Far Eastern University (FEU) Lady Tamaraw Booters put out a late offensive outburst of five goals within 13 minutes against University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons, 5-0, securing themselves a ticket to the finals of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 87 women's football tourney earlier this afternoon, November 16, at the University of the Philippines Diliman Football Pitch in Quezon City.

In a post game interview with FEU Advocate, head coach Let Dimzon praised the Lady Tamaraws’ ability to bounce back.

“I challenged them. I was angry and frustrated, kasi hindi ‘yun ‘yung plays na prina-practice namin. Pero ayun ‘yung maganda sa players kung paano sila nagba-bounce back kasi I know they can do better (I challenged them in the second half, because I was angry and frustrated because these are not the plays we practice. But what’s good about the players is that they know they can bounce back),” the tactician shared.

The first few minutes of the game started intensely as both teams went on to trade missed opportunities to score.

The Tamaraws and the Fighting Maroons’ hunger for a goal was then exemplified after both teams attempted to separate with a free kick each. 

Despite UP’s defensive pressure inside the penalty area, FEU garnered many chances to score but faltered to convert.

It was a quick start to the second half as both teams looked for their first goal of the match.

This led to a fast-paced match resulting in many open looks for Lady Tam midfielder Judie Arevalo to score. In spite of the many chances, the Tamaraws still failed to convert.

Fortunately, the scoring drought came to an end through midfielder Kyza Colina at the 74-minute mark as she successfully scored off a scramble, 1-0.

The Lady Tam attributed her first collegiate goal to Coach Let’s continuing belief to the team.

“‘Yung mga sinabi ni Coach [Let], siyempre, kailangan din namin umiskor kasi 0-0 ‘yun. Kailangan namin mapanalo ‘yung laro na ito (What Coach said to us, obviously, we had to score since it was still 0-0. We needed to win this game),” the midfielder shared.

Colina’s late goal sparked the Morayta-based squad to play harder on both ends of the floor, reslting in more markers delivered a minute apart by Arevalo in the 80th minute and Carmela Altiche in the 81st, 3-0.

The Tamaraws’ hot streak did not stop as both Altiche and Arevalo scored once again to complete a double-brace brace performance at the 85-minute and 87-minute marks, respectively, ending the match, 5-0.

Reigning Rookie of the Year Arevalo also credited Coach Dimzon for their late surge in the second half.

“Pina-realize ni Coach [Dimzon] sa amin [na], in the first half, wala kaming play and walang score. Kaya sa second half nanggigil kami to score (Coach made us realize that, in the first half, we had no play and score. That’s why in the second half we were eager to score),” the forward shared.

Now with a guaranteed finals ticket, FEU still looks to continue their dominance against University of Santo Tomas next Saturday, November 23, at the same venue.

- Marcus Isaac D.G Bandong
(Photo courtesy of Max Dela Cruz/FEU Athletics)