THE UST Lady Booters toppled a hapless De La Salle University squad, 1-0, while the Golden Booters settled for a 1-1 draw against La Salle’s men’s team in their respective UAAP matches at the Ateneo de Manila University football field last Jan 19.
Ace midfielder and national player Jowe-Ann Barruga sealed the game for UST in the 45th minute with a header that went over goalkeeper’s Hannah Ibarra outstretched arms.
The winning effort was Barruga’s way of making up for his absence in the Lady Booters’ pre-season training due to academic commitments.
“I wanted to show that I could still keep up with my teammates despite missing training,” she said in Filipino after the game.
The Lady Booters’ relentless defense continued in the second half to frustrate La Salle’s scoring attempts. UST goalkeeper Zipporah Luna easily parried a weak attempt from La Salle’s Adrianne Yniguez.
UST got its offensive rhythm early with two solid attempts from Narciso and Barruga.
“We played better this time around. We were more aggressive,” said coach Rozana Estrabon, whose team was held to a scoreless draw by the University of the Philippines in their Jan. 14 match.
“But we still need to improve our conditioning and stamina because we did not train during the Christmas break.”
Big disappointment
After repulsing an aggressive Far Eastern University squad in their first game, the Golden Booters managed only a 1-1 draw against a tougher La Salle side last Jan. 18.
Azkals U-23 player Ojay Clariño connected on a cross kick with four minutes remaining to tie the score. La Salle’s Mateo Yuhico scored with a header in the 51st minute after Ronald Batisla-Ong commited a bad pass to goalkeeper Mon Borigas.
“Over all, I’m not happy with the performance of the players. It’s like we didn’t play football. We were contented with receiving and waiting for the ball.”
