Through disciplined effort on defense and a lone goal tallied by Fiona Faulkner, the Ateneo Lady Eagles bagged an important 1-0 triumph Sunday evening at the McKinley Hill Stadium against the reigning UAAP champions, the FEU Lady Tamaraws, to get themselves back on track in the race for a spot in the finals.
Ateneo, who came off a tough 2-1 loss against the same team they defeated tonight, opened the scoring once more. This time around, however, they made sure that the lead stood for good.
The girls from Katipunan had the first shot on target in the match. It arrived three minutes after kickoff via Camille Rodriguez, who charged down on FEU’s Alesa Dolino and shooting straight to goalkeeper Kimberly Pariña in the process.
In response, the Tamaraws bombarded the Ateneo defense with neat looks on goal. It began when Barbie Sobredo’s corner at the third minute caused a scramble inside the box, a situation that Ateneo goalkeeper Marriane Caparros was able to deal with. Moments later, Sobredo fired a volley wide and that was soon followed by Sharmine Siaotong’s shot, also off target. Their biggest chance came at the 22nd minute when Dolino stepped up to take a penalty kick. It came as a result of the referee deeming Rodriguez to have gotten her hand on Jovelle Sudaria’s shot.
As it was the case, the FEU captain had Caparros at her mercy. An absentee in their last encounter, Dolino failed to hit the target by striking the outside of the crossbar. It was a costly miss for the Lady Eagles appeared to be galvanized afterwards. Aina Martin had a good chance as her free kick was just punched away by Pariña four minutes later. Setting the pace at that point, Ateneo rewarded themselves by going ahead. Rodriguez shrugged off her marker before sending a clever ball into the box. It was timely met by Faulkner who guided the ball emphatically into the net from close range.
Down by one, the Tamaraws tried to restore parity before the break. In a period when chances came few, it was Dolino’s long range effort that came closest to levelling the score in t the first half. The FEU’s captain was on target but it lacked the power needed to beat Caparros. At the half, the Lady Eagles held on to a one-goal lead.
The second half began much slower than the first one with the first shot on goal registered at the 53rd minute, classified as an easy save by Caparros of a routine Sudaria free kick. In a back and forth affair, the succeeding chance belonged to Ateneo. It was Rodriguez finding Faulkner again but the goal scorer couldn’t hit the target in that occasion.
Past the hour mark, it was more of FEU dictating the pace of the game. Sobredo wasted a good chance to tie the game with a clean look on goal at the 76th minute. With room to shoot inside the box, she only struck it tame enough for Caparros to smother. As time winded down, the champions’ aggressive pursuit for a goal led to many dead ball situations. There were two moments when they nearly sniffed one in the last 10 minutes of the game. At the 80th minute, Sobredo’s corner located Aloha Bejic but the rookie defender’s shot landed on the crossbar. The same thing happened three minutes later as Dolino’s free kick was pushed away by Caparros onto the top of the frame. Siaotong reacted first to meet the loose ball in front of the goal but she fumbled the rebound by heading it over the goal. It was their best chance to salvage a point as the Ateneans Sheldon to claim a meaningful win.
Speaking after the match, Ateneo Coach Bob Manlulo was delighted with how they grinded out a tough victory. It comes as a relief for the Lady Eagles who were set back by a twin of heartbreaking losses in recent weeks. In dire need of good results, he thought the Lady Eagles stayed true to their goals and that seemed enough to get the job done. “I didn’t put pressure on the players. [I just told them to] put effort and do their hard work and I guess it paid off,” he remarked.
As it stands, the Lady Eagles move above to third in the standings. They are level on points with FEU but are slightly above due to better goal difference. Manlulo’s team is set to meet La Salle in the first weekend of April in what promises to be a classic rivalry match. Meanwhile, the Lady Tamaraws will hope to get back to winning ways in the same weekend as they prepare for a scintillating clash with UP.
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