DESPITE FORCING a deadlock in the first half, the Ateneo Women’s Football Team (AWFT) ultimately fell to the Far Eastern University (FEU) Lady Tamaraw Booters in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 85 Women’s Football Tournament, 0-4. The match was held earlier today at the University of the Philippines Diliman Football Field.
With the results of today’s match, the Blue Eagles remain in fifth place with a win-draw-loss record of 0-0-7.
In a similar fashion to their previous match, the Blue and White pushed with quick presses early in the match. The AWFT’s crafty work with the ball led to the opposition having to rely on physicality in order to contain the Blue Eagles’ offense. This resulted in FEU’s Carmela Altiche being handed a yellow card in the 44th minute.
Ateneo’s defensive pressure throughout the first half denied FEU any opportunities to draw first blood. Opting to go all-in on their defense and strengthening their backline turned out to be an effective strategy for the Blue Eagles, ending the first 45 minutes in a stalemate, 0-0.
However, the same problem the AWFT faced throughout the entire season would once again come back to haunt them in the second half of today’s match.
The shorthanded Blue Eagles would run out of steam in the backend of the match, succumbing to fatigue with a lack of substitutes. In contrast to Ateneo, the Lady Tamaraw Booters had multiple substitutions throughout the match, bringing in fresh legs off the bench.
Goals by FEU’s Elna Rose Bongol and Katrina Magbitang in the 70th and 80th minutes gave enough separation to keep Ateneo at bay, 0-2.
A dejected Blue Eagles squad would find themselves giving up two more goals at the second and fourth minutes of extra time, courtesy of Dionesa Tolentin and Leofrance Gayapa, 0-4.
“Our expectations as a team [are] still the same, to give all our opponents a good fight despite our lack of numbers. We hope to continue our momentum and play aggressively with all our 100% throughout the whole 90 minutes,” said Blue Eagle Soleil Schroth.
“I’m also very proud of the team because we are very flexible in playing positions we haven’t [played before]. It [has been] a good experience for us in preparation for next season,” added Schroth.
With one game remaining in the second round, the AWFT hopes to secure their first goal of the season despite being knocked out of Final Four contention.
The Blue Eagles will look to end their season on a high note as they take on the University of Santo Tomas Lady Booters on Saturday, April 29, at 6:30 PM at the same venue.