THE PHILIPPINE Football Federation Women’s League (PFFWL) opening fixture between the Ateneo Women’s Football Team (AWFT) and the Green Archers United (GAU) ended in a 1-1 deadlock on Sunday, June 18, at the Rizal Memorial Field in Manila.
Mainly composed of De La Salle University (DLSU) alumni, GAU drew first blood with an opening goal from Alisha Del Campo, while forward Cam Rodriguez was the lone goal scorer from the Lady Eagles.
Ateneo Head Coach Jay Pee Merida trotted out a lineup that featured regular first-choice goalkeeper Mariane Caparros playing as a forward and mentioned plans to place the seasoned junior in the Lady Eagles’ attack in the upcoming season. Meanwhile, new goalkeeper and Miriam College recruit Moira Lim made her first appearance between the goalposts to fill Caparros’ usual spot.
“We’re planning to put Mariane as a striker or a midfielder,” Merida explained. “Pero of course, kung hindi pa rin kakayanin ng bagong keeper namin, babalik namin si Mariane as a number one keeper (If the new keeper cannot handle it, Mariane will return as the first-choice keeper).”
The first real chance of the match came in the 10th minute, after Caparros broke free to penetrate the GAU backline. She was then brought down after a collision with the charging keeper, but she eventually returned to the match.
The opening goal then came eight minutes later through a follow-up from Del Campo on a long-distance strike from teammate Glynnes Dela Cruz. Del Campo pounced on the rebound and maneuvered past Lim, and then chipped the ball over the reach of the goalkeeper to give her side the first goal of the game.
Ateneo defender Annika Ong was vital in the first half with numerous clearances, which helped keep the score at a narrow deficit. Del Campo nearly doubled the lead of the Green Archers in the 36th minute, but her open shot inside the box from a well-controlled free kick sailed wide.
Rodriguez scored the equalizer in the 51st minute from an assist by Bianca Almeda. The midfielder set up Rodriguez perfectly, lobbing a well-timed through ball, which gifted the strikes with a perfect window to dribble around the charging keeper en route to an open goal.
Both teams pressed on in search for the lead as the match progressed for the elusive go-ahead goal, but neither squad could find an opening. In the dying moments of added time, Michaela Maligalig of GAU streaked down the field with only the keeper to beat, but her shot unfortunately hit the post, sealing the draw.
Despite the stalemate, Coach Merida was pleased the result, especially with the team’s adjustment in the second half. “Nagkaroon lang kami ng problema [in the first half] sa back (We encountered a problem in the back),” Merida said.
“We adjusted that every time mawala sa amin ang bola, mawala sa amin ang possession, it is automatic for the back-three na kailangan agad mag-trap to stop the counter attack, or i-counter press namin (We adjusted by telling the back-three to press every time we lost possession of the ball to stop their counter attack),” he added.
Starting XIs:
Ateneo: Caparros, Ong, Rodriguez, Amoncio, Diaz, Catedrilla N., Velasco, Almeda, Lim, Calimbo, Bugayong
GAU: Dela Cruz, Aquino, Plaza, Del Campo, Delos Reyes, Almeda, Fernando, Benitez, Lacson, Montelibano, Castaneda
