THE FACULTY of Engineering bagged its second title in the Thomasian Goodwill Games men’s football tournament after trouncing the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, 2-0, at the UST Football field last Feb. 28.
With a minute left at the second half, Engineering rookie Viance Villanueva delivered a sharp long kick from the left flank as his squad scored its second goal and picked up its second title since 2010.
“All our players really played well in all our games, even though the players tended to be inconsistent sometimes. They see to it that they could back up everytime they fall down,” Engineering coach John Reginald Caballero said.
Faculty of Medicine and Surgery’s Leonard Lamfu attempted a goal in the 87th minute, but his shot went off the net.
Engineering midfielder Allen Montealto scored the first goal in the 62nd minute on a quick pass from Villanueva.
Earlier in the semi-final round, Engineering downed the Faculty of Arts and Letters, 4-1, while Medicine and Surgery defeated defending champions UST Graduate School, 3-1.
Rani Castro from Engineering was named Most Valuable Player, while fellow booters Khalil Austria and Allen Montealto were named Best Defender and Best Striker, respectively. The Best Goalkeeper award went to Carlo Sayco of the Graduate School and DJ Mendoza of Medicine was awarded best midfielder.
Champions anew
In the distaff side, Medicine clinched its second championship title with a come-from-behind 2-1 victory against the College of Rehabilitation Sciences (CRS) at the UST Football field last March 1.
With the teams tied with one goal apiece, the UST-FMS squad fearlessly took advantage of the subpar play of the CRS team to score one more goal in the 80th minute, 2-1.
“Cohesion ng team ang nagdala sa amin all throughout the tournament,” team captain Joanna May Francisco said.
Sun Mi Hwang of CRS gave her team an early advantage after scoring a goal in the 23rd minute after a long shot from the right flank. But in the second half, CRS booter Camille Bianca Jurado accidentally kicked the ball past their own goalkeeper and kissed their own net in the 61st minute to give an effortless lift to the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, 1-1.
Defending champions College of Nursing settled for fourth place this year after being eliminated by the Medicine and Surgery squad in the quarterfinal round.
Earlier in the semis, Medicine trounced the College of Science, 3-1, while CRS trounced the College of Fine Arts and Design, 4-0.
Gabrielle Mercado was hailed Most Valuable Player and Best Midfielder while teammate Janelle Lising was named as the Best Defender. Meanwhile, CRS booters Angel Jimenez and Aira de la Cruz were awarded as the Best Goal Keeper and Best Striker, respectively. Hedrix Ar-ar C. Caballe
