THE ATENEO Lady Eagles tied the UST Tigresses, 2-2, on Sunday, March 26 at the Far Eastern University-Diliman (FERN) Football Field in Quezon City.
With the draw, the Lady Eagles now have 7 points with a 2-1-3 record and a -3 goal difference to stay in third place in the standings of the University Athletic Association in the Philippines (UAAP) Women’s Football tournament.
The Blue and White were without midfielder Baci Herrera due to injury, but saw the return of Bea Velasco who was slotted into central defense, while Isay Sabio was moved up from the back into central midfield.
The match also featured two cooling breaks in each half due to the immense heat under which the game was played.
In the 21st minute, Ateneo Captain Cam Rodriguez gave her side the lead. As the UST defense was unable to clear a corner by winger Nona Amoncio, the ball fell to Rodriguez who smashed a thunderous volley from inside the box for the 1-0 Ateneo advantage.
The Tigresses found an equalizer in the 48th minute through attacker Christelle Cleofe. The Tigress outpaced Ateneo left fullback Jill Catedrilla and guided her attempt across Ateneo goalkeeper Mariane Caparros and slotted the ball inside of the far post (1-1). The goal proved to be the last kick of the first half.
Persistence paid off for Ateneo in the 58th minute with Rodriguez netting her second goal to regain the lead for the Lady Eagles. After Rodriguez was able to lift the ball over UST goal keeper Nicole Reyes on a breakaway, Ateneo right winger Tessa Bernardo was able to hold off the UST defense just long enough for the striker to recover and score. (2-1)
In the 83rd minute, UST again tied the game with striker Charisa Lemoran as the goal scorer. The Tigresses took their corner short and moved to ball to Lemoran, who took one touch and unleashed a vicious left-footed shot that whistled over Caparros and into the back of the net. (2-2)
After the match, Ateneo Head Coach Jay Pee Merida expressed his disappointment on his team’s performance.
“Ang coaching staff, pati ako, sobrang disappointed sa team. Wala naman instruction na after we lead by one or two or three, na we go for defending na. Nakaka-dissapoint kasi nandoon na eh. Binibigyan na kami ng chance talaga. Ang hirap tanggapin [ang draw].” (“The coaching staff and I are very disappointed with the team. There was no instruction that after we lead by one or two or three that we go for defending. It is very disappointing because it was already there. We were really given the chance. It is hard to accept [the draw],” said Merida.
The next game for the Lady Eagles will be against the league-leading archrivals DLSU Lady Archers on Wednesday, March 29, 2017, 3:30PM at the Far Eastern University-Diliman (FERN) Football Field in Quezon City.
Ateneo Starting XI: Caparros (GK), N. Catedrilla, Sabio, M. Catedrilla, Diaz, Velasco, M. Catedrilla, Bernardo, Amoncio, Siy, Rodriguez (c)
Substitutions: 66’ Capistrano in for Bernardo, 78’ Esguerra in for Capistrano, 88’ Villaflor in for Diaz
UST Starting XI: Reyes (GK), Cadag, Cleofe, Cuaresma, Eusebio, Ilan, Indac, Sanchez, Lustan (c), Lopez, Lemoran
Substitutions: 42’ Sumilang in for Sanchez
The Lady Eagles relinquished the lead twice in their 2-2 draw against the UST Tigresses
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