Eight goals in just two games.
The De La Salle University Lady Archers continued their hot start in the UAAP Season 79 Women’s Football Tournament with a 6-2 win against the University of Santo Tomas Lady Booters, tonight in the Rizal Memorial Stadium in Manila.
It was La Salle’s second straight win and, remarkably, all goalscorers nabbed a brace each. Castañeda (penalty 13′ & 54′), Dimaandal (30′ & 90+2′) and Andaya (34′ & 52′) provided the goals for La Salle, while Charisa Lemoran (47′ & 76′) did so for UST.
“The girls are getting into their groove. They could still have have done better, but at least that’s a good step from the last game,” opined La Salle coach Hans-Peter Smit. “Hopefully we get better and better every game. Every game matters.”
As soon as the game kicked off, La Salle dominated the contest with ease. Kyla Inquig signaled the Lady Archers’ intent early on when she forced a fine save from Lady Booters goalie Nicole Reyes.
La Salle relentlessly bombarded the UST goal, and were rewarded for their efforts in the 13th minute. The Taft school was awarded a penalty due to a handball in the UST box. Castañeda then stepped up and made no mistake to draw first blood for the Lady Archers.
Unsatisfied and determined to maintain their intensity, La Salle pushed on as they were the ones chasing the game. UST left spaces open for La Salle to exploit, and Lady Archers attackers Dimaandal and Andaya took advantage and penetrated the Lady Booters defense to score in the 30th and 34th minutes respectively.
The Lady Archers deservedly carried with them a 3-0 cushion at the break, with the Lady Booters virtually outplayed on every part of the pitch.
Come the second half, it was more of the same from La Salle. Although the Lady Booters were able to pull one back in the 47th minute courtesy of Lemoran’s stunning free kick, the Lady Archers still dominated the contest.
Andaya was a menace against UST throughout the match, as her forays at the left flank threatened to amount to goals every time. Come the 52nd minute, the veteran winger eluded her marker, nipped into the UST box, and unleashed a shot which landed at the top right corner of the goal for La Salle’s fourth of the game.
Moments later, Castañeda scored her second of the game in the 54th minute, when the sophomore capitalized on Dimaandal’s past and directed the the ball towards the opposite post for the Lady Archers’ fifth goal.
With the result secured in favor of the Green and While, both schools pushed on for more goals to finish on a high note. Lemoran breezed past the La Salle’s backline to score in the 76th minute, while Dimaandal joined the brace club at the 90+2 minute with a tap-in.
The game finished La Salle 6-2 UST, and the Lady Archers continue their quest for the championship with another victory.
“Four weeks have past and this is just our second game. That was a disadvantage to us when we played our first game last week. Now hopefully up to the second round we just go and play every week because that’s what the girls need,” shared Smit.
Up next for La Salle (2-0-0) are archrivals Ateneo de Manila University at 5:00 PM, while UST (1-0-1) will take on defending champions University of the Philippines earlier at 3:00 PM. Both games will be held on March 4 at Rizal Memorial.
La Salle XI: Andaya, Arrieta, Castañeda, Dimaandal, Inquig, Ledesma, Metillo, Navaja, Nolasco, Palacios, Tejada
UST XI: Cadag, Cleofe, Cuaresma, Eusebio, Ilan, Indac, Lemoran, Lustan, Reyes, Sanchez, Sumilang
