THE ATENEO Blue Booters tied with the National University (NU) Bulldogs 2-2 on Saturday, December 6, at the Moro Lorenzo Field in the Ateneo.

In the 11th minute, an NU throw-in from the right side of the field went all the way through to Patrick Valenzuela, who smashed in the first goal of the game into the top corner with his left foot .

In the 30th minute, Mikko Mabanag’s free kick from the right was headed in by midfielder Carlos Liay to open the scoring for the Blue Booters.

At the half, the teams were level at 1-1.

The first chance of the second half fell to Mabanag, who received a cross from Emilio Acosta, but his shot from inside the box rattled only the crossbar.

The team captain, Mabanag, made up for his missed chance with another assist, this time headed in by striker Acosta. He opened his goalscoring account for this season in the 64th minute as he gave Ateneo a 2-1 lead.

A handball in the Ateneo box resulted in an NU penalty that was cooly converted by Lawrence Colina in the 77th minute to once again equalize the score.

Despite a flurry of chances down the stretch, the Blue Booters were unable to regain their lead, and ended up settling for a singular point.

Rookie Rupert Bana was substituted in for Emmanuel Paredes in the 62nd minute, while Andoni Maniquis came in for Michael Castillo in the 79th minute to make his University Athletic Association of the Philippines debut.

With the draw, the Blue Booters are at four points with a record of one win and one draw and the +3 goal difference.

The Blue Booters have scored six goals in two games, with five of them coming from set pieces.

Their next game will be against the University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers, 1 PM, Thursday, December 11, at the Far Eastern University Diliman field.