THE ATENEO Women’s Football Team suffered a heavy 0-7 loss against the Far Eastern University Lady Tamaraws (FEU) in the first game of Season 82 of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines Women’s Football Tournament on Saturday, March 7, at the Rizal Memorial Stadium, Manila City. This result sends them to the bottom of the standings with a goal difference of -7.

The Lady Eagles struggled on both ends of the pitch, failing to control the pace of the game with possession and leaving gaps for FEU to exploit. An early free kick from Tea Roxas tested the goalkeeper’s mettle, but that turned out to be Ateneo’s brightest spot of the game as the Lady Tamaraws seized control the rest of the way. FEU’s threat stretched the Ateneo defense and carved out a series of chances to open the scoring. A 12-minute barrage saw the Lady Eagles take a three-goal deficit into halftime.

The Blue and White continued to slide in the final 45. Just 10 minutes after play resumed, FEU continued to put pressure on the backline and took their lead up to six goals. Last-ditch defending and big saves from Ateneo goalkeeper Moira Lim kept FEU at bay for a stretch, but the Lady Eagles could not build any rhythm on the other end to pull a goal back. Their defense gave way again in injury time, leaving the final score at 7-0 in FEU’s favor.

The Lady Eagles will hope to right the ship against the University of Santo Tomas Golden Tigresses at 4:00 PM on Wednesday, March 18, at the Rizal Memorial Stadium in Manila.

Starting XI

Ateneo: Lim (GK), Adao, Angeles, Bugayong, Cotoco, Fernan, Francisco, Gonzalez, Panganiban, Roxas, Sarmiento