After finding the back of the net in its previous two matches and earning its first win in the most recent one, the University of the Philippines made sure to build on its momentum.
Erissa Rivas extended her scoring run to three straight matches, powering the Fighting Maroons to a 1–0 victory over the University of Santo Tomas Lady Booters and their second consecutive win to close out the first round of the UAAP Season 89 Collegiate Women’s Football Tournament on Wednesday at the UP Football Stadium.
The designated captain for the day, who scored the team’s first goal of the season against Ateneo de Manila University before netting twice in the victory over National University, took advantage of the ample space given to her on the counterattack to put the Fighting Maroons ahead in the 41st minute.
That proved to be the difference as UP climbed to provisional third place with six points and a goal difference of 0, just ahead of Ateneo, which has three points and a –2 goal difference and faces NU later in the day.
(C) UAAP Season 89 Media Team
“Talagang we really had to gut it out. The game wasn’t pretty but the most important thing is the result. We had a hard time, sinapul kami ng flu. Aurea (Reaso) is out, Steph (Braga), then may ilang kakarecover lang,” said long-time head coach Anto Gonzalez.
“Credit to the girls for really, kita mo eh, marami sa kanila na can’t really, like, go all out. Si Pat (Espinosa), also galing sa [sakit], so yeah they really fought hard [and] wala na talagang tinira. It wasn’t pretty but it really came from the heart, so credit to the girls for really pushing hard,” he added.
Gonzalez believes the same creativity and determination will be key for the Fighting Maroons to maintain—and eventually secure—their place inside the top four when the second round resumes next week.
“If we compare the team from last year, I think you see here that we’ve been able to create chances. Before this match after the matches that we’ve played, even before against FEU, kung tama yung stats, we had no attempts. We had a few lapses doon sa defending, but very good today. The defense did a great job containing UST. So overall, satisfactory, yun lang talaga yung results for the first few games, but hopefully we get these straight games as momentum going into the second round,” added the former national team standout.
(C) UAAP Season 89 Media Team
On the other hand, UST dominated possession in the opening period and applied a high press, but could not produce a clear-cut shot to trouble UP goalkeeper Ainnah De Guzman.
The Lady Booters had another golden opportunity in the second half, but they failed to capitalize on a scramble near the goalmouth as the Fighting Maroons eventually cleared the danger.
UST will look to regroup in the second round after suffering its third consecutive defeat, leaving the Lady Booters in sixth place with three points and a –1 goal difference.
