Arevalo’s late strike puts FEU at cusp of first round sweep

c/o UAAP

Men's Matches Thursday at the Ayala Vermosa Sports Hub
2:30 p.m. - DLSU vs UP
4:30 p.m. - UST vs Ateneo
7 p.m. - UE vs Adamson

Judie Arevalo drilled in the winning goal, sending Far Eastern University to a third straight victory in the UAAP Season 88 Women's Football Tournament, 1-0, over University of Santo Tomas on Wednesday at the Ayala Vermosa Sports Hub here.

The four-peat-seeking Lady Tamaraws joined the De La Salle Lady Booters atop the standings with nine points, setting up a showdown on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. at the University of the Philippines Football Field.

The senior forward capitalized on a well-executed buildup involving Marienell Cristobal and Angel Egay to put FEU ahead in the 52nd minute.

Cristobal, who had been at the heart of the Lady Tamaraws' offense since kickoff, finally found Egay inside the box.

Egay, maintaining her composure, attempted to finish, but the ball did not find the net.

Arevalo, however, was perfectly positioned to tap the ball home, securing the go-ahead goal.

"Ang naging problem naming nung start is hindi kami nag-solid eh do'n sa backline and do'n sa harapan. Ni-reserve talaga namin si Arevalo; kaya mahirap 'pag wala 'yung starter mo. Pero good adjustment during the second half, a lot of dangerous opportunities. Yun lang talaga, 'yung understanding sa back, kasi marami kaming chances pero hindi talaga nila makita 'yung target," said long-time head coach Let Dimzon.

("We just had problems at the start because we reserved Arevalo for the latter parts, so we were not that solid at the back and up front. Without our usual starters, we struggled. But it was a good adjustment during the second half because we had a lot of dangerous opportunities. We just have to improve our understanding of the situation from the back to be able to find our options up front.)

"We want them to improve lang lagi every game kasi from the very first game nagiging maganda 'yung result ng play namin. Kaya going into the La Salle game, improve lang nila 'yung communication kasi do'n kami nagkukulang," she added.

(We want them to improve every game just as we played from the very first match up to now. Going into the La Salle game, we just need to improve our communication because that's where we lack.")

UST had opportunities in both halves, but Rica Gerona in the first half and Jannah Santerva in the second could not break through the FEU defense.

The Lady Booters remain in third place with three points and a goal difference of -1 as they seek a bounce-back win against Ateneo in Saturday's first match at 4 p.m.