The De La Salle Lady Archers started their UAAP Season 78 Women’s Football Tournament campaign spectacularly, when they defeated the Ateneo Lady Eagles in a seven-goal thriller. One of the four goals for the Lady Archers came from rookie Shannon Arthur.
Arthur scored Lady Archer’s third goal in the game via an assist from Kyla Inquig. While the goal wasn’t the game winner, it was pivotal in clinching three valuable points.
Although Arthur scored and played well in the second half, she admitted it had been a nervy start for her in the UAAP. She hadn’t even been sure of where to position herself on the pitch in the first half. She explained, “I don’t know how I do this. But then sooner on to the game, the scoring and I felt I wanted to be a part of this. So you know, I got it good.”
La Salle’s veteran coach Hans-Peter Smit praised his rookies in one of his post-game comments. Smit felt that his rookies had played like veterans in that game. Arthur didn’t know how to react to her coach’s words at first, but knew that he meant it and she would just take it to heart. However, humility is one factor she wants to maintain.
“Just stay humble because you don’t want it to get into your head all the compliments, but I’m really glad that Coach Hans is really proud of us. You know Sara (Castaneda) and I were just starting rookies, we’re just gonna keep going, getting higher and higher each and every game to get to the finals.”
One goal in your first UAAP game makes your debut a great one, but Arthur isn’t one to rest on her laurels. Personal improvement is important for her. She wants to do better mentally so that nerves won’t strike her in the next games. “Well for me it’s getting into it sooner so I don’t be stagnant. During the first half, I felt very nervous so I didn’t really do much. I want to get into the mindset earlier so that I can help the team from the first minute onwards.”
A win for La Salle over Ateneo in any UAAP event is one to be treasured, and Arthur understood what the victory meant but she looked at the bigger picture. “Well it’s nice that we won against Ateneo feeling the rivalry but every win is a win no matter who you’re against. It felt good though because it’s the first game.”
“One game at a time” is a common mantra amongst athletes. It’s not different for Arthur. She said, “So this game, we focused on Ateneo. Maybe the next training we’ll focus on FEU. We’re not focusing at everything at the same time so we don’t get overwhelmed. We’ll have to get into the mindset to play against the reigning champions so hopefully we can get up to their level.”
Arthur and the rest of the Lady Archers are set to face the Far Eastern University tomorrow at 4:00pm at the McKinley Hill Stadium
