COMING OFF a successful mother-league campaign last year, the Ateneo Women’s Football Team suffered a tough loss at the hands of Stallion Laguna FC, 0-7, in their first game in the Ang Liga Filipina tournament. The tournament opener was held earlier this evening, March 1, at the Circuit Makati Blue Pitch in the City of Makati.
The setback drops the Blue Eagles to the bottom of the standings in the tournament’s opening weekend.
For the first 15 minutes of the contest, the Blue Eagles found themselves operating within their own defensive zone for most of the action. Despite the constant pressure imposed by the Stallions, the Blue and White kept their formation intact by following their assignments closely. Ateneo’s efforts were highlighted when their adversary’s goal was called off at the third minute mark. The Blue Eagles’ strategic offside motion kept the score at all-nil.
Taking advantage of the shift in possession, the Blue Eagles managed to open up opportunities for Soleil Schroth and Jada Bicierro for consecutive shots outside the box, but their attempts were quickly shut off by Stallion Regine Rasonable.
However, the Blue Eagles were caught off guard when the Stallions’offense sent a shot from far outside that scraped the opposite side of the net, putting Ateneo in a 0-1 deficit.
At the 25th and 27th minute, Brie Baca solidified Ateneo’s defense as she denied back-to-back attempts at the goal with steady persistence on the ball. Ateneo’s rotation followed suit, denying action for Stallion FC at the midfield for several possessions.
From then on, the Blue and White maintained composure all the way until the midpoint of the match. Despite the suffocating defense, Ateneo’s lineup scrambled following a missed free kick, directly leading to Stallion FC scoring a goal off a touch pass that drilled the Blue Eagles into a 0-2 hole entering halftime.
Coming back onto the field from the break, the Blue Eagles’ troubles boiled into the opening minutes of the latter half. The Blue and White’s formation fell behind as McKenna Davidson found a lane into the goalpost, netting Stallion’s third goal.
The final stretch of the battle was defined by close battles in the midfield. Ateneo suffered successive goals from Stallion FC at the 61th and 69th mark of the game from miscues on defense, 0-5. Despite veteran keeper Chelssy Casals’s entry into the game, her shotkeeping brilliance failed to halt another Stallion goal at the 78th minute as fatigue crept onto the field, 0-6.
Ateneo saw minimal offensive possessions to end the ball game as their passes could not hit the mark. By the last few minutes of the match, the Blue and White’s defense crumbled as Stallion’s Amanda Smith snuck in a last-minute goal at the 93th mark, officially ending the game, 0-7.
The Ateneo Women’s Football Team will seek to exhibit a stronger showing when they take on the Kaya Futbol Club next Sunday, March 7, at 6:00 PM in the same venue.
Starting XI:
Ateneo (0): Baca, Schmuth, Tolentino, Francisco, Eval, Alferez, Zamalea, Salazar, Napoles, Lyttle, Bicierro
Stallion (7): Rasonable, Ube, Rios, Phew, Fernandez, Buenaventura, Ogawa, Smith, Thaw, Teves, Davidson
