The Far Eastern University Lady Tamaraws took a big step towards a first finals appearance since Season 77.
In a contest between two post-season contenders, FEU edged out the University of Santo Tomas Lady Booters, 1-0, in the UAAP Season 81 Women’s Football Tournament, Saturday afternoon at the Circulo Verde field in Quezon City.
The result allowed the Lady Tamaraws to leapfrog the Lady Booters at second place with 10 points. Meanwhile, the UST are relegated to third place with 8 points.
“Yung game talaga was really hard, ‘no?” said FEU mentor Let Dimzon. “Makita mo yung during the first half, delikado lahat ng atake ng UST.”
The Lady Tamaraws managed to score early in the game courtesy of Elna Bongol. Bongol finished a fine sequence of play to score past goalie Beatriz Sacdalan after eight minutes of play.
FEU then fought hard to defend their one-goal cushion, especially in the last 15 minutes of the contest.
UST substitute Bhebe Lemoran tried to find an equalizer for her team, but her free kicks failed to find the back of the net. Lemoran’s teammate Cecile Deita also had a late sniff at goal, but goalie Kim Pariña caught her attempt.
“Yung early goal na yun, yan yung nagdala sa team eh, pero siyempre alagaan namin yung score. Mostly naging defending kami,” added Dimzon, who shared that her team relied on long balls to provide an offensive threat vs UST.
Both schools shall next play on May 1, 2019 at the same venue. FEU (10 points) go up against the Ateneo de Manila University at 9:00 AM. Meanwhile, UST (8 points) will play the De La Salle University at 3:00 PM.
FEU XI: Acibar, Belluga, Bongol, Caw-it, Fornea, Lam, Onrubia, Pachejo ©, Pariña (GK), Sudaria, Velasco.
UST XI: Cadag, Dahildahil, Durano, Indac, Jihad, Lopez, Lustan ©, Panes, Sacdalan (GK), Sanchez, Yanto.
