Rookie Dani Tanjangco continued her scoring spree, notching two goals to power De La Salle University to the top of the UAAP Season 86 Women’s Football Tournament standings with a 3-1 victory over University of the Philippines on Saturday at the UP Diliman Football Stadium.
The Lady Green Booters secured their second straight win, accumulating six points with a plus-4 goal differential, putting them in early command of the league.
Last season’s runner-up displayed their attacking intent early and found the back of the net twice in the first half.
Tanjangco, the 18-year-old striker from De La Salle-Zobel, opened the scoring in the 17th minute, followed by Maria Layacan’s goal in stoppage time, doubling the margin for the visitors.
The Kaya FC youth product added her second goal of the match (and third for the young season) just a few minutes into the second half — a virtual nail in the coffin scored in the 53rd minute.
“As you can see, ‘yung fitness ng players are picking up. The preparation for this one was short, and now they are getting their air going towards the second round. We’re halfway done with the first round, so we’re preparing now for Ateneo,” said Lady Green Booters head coach Alvin Ocampo.
“We’re taking this one game at a time. We made adjustments against UP, and now we’ll make adjustments against Ateneo.”
De La Salle will look to maintain their top spot when they face rivals Ateneo (0 points, minus-4) on October 19 at 4:00 PM at the same Diliman pitch.
UP attempted to break through De La Salle’s defense despite the deficit, with a good run from Martina Torres in the 56th minute resulting in a handball penalty. Hannah Muros converted the spot kick, pulling one back for the Fighting Maroons.
However, De La Salle’s lead proved too much, with the 3-1 scoreline standing until the final whistle.
The Fighting Maroons (3 points, minus-1) will aim to bounce back in their next match against Far Eastern University (3 points, plus-3) on October 26 at 4:00 PM.
