Green Gallery: Shannon Arthur

Twenty-two minutes remained in the UAAP Women’s Football opening day match between long-time rivals, Ateneo and La Salle. Both sides had two goals apiece until Shannon Arthur, one of DLSU’s newest recruits, ran up to score a goal that put them ahead, 3-2, in the 68th minute.

Arthur celebrated as the crowd cheered from the stands. She felt as if the standards that were set for her were met when the ball touched the back of the net. It was a surreal moment for No. 24 as she mentions, “All the training, all the sprints, running, and the horrible fitness tests we had to go through, I had to go through them over and over again just to feel the way I scored.”

Before green pastures

Football was not Arthur’s first sport; she used to swim and do ballet among other things. At the age of six, she began to play football and when it was time to decide which sport to pursue, she chose football above all the rest.

She played for her high school football team in Colegio San Agustin-Makati, and from then on, her career took off. Arthur also represented the country in U-13 and U-16 international tournaments, the latter of which she led as captain. To her, playing internationally was a great experience for her to grow as a player. Aside from these, she also played for Green Archers United FC in the UFL Women’s U-17 Tournament and trained with Nomads’ FC.

In her third year of high school, she began training with La Salle. She was highly recruited by DLSU head coach Hans-Peter Smit since he believed that he would have an even stronger midfield if he had Arthur in addition to another sensational rookie in Sara Castañeda. Arthur decided to play for La Salle among all the universities that wanted her since she believes that the Women’s Football Team already has good chemistry, adding that she thought she would fit in with the team perfectly with the way they move the ball.

However, the road to college football wasn’t easy for Arthur.

Minor Setback

At the beginning of April 2015, Arthur tore her Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL). It was her first major injury and she wasn’t able to get into the pitch for eight whole months so it took its toll on her. “It was so hard to get back into football,” Arthur says. “It’s so hard to learn to love the sport again because at first you’re not that good as you were before, you aren’t as skillful as you remember so you have to try to get to where you were before the injury.”

With the people counting on her and her sheer love for football, she was able to get back to training just before the start of the UAAP Season 78 Women’s Football Tournament. “It’s not how good you are but how bad you want it,” Arthur says when asked about her mindset in overcoming the setback. “It’s not all about the talent. Talent does come in but it’s how hard you work to get there, it’s how bad you want to win.”

With the season now underway, Arthur has been able to play well despite coming off a serious injury. Smit remains optimistic saying, “She’s in a bit of a disadvantage [at the moment] but hopefully, as the games go on, she’ll gain her confidence again.”

Beyond football

Adjusting to college has been difficult, but this makes being a student-athlete such a big accomplishment for Arthur considering the hectic schedule that comes along with it. Her teammate, Nina Arrieta has been a big inspiration for her in college.

“She’s also my roommate,” Arthur says of Arrieta. “She would push me harder during training and would constantly remind me to make good choices every day.”

With wins against rivals Ateneo and current champions FEU, she says that her rookie season has been successful so far but she doesn’t want to remain too confident.

“Anything can change,” Arthur says. “College football is really competitive. There are older girls than you and they don’t care how young you are. We’re all the same. We all play the same game.”

Arthur has shown that she is a versatile player with the way she has played so far this season. She has been able to go beyond her role as a scorer, as she helped control the midfield and even assisted on Castañeda’s match-clinching goal against Ateneo. When asked whether she does this intentionally, she says that she looks to move the ball each possession to get better opportunities at scoring.

“I’m a less dribble, more pass kind of player because there is no ‘I’ in team!” she exclaims.

In addition to winning a championship, Arthur’s ultimate goal as an athlete is to bring recognition to women football players. She wants women’s football to become a big sport in this country and hopefully, internationally as well.

Shannon Arthur is as hungry to win as ever especially after her injury. It may be her rookie season, but her recent performances put her in a good position to make great strides in the UAAP.