The DLSU Lady Booters brought home their second win of the UAAP Season 87 Women’s Football Tournament after stomping the UP Fighting Maroons, 3-1, on their home turf earlier tonight, September 28, at the UP Diliman Football Stadium.
Maria Tanjanco scored a brace in the victory, finding the back net in the 11th and 53rd minute. Meanwhile, Mari Layacan doubled the lead for La Salle just before the halftime break at the 45+2’ mark. For the Fighting Maroons, Hannah Muros scored the lone goal from the penalty spot in the 55th minute.
Aggressive attacks
The Lady Booters dominated the opening minutes with quick attacks down both flanks. La Salle’s early aggression nearly paid off when a penalty was awarded to them in the fourth minute. However, the spot kick was missed by midfielder Lyka Teves, who sent the shot wide of the goal. Despite the penalty miss, the Taft-based squad continued to be relentless in their rapid attacks, constantly creating chances to score. Tanjanco finally gave DLSU a 1-0 lead in the 11th minute through a well-taken long shot after UP goalkeeper Eunice Eduave was caught too far from her goal line.
The Fighting Maroons struggled to create openings to score as they committed errors in their attacking. Head Coach Alvin Ocampo, noticing UP’s strategy to give away possession, continued to instruct the team to intensely pursue a second goal. A big chance fell to Team Captain Shai Del Ocampo in the 28th minute. However, she failed to capitalize on the opportunity as her shot went over the crossbar.
DLSU’s defense remained impenetrable, expertly stopping the Maroon attackers from asserting themselves into the pace of the match. Meanwhile, La Salle midfielders Teves and Chenny Dañoso continued to create plays for the Lady Booters.
With the halftime mark fast approaching, UP attempted to launch an attack but was eventually caught out by a quick counterattack from La Salle. Striker Maria Lacayan found herself through on goal before knocking a precise shot into the bottom corner of UP’s goal, doubling the score to 2-0.
Foot on the gas
After grabbing a comfortable lead late in the first half, the Lady Booters entered the second half with much confidence, controlling possession early and opening up chances for DLSU. The Green-and-White found their efforts bear fruit as Layacan received a nimble through ball in the counterattack that went past the UP defenders. The Lasallian forward was unable to convert her chance but unsettled the Fighting Maroons’ dominant defense, leaving Tanjanco with space to score her second goal of the game in the 53rd minute, 3-0.
However, UP immediately retaliated as Muros slotted in her penalty in the 55th minute to snatch away DLSU’s clean sheet, 3-1. The Lady Booters now recognized the threat the squad from Diliman posed which led to more aggressive attacks in the final frame. The Fighting Maroons struggled to cope with the fluidity of the Green-and-White, often fouling them outside of the box to halt their momentum. The Lady Booters were unable to convert their free kicks into goals but were threatening enough to raise alarms in the UP defense as the Lasallians continued to enjoy longer possessions with Teves and Dañoso controlling the midfield.
As the Lady Booters focused on adding another goal to their tally, the Fighting Maroons looked to launch a comeback, counter-attacking after La Salle’s attempts at the 70’ mark. Nonetheless, the Lasallian backline was able to remain sharp in clearing the ball which gave way to the Diliman-based squad finding another promising counterattack in the 75th minute, and La Salle goalkeeper Jessica Pido was able to stand her ground and keep the scoreline.
Despite warnings from UP, the Lady Booters remained threatening in attack with Aliexa Casi’s shot on target at the 81’ mark and crossbar hit at the 88’ mark. La Salle was unable to add to their advantage as time ran out, leading to their second victory of the season, 3-1.
Head Coach Alvin Ocampo acknowledged the team’s hardworking performance, “You can see that the opponent got tired in the first half, so ‘yun ‘yung in-inject namin sa kanila. You cannot give room and space for your opponent to move.” Ocampo also praised Tanjanco for bagging two impressive goals: “Danie [Tanjanco] will always be a goal scorer. She will get all the chances to score. It’s just a matter of finishing it.”
(You can see that the opponent got tired in the first half, so that’s what we instilled into them.)
The Lady Booters now stand at 2-0-0 after this victory. They look to further improve their record as they take center stage against the ADMU Blue Eagles on Saturday, October 19, at 4 pm at the same venue.
