THE ATENEO Women’s Football Team (AWFT) fell to the University Santo Tomas (UST) Golden Tigresses, 1-2, in their second match in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Women’s Football tournament on Saturday, February 10, at the Rizal Memorial Stadium in Manila.
This loss leaves the Lady Eagles with a 1-0-1 win-draw-loss record in the UAAP tournament, with a goal difference of +1. Ateneo forward Tessa Bernardo scored for the Lady Eagles while UST scored through Shela Cadag and Charisa Lemoran.
The Lady Eagles were on the back-foot right from kick-off with UST creating chance after chance in the early stages of the match. Veteran forward Martie Bautista nicked the ball in the final third and pulled it back cleverly to craft the first real chance for the oncoming Bernardo, but the Lady Eagle could not finish.
Ateneo goalkeeper Mariane Caparros was called into action a number of times as UST edged closer to scoring. A handball appeal in the 32nd minute gave UST a golden chance to do just that, but Caparros managed to keep it out and keep the scores level after guessing the right way. There was nothing to separate the two teams at half time.
Although UST resumed their bombardment of the Ateneo defense after the break, a breakaway chance from the Lady Eagles won them a free kick in a dangerous area. Bernardo, having scored a free kick in the Lady Eagles’ Pilipinas Cup winning run, took on the responsibility. The attacker managed to find the top right corner from 30 yards out, giving the AWFT the lead, 1-0 at the 49th minute mark and against the run of play.
The Tigresses took little time to answer back as Cadag burst through the right wing and slotted a shot past Caparros to equal the score in the 56th minute, 1-1. Lemoran, who scored a hat-trick against Ateneo in their 3-2 defeat of the Lady Eagles last season, managed to curl an attempt perfectly from way outside the penalty box to take the lead for UST in the 66th minute.
Despite going close through another Calimbo free kick from around 40 yards out, the Lady Eagles were unable to overturn the deficit by the final whistle.
Ahead of their midweek clash with Far Eastern University (FEU), Ateneo Head Coach Jaypee Merida said that it will be crucial for the team to learn from their mistakes and be confident in their abilities. “Of course we need to prepare against FEU. Kung anong nangyari ngayon, kailangan naming iwanan dito, like yung result na ito (What happened today, we need to leave that, just like this result),” he said.
The Lady Eagles will face off against FEU on Wednesday, February 14, at the Rizal Memorial Stadium in Manila.
Ateneo Starting XI: Caparros (GK), Bugayong, Cabrera, Calimbo, Villaflor, Catedrilla, Diaz, Amoncio (C), Ferrer, Bautista, Bernardo
Ateneo Substitutions
56‘ – Panganiban on for Ferrer
81‘ – Javier on for Panganiban
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