to-head results between tied teams; 5) Number of goals scored away; 6) Fair Play points
R = Relegated
Source: