THE ATENEO Lady Eagles lost to the FEU Lady Tamaraws, 2-3, on Sunday, March 19 at the Rizal Memorial Stadium in Manila.
This loss keeps the Lady Eagles at 6 points with a 2-0-3 record and a -3 goal difference good for third place in the standings of the University Athletic Assocation in the Philippines (UAAP) Women’s Football tournament.
In the 22nd minute, Jean Kadil finished her one-on-one chance against Ateneo goalkeeper Mariane Caparros after a great passage of play to score the only goal for the first half, giving FEU the lead. (0-1)
The Lady Tamaraws doubled their advantage in the 55th minute through Jovelle Sudaria. With her team on the counterattack, the FEU captain split the Ateneo defense and fired a shot to the right that flew past Caparros and into the back of the net. (0-2)
The Lady Eagles thought they were able to get a goal back in the 83rd minute through substitute Precious Capistrano, but her strike that bounced off the crossbar and in was nullified as the official who flagged the scorer for offside.
Two minutes later, the Blue and White got their lifeline through captain Cam Rodriguez. On the breakaway, rookie Nica Siy waited for FEU goalkeeper Joy Chavez to come off her line before slipping a pass to Rodriguez for the easy tap-in. (1-2)
Any hopes of a comeback for the Lady Eagles were dashed in the 89th minute as Kadil scored her second for FEU. After finding herself in space close to the Ateneo box, Kadil ventured forward and unleashed a powerful shot that slammed into the top right corner to seal the match for the Lady Tamaraws. (1-3)
In the dying moments, an Ateneo free kick floated in by winger Nona Amoncio caused a scrabble in the FEU box, ending with a goal by Rodriguez on an assist from substitute Pia Villaflor. (2-3)
Although the Lady Eagles only needed one more goal to tie, the final whistle was blown almost immediately after the restart.
After the match, Ateneo Football Teams Head Coach Jay Pee Merida commented about his team’s inability to score, which has been a recurring issue for the team in their past three games.
“Hindi namin na-finish yung final attack naming sa final third so ito ulit kailangan gawin sa training (We did not finish our final attack in the final third so we have do this again in training),” said Merida
The Ateneo head coach also mentioned the need to make changes ahead for their next match against the UST Tigresses.
“We have to make adjustments for next game. Strength ng UST kasi sa middle so kailangan talaga naming isarado yung gitna next game (We have to make adjustments for the next game. Strength ng UST is in the middle so we have to close the middle in the next game),” said Merida
The next game for the Lady Eagles will be against the UST Tigresses on Saturday, March 25, 2PM at the Rizal Memorial Stadium in Manila.
Ateneo Starting XI: Caparros (GK), N. Catedrilla, Sabio, M. Catedrilla, Diaz, Herrera, M. Catedrilla, Bernardo, Amoncio, Siy, Rodriguez (c)
Substitutions: 41’ Villafor out, Herrera in, 71’ Bernardo out, Capistrano in
FEU Starting XI: Chavez (GK), Acibar, Belluga, Cupal, Lam, Pachejo, Sales, Simoy, Kadil, Bejic, Sudaria (c)
*Editor’s Note: The article has been updated to accommodate changes in details.
https://storify.com/TheGUIDONSports/uaap-season-79-women-s-football-ateneo-vs-feu-roun
