By Vince Matthew Jaramilla

Far Eastern University (FEU) Tamaraw Booter rookie Theo Libarnes notched his first college goal, leading a 2-0 win against the De La Salle University (DLSU) Green Booters in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 87 men's football tourney earlier today, October 10, at the University of the Philippines Diliman Football Pitch in Quezon City.

The center forward and national team delegate delivered the successful strike in the 17th minute, giving FEU an early advantage.

In a post-game interview, Libarnes mentioned his surprise in scoring the goal.

"'Di ko pa nga po [in]-expect na papasok 'yun kasi [parang] basura lang 'yung bola paparating sa'kin. Triny ko na lang pong i-shoot, pumasok din po (I didn't even expect that strike to go in because the ball just came to me randomly. I just tried to shoot it and it went in)," he said.

Right from the get-go, the Morayta booters showed aggression, mounting smart pushes through accurate passing.

However, the physicality of the green-and-white booters made it difficult for the green-and-gold squad to convert early.

FEU did not let up in their offensive tenacity, which eventually gave Libarnes enough space to draw first blood.

Despite the newly gained advantage, the Tamaraws continued to pressure the Green Booters' goal, keeping the ball on DLSU's half of the field with several more attacks.

No more goals were made until halftime, 1-0.

In the second half, the increased intensity was apparent as player collisions prompted medics to rush into the field in just the 53rd minute, temporarily reducing DLSU to a 10-man squad.

At the 59-minute mark, the match returned to 11-versus-11, with FEU forwards Karl Absalon and Edgar Aban coming in for Mc Jay Neniel and RJ Buenafe.

The newly subbed-in Aban did not wait long to make an impact on the game, scoring a goal upfront in the 66th minute.

Maintaining their tight-knit defense, the Morayta-based squad completely ran away with the win, 2-0.

The game acted as a bounce-back win for the Tamaraw Booters after losing against the Ateneo de Manila University last Sunday, October 6.

Head coach Roman Olivier reflected on the victory, emphasizing the importance of the team learning from mistakes.

"We play[ed] three matches in seven days so there's no time to be sad about what happened. We just improve. We [made] some mistakes [against] Ateneo and we learned from [them]... The kids are amazing so [we just keep working]," the lead tactician stated.

Meanwhile, Libarnes expressed the confidence boost he received for their upcoming games after spearheading a victory for FEU.

"Parang na-boost na po 'yung confidence ko ngayon so sa upcoming games, patuloy lang 'yung paghahanap [ko] ng opportunity [to contribute] (It's like my confidence was boosted so in the upcoming games, I will continue finding an opportunity to contribute)," he shared.

The Olivier-led squad will look to build on their wins as they face the University of Santo Tomas on October 17 at the same venue.

(Photo by Zedrich Xylak Madrid/FEU Advocate)