The DLSU Lady Booters held the FEU Lady Tamaraws to a 1-all draw in their last match of Round One in the UAAP Season 87 Women’s Football Tournament earlier tonight, October 30, at the UP Diliman Football Pitch.
Lady Booters Captain Shai Del Campo bagged her first goal of the season to put the Lady Booters in front at the 67th minute before FEU’s Judie Arevalo leveled the score at the 78’ mark.
Evenly matched
With both teams determined to protect their perfect record this season, the opening minutes of the highly anticipated clash saw possession pacing back and forth between both sides. La Salle, lining up in their usual 4-4-2 formation, aimed to attack quickly through Maria Tanjangco who was constantly running at the FEU defense with speed. At the 6’ mark, Tanjangco found an early chance through a set piece. However, her header was easily caught by Tamaraw goalkeeper Yasmin Alauria. Shortly after, at the 9th minute, DLSU had yet another set-piece opportunity. Lyka Teves stepped up to take a long shot, but her effort flew wide of the FEU goal.
After the first 10 minutes, the Lady Tamaraws began to settle with more controlled possession, pushing the Lady Booters back into their own half. FEU’s first threatening chance came at the 17’ point when they gained a free kick just outside of the DLSU penalty area. Janly Fontamillas stepped up to take the set piece, but her shot went far outside the Lasallian net. Just two minutes later, another threat fell to Carmela Altiche, who found herself one-on-one with Lady Booters goalkeeper Jessica Pido. The FEU attacker shot for the bottom corner, but her effort rolled inches wide off the net.
With the Tamaraws now dictating possession, the Lasallians were unable to manufacture any substantial attacking plays. The Green-and-White instead spent large parts of the first half defending on their side of the field with FEU winning numerous midfield battles.
Seeing their team second best to the defending champions, team veterans Del Campo and Teves encouraged the Lady Booters to aggressively press FEU by making more precise passes for better chances. At the 30’ mark, a chance was created for La Salle when a cross was played into the box before the ball found itself at Del Campo’s feet. The captain tried her luck from just outside the penalty area. However, her effort was mishit as the ball flew far over the net. With both teams seemingly unable to solve their attacking problems, the referee blew for halftime with no points on the scoreboard.
Turning up the intensity
As the second half kicked off, both teams maintained a methodical pace, focusing on tight defense and keeping the ball on their sides. Despite several midfield battles, neither team managed to create clear scoring opportunities in the first ten minutes of the half as La Salle’s Stephanie Goñe and FEU’s Regine Rebosura provided toughness to hold the defensive fort for their respective teams.
The following minutes finally saw more action offensively on both sides; and in the 66th minute, FEU’s Dionesa Tolentin took a chance, firing a powerful shot aimed at the bottom corner. But Pido reacted swiftly, making an impressive save to keep the score level. Just two minutes later, DLSU found a golden counter as Maegan Alforque delivered a pinpoint cross from the right side straight to Del Campo, who then expertly slotted the ball into the net to provide La Salle a 1-0 lead.
FEU responded rapidly, nearly equalizing in the 70th minute as Arevalo broke through the Green-and-White defense and unleashed a shot that came within inches of the net before Pido came to the rescue by pushing the ball wide to preserve DLSU’s lead. However, the Lady Tamaraws’ persistence finally paid off in the 78th minute, when Fontamillas lofted a long volley into the box right into Arevalo who met the pass with an accurate header that found the back of the net, leveling the score at 1-all.
With the momentum now on FEU’s side, Arevalo tested Pido again in the 82nd minute with a well-placed shot on target, but the DLSU goalkeeper managed another impressive save. The squad from Taft nearly reclaimed the lead in the 84th minute as Tanjangco found herself in good position for a tap-in, but her shot went wide off the mark. The final minutes were tense, with both teams pushing hard, but the score remained locked at the final whistle, 1-all.
With this draw, the Lady Booters suffered their first blemish on their record, ending Round One with a 3-1-0 standing. They look to remain undefeated as they head into the second round with the schedule yet to be announced.
