As National University walked off the UP Diliman Football Stadium pitch following a heartbreaking UAAP debut that saw the Lady Bulldogs fall 5-0 to defending champion Far Eastern University, one player stood out among her peers with an impressive performance.
Quenie Magarso may have had to pull the ball out of her net five times, but NU had the 18-year-old goalkeeper to thank for keeping the Lady Tamaraws at bay as best she could with numerous saves throughout the 90 minutes.
Indeed, it is rare to praise a goalkeeper after a five-goal loss. But those who watched the game live at the venue or through the stream could appreciate the effort Magarso put in against the dominant Lady Tamaraws.
“It was nervous for me kasi first time po makalaro sa UAAP, and then ‘yung tumapat po sa amin kaagad is ‘yung defending champion, kaya sobrang pressure and sobrang nakakakaba. Pero masaya naman po ako sa experience,” said the 18-year-old stopper from Muntinlupa, who also pointed out what she and her teammates could learn from the match.
“For me[, what I should do] is defend pa po ng sobra. Para sa sarili ko, I need to look at the whole field and make my eyes wider para mas lalo makatulong. And for my team, we did a good job defending. Kailangan pa namin maging mas stronger pa po sa ibang games.”
(C) UAAP Season 89 Media Team
Like any student-athlete in the UAAP, Magarso’s love for her chosen sport came from humble beginnings. She started playing football in sixth grade to stay close to her childhood friends, as she did not have anyone to spend time with in her neighborhood.
However, things began to change when Lolong Valencia, the longtime goalkeeping coach of De La Salle University, noticed her potential and helped set her career in motion.
“Coach Lolong, which is coach ko sa Pamplona, in-introduce niya ako sa Beach Hut, and ka-team ko si Jada Bicierro,” explained the BSED Major in English student. “Nag-start po ako in FCB or Bilibid po sa Muntinlupa, then nag-tryout po ako sa FC Pamplona.
“Napunta din po ako sa Beach Hut po, a well-known team, and then nung last year nag-tryout po si Coach (Ryan) Payson, so nag-tryout po ako.”
From her humble beginnings to making her way to the UAAP stage, Magarso’s career appears to be on an upward trajectory.
Still, she is careful not to get ahead of herself, emphasizing that she and her teammates need to achieve more together by picking up wins in Season 89 and beyond.
The loss to the Lady Tamaraws showed the Lady Bulldogs that they still have plenty to work on if they want to become competitive in the league. For Magarso, however, the challenge is one she is ready to embrace.
“Same as FEU, ‘di po kami mag-e-expect na mas mababa pa po,” she said.
“Mas mag-e-expect po kami ng mas mataas pa po para mas maayos pa po mapakita pa namin sa mga games.”
