This appears in the Friday, March 4, 2011 edition of the Business Mirror. In the picture above, UST's Jowe Barruga heads in the ball for the only goal of the match. Photo by Brosi Gonzales.
UST Tigresses forge Game 3 in UAAP Football Finals
By rick olivares
The University of Santo Tomas Tigresses, dejected from the blindside board decision to make the UAAP Women’s Football Finals a best-of-three series, and fatigued no end by the hard-charging Far Eastern University Lady Tamaraws team, came away with a riveting 1-nil win at the Ateneo football field to forge a game three.
Jowe-Ann Barruga headed in a corner shot in the 15th minute that slipped right through FEU keeper Libra Dawne Villarante’s hands for the match’s only score.
But the joy was short lived as UST was unable to sustain the momentum of an early goal while FEU got stronger as they game went on. They threw an extra attacker for a 3-5-2 formation that forced UST to cough up the ball repeatedly in the backline and the midfield. In the first 20 minutes of the second half, only twice did the ball reach the final third for the Tigresses and in one of them, UST did not even have proper control of the ball.
The Lady Tamaraws’ defense prevented UST striker Marianne Narciso from receiving a through ball that the she could only threw her hands up in dismay. Compounding the woes of the Tigresses was Nikki Regaldo being ejected from the game on account of two yellow cards following a dangerous kick and a foul.
Not soon after, FEU’s Maria Kristina Sabanal had an opportunity to equalize when a handball was called on a UST defender, but the Lady Tamaraw’s shot hit the post and ricocheted out.
The man-advantage of FEU was later negated when Lady Tamaraws forward Jayneth Mercado was sent off after two yellow cards after she deliberately fell on top of a UST defender. It was a sorry end for Mercado’s collegiate career because she will be suspended for the next match and unable to help her teammates in their quest for a football crown.
“After the announcement of the best-of-three finals, parang nawalan ng loob yun mga bata,” explained Tigresses coach Rozano Estrabon. “Pero sabi ng mga school officials na laban lang.” No one embodied that “fight” attitude more than goalkeeper Zipporah Luna who was easily the Woman of the Match after she stopped more than a dozen FEU shots.
The final match will be played this Sunday at the Ateneo de Manila University at 2pm
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