THE ATENEO Blue Eagles sustained a tough loss against the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Lady Booters, 0-3. The Blue and White’s sixth game in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 87 Women’s Football tournament took place earlier this evening at the UP Diliman Football Stadium in Quezon City.
The loss puts the Blue Eagles at 1-1-4 win-draw-loss record, falling to last place in the UAAP Season 87 standings.
In spite of the heartbreaking defeat, the Blue Eagles saw a silver lining in Angely Alferez, who created attacking opportunities and made well-timed runs to get behind defenders. Team Captain KC Zalamea and defender Raya Tolentino also put on strong performances, with the former keeping the team flowing with her passes and the latter making crucial stops to prevent scoring opportunities from UST’s attackers.
In the opening stages of the matchup, the Blue Eagles took momentum early, with Tootchie Eval and Alferez picking up where they left off from their last performance and creating chances and threatening attacks from behind.
By the 12th minute of the match, the Blue Eagles generated their first shot on goal, as Alferez cut inside off of the right, beating her defender through a nifty move to get a good look on target. However, the shot was ultimately saved by UST goalkeeper Lizlie Garcia.
The Lady Booters then refused to back down, as in the halfway point of the match, Casals was forced to make a clutch save to maintain the 0-0 scoreline after a blistering attack from UST’s Judy Prado.
Despite sustaining threatening offensive charges, the Blue and White’s strategy of maintaining a high-line caused problems for the Lady Booters early on, as the UST attackers failed to capitalize on their attacks often leading to off-side calls.
However, the risky defensive strategy of the Blue Eagles quickly backfired as in the 37th minute, Lady Booters forward Gleydile Añonuevo got in behind to successfully slot in a shot outside of the box, scoring the first goal of the match, 0-1.
In the final two minutes of stoppage time, Añonuevo continued to punish the Blue Eagle’s high-defensive line, getting in behind one-on-one against Casals. However, the veteran goalkeeper made a huge save, denying the chance of any more goal opportunities to end the first half.
Continuing their aggression into the second half, substitute Chrisia Espiritu started the period off by sending a cross into the UST box in the 46th minute but was cleared by the Lady Booter defense. Team Captain KC Zalamea then tried her luck from range, but her shot was safely corraled by UST’s Garcia.
In the 53rd minute, the Blue and White received a golden chance after a goal kick was intercepted by Joyce Semacio. The ball was then sent through to Alferez, but the forward was unable to convert her close-range effort. Ateneo’s backline continued to be called into action, with Raya Tolentino and Team Co-Captain Soleil Schroth forcing clearances in the 62nd and 64th minutes, respectively.
Zalamea started to take matters into her own hands as Ateneo continued their search for an equalizer. She first got herself in a good position, but was unable to shake off her marker, leading her shot to be safely collected. Moments later, Alferez delivered a dangerous cross to Zalamea inside UST’s box, but the skipper failed to latch onto the ball.
The Lady Booters closed the door on Ateneo’s hopes for an equalizer in the 86th minute, as the rattled Blue and White defense allowed UST’s Judy Prado to double their lead, 2-0. The game was subsequently put to bed in the sixth minute of stoppage time after Lady Booter Christy Logastua’s deflected potshot looped into the back of the net, 3-0, handing the Blue and White their fourth loss of Season 87.
The Blue Eagles seek to shake off the defeat against historic rivals De La Salle University Lady Booters next Saturday, November 23, at 6:30 PM in the same venue.
Starting XI:
Ateneo (0): Casals (GK), Alferez, Benitez, Eval, Francisco, Halili, Ignacio, Lim, Schroth, Tolentino, Zalamea (C)
UST (3): Garcia (GK), Añonuevo, Basman, Bennett, Bullanday, Fernandez, Gerona, Logastua, Prado, Santerva, Sy
Current Standings – Points (Goal Difference):
- FEU Lady Tamaraws – 13 (+11)
- DLSU Lady Booters – 11 (+5)
- UST Lady Booters – 5 (-1)
- UP Fighting Maroons – 5 (-8)
- ATENEO Blue Eagles – 4 (-7)
