Cali races to a 3-0 lead in ten minutes, but Santa Fe fights back to keep the final wide open

Twenty five minutes. That's all Deportivo Cali needed to all but settle the match in Tunja, where Independiente Santa Fe played host in the first leg of the Grand Final of the 2026 Colombian Women's League. By that point in the clock, the scoreboard already read 0-3 in favor of the Sugarcane Growers, and at that stage anyone watching would have assumed the tie was pretty much decided.

The opener came from Bermeo, who got Cali's dream season rolling with the first goal. Then came the second from Guerra, stretching the lead and putting Santa Fe in serious trouble. To round out the early rout, Aponza made it 0-3, a blow that had the home side against the ropes before the half hour mark.

Santa Fe's response that flipped the script

But Colombian women's soccer showed once again that nothing comes easy in this final. Santa Fe refused to fold and, before the break, Zamorano stepped up with a brace that breathed new life into the Tunja side. The score stood at 3-2 at halftime, a scoreline that captured exactly what had unfolded: a back and forth thriller, with emotions running high in just 45 minutes.

That 3-2 ended up being the final result of the match, so Deportivo Cali takes a slim advantage into the second leg, but it's also clear that Santa Fe has what it takes to turn this around. A two goal margin in a final is no death sentence, especially after watching the home side claw back that gap with a late surge before the break.

Everything now shifts to Palmaseca, where the return leg of this Grand Final will be played next Saturday, September 26. Cali knows that protecting that slim lead won't be easy on the road, and Santa Fe arrives with the confidence of having shown it can hurt this opponent even while down on the scoreboard. The series remains wide open, and the women's title in Colombia will be decided on Valle del Cauca soil.