The Blue and Lady Booters began the season with losses as Season 71 of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Football Tournament kicked off last January 18 at the Ateneo Football Grounds.
UE 2, ADMU 1
The Blue Booters’ first task was against the young University of the East (UE) squad. Coming off a devastating loss in last year’s final against defending champions Far Eastern University, the Blue Booters wanted nothing less than a strong start to the new season.
“We lacked confidence and we allowed ourselves to be overwhelmed by their momentum. We simply didn’t play our game,” said Booter Kurt Alvarez (III AB Eu).
After controlling possession early in the opening half, UE began to attack and force crucial saves from first keeper RS Mantos (III AB SoS). Ateneo kept counter-attacking but lost the midfield battle and missed their crosses resulting to a fruitless first half for both teams.
But Mantos’ hard work was undone when a wayward back pass found its way into Ateneo’s own goal. The setback fired up the Blue Booters as they equalized a few minutes after when Gab Siojo (MA Comm) scrambled to fire the ball at the back of the net after a quality cross from the right side of the field.
Both teams again shared possession after the two goals, as Coach Ompong Merida switched his players to produce the final goal of the match. However, disaster struck at the 80th minute when another defensive error from the blue backline led to an interception for the UE strikers that produced a composed finish for their squad, making it 2-1 for the visitors. Ateneo then tried to give a last push, but the UE defense proved impenetrable.
“We’ll have to move on [from the loss], and prepare for the next game. That’s the way we have to do it, one game at a time,” said Alvarez.
UST 3, ADMU 1
At the latter part of the day, it was the Lady Booters’ turn to save the day for the Ateneo faithful. With the coaching staff and their core players back to enforce the young squad, the Lady Booters were out to better last year’s performance.
Although they controlled the start of the game, the team was forced to defend against the very skillful University of Sto. Tomas (UST) squad at the turn of the 20th minute. The Tigresses’ chances came one after the other, shooting wide and obliging the Ateneo defense to step up with each passing minute.
“We lacked aggressiveness and marking,” said goalie Krissie Drilon (III AB IS). The Tigresses cleverly played the offside trap, which effectively shut down the Ateneo attack.
The Tigresses finally capitalized on the weak marking of the Lady Booters as UST broke through to put a shot past Drilon. This pushed the Katipunan-based squad to fight for an equalizer looking towards the final half.
The second half mirrored the first. Ateneo had a good start but again, the lack of marking was seen as UST scored another goal in the 69th minute. Right after the second goal of the opposition, the Lady Booters shifted gears into attack mode as rookie midfielder Yvette Gaston (I BS Mgt) finished a cross from Tata Garcia (IV AB Psy), giving the side a much-awaited goal and hopes for a possible comeback.
Five minutes after the Ateneo goal, UST again used its speed to put the game beyond the reach of the Lady Booters making it 3-1 with about a quarter of an hour left in the game.
Not all things were lost as the final whistle blew in the Ocampo field last Sunday. “Even though we were a new team, most of us being rookies, we were able to work together and play our best,” said Drilon.
