THE ATENEO Women’s Football Team (AWFT) returned to the pitch in a loss against a known adversary in the Far Eastern University (FEU) Lady Tamaraws, 0-5, for their third loss in the Ang Liga Filipina Tournament. Today’s bout happened earlier this evening, April 11, at the Circuit Makati Blue Pitch in the City of Makati.
The loss keeps Ateneo winless and at the bottom of the Ang Liga standings, tied with the National University (NU) Lady Bulldogs.
In the opening stages of the battle, the Blue Eagles struggled to settle into their defense as the lineup nearly gave up a score to the Lady Tamaraw’s Judie Arevalo. Following the early-game scare, Ateneo started darting the ball across the midfield to pressure FEU’s backline.
As Ateneo controlled the pace on offense, their defense was reinforced by Sophia Lytylle’s quick movement, warding off an attempt by Jelan Pabauya at the 13th-minute mark.
Over the next ten minutes, the Blue Eagles would showcase their prowess in creating opportunities as the unit zoned in on their adversary. At the 15th minute, Maria Espiritu launched the ball from the right side of the goal, nearly going in as it flew past the goal post. Multiple possessions later, Celina Salazar caught a wild pass from the corner but missed a header that almost went in.
However, at the 27th minute, misfortune would strike Ateneo as Angely Alferez went down with a lower-body injury, forcing her to miss the rest of the contest.
The injury coincided with a drought as neither team could conjure an opportunity to score. Following a stretch of back-and-forth control, Ateneo turned to their defense as they halted another attack from FEU. The Blue Eagles’ troubles would come back after a minute as the Lady Tamaraws sent the ball down the middle, which was blocked by Brie Baca.
As the clock slowly approached the halfway point, Ateneo survived another attempt by FEU at the 41st minute mark with the ball flying over the roof of the goal. With the game-changing possessions, the Blue and White saw one more opportunity to score. Jada Bicierro led the charge for Ateneo as she dribbled her way on the sideline, getting past her defender and barely scraping past the goal, keeping the score all-nil at halftime.
Ateneo eventually succumbed to FEU in the 52nd minute off an open 2-on-1, with Baca being drawn to Knayeza Abellar on the right before the Lady Tamaraw passed the ball to Judie Arevalo, who tapped in the easy finish, 0-1.
The Blue Eagles’ struggles continued seven minutes later, with the Lady Tamaraws going on a counterattack. Confounded by the exact same connection, Ateneo surrendered a second goal after Arevalo shot off a through ball from Abellar, 0-2.
Even with Baca’s excellent first-half performance, the starting goalkeeper was subsequently replaced by veteran Chelssy Casals. The substitute keeper made an immediate impact in the 66th minute, blocking a dangerous shot from Althea Rebosura. Despite the initial save, Zenliah Catalonia capitalized on a quick rebound as the Blue Eagles absorbed another blow, 0-3.
Unnerved by the previous series of events, Casals came up huge in the 77th minute, as she managed to corral a near-miss by FEU that awkwardly bounced off the left goalpost, preventing a potential fourth goal for the Lady Tamaraws. The Atenean goalkeeper continued to prove her worth with confident saves throughout the backend of the match.
However, the amount of attacks from the Morayta-based side eventually led to another breakthrough in the 85th minute. While Casals managed to get a hand on FEU’s cross from the right flank, the ball landed with Team Captain Sarahgen Tulabing, whose close-range strike sent Ateneo down to 0-4.
Compounding on the AWFT’s woes, the Lady Tamaraws remained relentless in their scoring rampage, with Rebosura finding the back of the net in the second minute of added time right before the final whistle, 0-5.
The Blue and White will have another go at victory as they take on the newly minted National University Lady Bulldogs squad next week, April 18, at 6:00 PM in the same venue.
Starting XI:
Ateneo (0): Baca (GK), Schroth, Tolentino, Alferez, Salazar, Zalamea, Halili, Espiritu, Bicierro, Eval, Ltylle
FEU (5): Lehayan (GK), Colina, Pabauya, Arevalo, Dela Pena, Doctora, Abellar, Tulabing, Egay, Rebosura, Dela Cruz
Standings — Points (GD):
- Stallion Laguna F.C. – 12 (+35)
- Kaya F.C.–Iloilo – 9 (+15)
- FEU Lady Tamaraws – 9 (+15)
- Makati F.C. – 0 (-7)
- ATENEO Blue Eagles – 0 (-17)
- NU Lady Bulldogs – 0 (-26)
