The De La Salle University Lady Archers and Far Eastern University Lady Tamaraws ended their UAAP Season 78 Women’s Football Tournament elimination round with a point apiece today (April 23, 2016) at the McKinley Hill Stadium in Taguig. Shannon Arthur opened the scoring for La Salle (52′), while Sharmaine Siaotong (59′) equalized minutes later for FEU. The game finished 1-1 after ninety minutes, which was a fair result.
Perhaps with a point to prove, as it was their last game of Season 78, the Lady Tamaraws started more aggressively than the Lady Archers. Alesa Dolino set the tone for FEU when she shot wide from a corner. La Salle goalkeeper and captain Inna Palacios then had to be alert as she was forced to make good saves to deny Jovelle Sudaria and Marie Lecera.
Sudaria in particular was a handful for the Lady Archers. Her two free kicks almost led to goals for FEU, only for her first attempt to go narrowly over, while her second led to a follow-up ruled out for offside. At the other end, La Salle struggled to find chemistry in attack. The Lady Archers lacked the fluidity they had today compared to their past few games. FEU were allowed to dictate the tempo.
The Lady Tamaraws’ effectiveness up front extended all the way to the back, as Kim Parina easily made routine saves against Chelo Hodges and Sara Castañeda. It was Castañeda who looked closest to creating something for the Lady Archers. However, she failed to properly test Parina twice in succession.
FEU should have led La Salle at that point in the game. The Lady Tamaraws simply outworked the Lady Archers. Lecera had a golden opportunity to get that first goal when she was unmarked inside the La Salle box. A cross came Lecera’s way but she failed to make contact with the ball properly and the chance went begging. The Lady Tamaraws then intercepted the ball, but Palacios caught Sudaria’s attempt.
It was only in the last ten minutes of the first half that La Salle finally showed that trademark attack. Parina was the busier goalkeeper before the break. She easily caught Castañeda’s shots, then made a fine save on Arthur’s long shot after the latter was through on goal.
Similar to Lecera’s guilt-edged chance, La Salle striker Kyla Inquig should have given the Lady Archers the sucker punch before the break. The ball rebounded towards Inquig after Arthur’s earlier attempt, but the former directed her header down and allowed Parina to save easily. The referee then blew for halftime, with FEU perhaps unlucky to not have scored in the period.
After the break, it was La Salle who started stronger. Inquiq, again, should have scored when she was left unmarked by the Lady Tamaraws, but she miscued her shot and it went painfully wide. Then center-back Regine Metillo failed to test Parina properly from a free kick. However, La Salle finally scored in the 52nd minute of the match. From the right flank, Chelo Hodges released a cross and Arthur, unmarked, headed the ball home to give the Lady Archers the lead.
Nevertheless, FEU finally got the goal that they deserved. Admittedly against the run of play, Sudaria released a cross from the right flank which was then mishandled by Palacios. Siaotong was in the right place at the right time to capitalize on Palacios’ error to tap in the ball in the 59th minute.
Halfway through the second half, both La Salle and FEU pushed for the goal which would have won the game. Possession was even between the two and this led to equal opportunities for both to score. Nicole Andaya cut inside from the left flank only for her to shoot wide, then Arthur had another go, but Parina parried the ball away. Likewise, Barbie Sobredo made Palacios perform an easy save and then shot over the bar minutes after.
There were chances for both teams just before fulltime. Both goalkeepers, though, stood firm. If in the first half FEU deserved to clinch the game, the second half showed that both teams were on equal footing. In the end, La Salle and FEU had to make do with a point each, a fair result in the run of play.
La Salle still have one more game to go: the Finals against University of the Philippines at the Rizal Memorial Stadium on May 5, 2016 (Thursday). Hans-Peter Smit, Lady Archers head coach, wasn’t pleased with his players. “I’m not happy at all. Some of the attitudes are wrong. I told them to be careful. I was really being careful about their attitude for this game. I told them to look at the bigger picture and not on themselves. This is the way we prepare for the Finals, I said let’s give it to UP already.”
The Lady Archers finish in 1st place with 20 points at the end of the elimination round. In contrast, the Lady Tamaraws provisionally finished in 3rd place with 9 points.
