Female Rookies of the Year: Shannon Arthur and Sara Castañeda

Despite their unfortunate loss to the University of the Philippines in the UAAP Season 78 Women’s Football Finals, the DLSU Women’s Football Team’s season did not go to waste. Improving on their Season 77 elimination round win-draw-loss record of 2-2-4, they finished this season with a 6-2-0 win-draw-loss record on 23 goals, considerably better than the five goals they finished with last season. Their success was mostly due in part to the excellent showing of their rookie duo of Shannon Arthur and Sara Castañeda.

Arthur and Castañeda made big waves in their first season in the UAAP, proving that their titles as “rookies” were merely labels. Coach Hans-Peter Smit expected this even though it was only their first year playing in the league, as he already regarded them as “veterans” even before the season started. Smit’s expectations from the duo were a result of their careers prior to joining DLSU, with both of them having made great impressions in the national team and in their high school teams, Colegio De San Agustin-Makati and De La Salle Zobel, respectively.

What sets Arthur and Castañeda apart from other rookies this season is that they actually exceeded the expectations and standards that were set for them. Both recorded the most goals in the league at the end of the season with seven goals each, with their 14 combined goals two short of UP’s regular season total of 16, and far more than the number of goals other teams have scored this season. With this, they shared the UAAP Season 78 Golden Boot Award, which was only one of the individual awards they came home with. In addition, Arthur also won the Best Striker Award while Castañeda, on the other hand, won the Best Midfielder Award and was also hailed as this year’s Rookie of the Year. They were two of the six DLSU players to also be named to the UAAP’s Women Mythical XI.

Arthur, despite coming off an ACL injury in April 2015, was able to orchestrate the La Salle offense, while Castañeda kept her opponents on their toes by dominating the midfield. Smit believed that he would have the strongest midfield in the league this season whenever Arthur and Castañeda were on the pitch and the numbers backed it up. The two will be vital in La Salle’s journey to winning a championship for years to come. They may have lost their first attempt at it, but it is certain that this is only the beginning of a bright future for the dynamic duo.

Honorable mentions: Divine Romero (Women’s Fencing), Emy Rose Dael (Women’s Table Tennis)