The UST Lady Booters earned their first win in the Season 87 women’s football tournament after defeating the Ateneo Blue Eagles, 3-0, on Saturday, Nov. 16, at the UP Diliman Football Stadium.

UST’s past heartbreaks and stalemates were not in vain as their stellar performance boosted them into the third spot.

The España-based squad gained early momentum for a possible first blood in the 7th minute, but was ruled offside.

The succeeding minutes of action showcased back-and-forth scuffles and attacks by Ateneo’s Kassandra Zalamea and Daniella Benitez.

UST finally broke through as Gleydile Añonuevo found the back of the net in the 37th minute to score the first strike, 1-0.

The Lady Booter’s momentum continued in the second half as they prevented the attacks of Zalamea and Angely Alferez, keeping ADMU goalless.

Blue Eagle’s substitute Joyce Semacio had a huge opportunity to score in the 74th minute, but UST goalkeeper Lizlie Garcia blocked the equalizing attack.

UST’s Judy Prado scored the second goal in the 86th minute, 2-0.

Christy Logastua kept the momentum swinging through a shot that slipped through Ateneo goalie Chelsea Casals hands for another goal in added time to deliver the final blow, 3-0.

UST head coach Marjo Allado shared that their two recent draws gave them confidence, which helped secure their first victory.

*“Naka-gain sila ng confidence after the first two draws against UP and La Salle, and after defeating Ateneo mas lalong tumaas yung confidence nila to beat their opponents and hindi na sila yung nagdadalawang-isip pa,” *said Allado.

The loss of the UP Fighting Maroons against the FEU Lady Tamaraws helped Allado’s team improve to third place in the women’s football tournament.

Team adjustments opened many opportunities for UST to attack the post and execute defensive plays.

“It’s Rica Gerona’s first time to play in the middle, pero ang galing pa rin ng nilaro niya because she is very composed and magaganda yung mga pasa,” Allado said.

“The absence of [Jearfelyn] Ramos really affected our backline, but nag-step-up naman si Cindy Bennett to play center-back and the introduction of [Ruth] Bullanday ay naging okay naman,” he added.

Allado was also confident about the consistency of the Lady Booters’ performance in the remaining games.

“Para sa amin we take one game at a time naman and walang pagbibigay ng pressure sa players,” the UST head coach said.

The UST Lady Booters recorded a 1-2-3 win-draw-loss record with a -1 goal differential.

They look to return in winning ways against FEU Lady Tamaraws on Saturday, Nov. 23, in the same venue. **-Miguel Marco **