AFTER A hard-fought battle between the Ateneo Women’s Football Team (AWFT) and the University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons, the match ended in a 0-0 scoreline, giving the Blue Eagles their fourth point in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines Season 87. The Katipunan derby was held yesterday at the UP Diliman Football Stadium in Quezon City.
Following the second round opener, the Blue Eagles maintain their fourth place standing with a 1-1-3 win-draw-loss record.
With the absence of rookie Jada Bicierro due to her obligations with the Futsal National Team, the Blue Eagles had to rely on other players to generate offensive actions. Among these players was Angely Alferez, who came up huge to spearhead the Blue Eagle offense, making runs and keeping the ball up to create chances inside the box.
Meanwhile, goalkeeper Chelssy Casals led the way on the other end of the pitch, bagging the Player of the Game honors after coming up with clutch saves to maintain the 0-0 scoreline.
Both teams traded possession of the ball in the early moments of the match, favoring long passes to bypass the midfield and creating attempts to get behind defenders early through runs. Despite the squads’ efforts, these plays failed to materialize into any real chances for both sides.
In the 7th minute, however, the Blue Eagles managed to generate their first shot of the game off of an outlet pass to Alferez. Despite beating her defender, Alferez saw her shot attempt ultimately saved by UP keeper Eunice Eduave.
Building on the momentum from their previous attack, midfielders Traci Lim, Tootchie Eval, and KC Zalamea provided security in the midfield, regaining possession and providing outlet passes to attackers on the counterattack. However, it was clear that the team was missing Bicierro’s pace, a strength of the team that has consistently produced chances for the Blue Eagles throughout the season.
The Blue and White’s defense then found their first test through the form of UP’s menacing attack in the 22nd minute of the fixture. Remaining composed, Casals proceeded to make a timely save, coming out of her box early to stop any chance of a goal.
By the 24th minute, the Fighting Maroons were determined to get back into the game despite their slow start, creating another chance through quick timed passes and a nifty through ball. However, Ateneo defender Raya Tolentino refused to back down, denying UP an opportunity at a goal.
Despite missing one of their key attackers, the Blue Eagles continued to generate chances through Alferez, producing a total of three shots in the 28th, 32nd, and 36th minutes, respectively. These chances, however, were easily defended by the UP side as Alferez often found herself alone in the box, leaving her with little to no options on the offensive end.
In the closing minutes of the half, the Fighting Maroons gained another scoring opportunity in the 41st minute through a corner kick. Although Casals failed to reach the ball leaving the Blue Eagles defense open, Zalamea’s clearance denied the opposition a chance at goal, ending the half, 0-0.
The Blue and White maintained their defensive approach in the second half, as Tolentino and Lim denied UP of chances to gain the advantage across five minutes of play. At the 55th minute, Tolentino aggressively pressed on Fighting Maroon Bianca Torres’ advances to keep the score nil-all.
On the defensive third, Tolentino, Patty Francisco, Soleil Schroth, and Joshper Halili established a wall to limit their Katipunan rivals’ opportunities for a goal. After thwarting Chantal Van Ommeren’s thrust towards the net, Casals epitomized their top-notch control of the pitch following a catch on Torres’ attempt at the 62nd-minute mark.
Similarly, the offensive triune in Alferez, Joyce Semacio, and Kristine Napoles saw attempts to score but were kept at bay by the Fighting Maroon defenders. Napoles went head on against UP’s Gabby Calope at the 69th minute, though ending in another goalless effort for Ateneo. Semacio also contributed with timely passes, but failed to connect for a shot at goal.
Persistent changes in ball possession ensued midway into the half, until UP shifted gears upon reaching the final minutes of the match. The Diliman-based squad utilized short, quick passes that agitated the Blue and White fielding formation, allowing the Fighting Maroons an opportunity to obtain the upper hand.
Despite the switch in strategy, Casals remained level-headed with a showing of defensive prowess at the net, blocking Hannah Muros’ close-range attempt at the 89th minute to go along with another catch at stoppage time.
As Schroth foiled Angela Aggarao’s advances towards the Blue and White’s defensive third, the final whistle signaled the end of the match with neither team on the board, 0-0.
In pursuit of returning to the goal tally, the AWFT will take on the University of Santo Tomas Lady Booters on November 16, Saturday, at 6:30 PM in the same venue.
Starting XI:
Ateneo (0): Casals (GK), Zalamea (C), Schroth, Tuaño, Tolentino, Ignacio, Francisco, Halili, Alferez, Lim, Eval
UP (0): Eduave (GK), Espinosa, Facturanan, Fuentes, Kim (C), Montero, Moreno, Muros, Narido, Torres, Van Ommeren
Standings – Points (Goal Difference):
- DLSU Lady Booters – 11 (+5)
- FEU Lady Tamaraws – 10 (+6)
- UP Fighting Maroons – 5 (-3)
- ATENEO Blue Eagles – 4 (-4)
- UST Lady Booters – 2 (-5)
