Lady Booters miss out on finals berth
IT WAS an afternoon of broken hearts on the Ateneo football field the day before Valentine's Day.
The Ateneo Lady Booters, needing a two-goal margin of victory to earn their own finals slot, bowed to De La Salle University, 1-0, last February 13.
Even so, said captain Kae Guerrero (IV BS ME): "The team can look back 10 to 15 years from now and say they really, really played well that day."
The Lady Booters gave up the winner only in the 85th minute when a cross from a La Salle winger left a striker loosely marked for the goal.
Ateneo needed a two-goal advantage to survive the three-team race on the final eliminations day for the right to meet FEU in the finals. Ateneo eventually finished fourth, a rank below their best-ever finish last year.
Ateneo was close to scoring several times in the match, thanks to determined play and errors by La Salle. But they were time and again frustrated. Even after the late La Salle goal, the Lady Booters continued to fight on in the dying minutes of the contest.
Amidst both cracked laughter and tears, the team afterwards gathered for a last huddle at centerfield. The coaching staff congratulated the team's achievement on challenging for the title in an emotional post-match speech.
A new challenge will begin next year as nine players will be graduating and a new coaching staff will take over. "It's going to be really interesting," said Guerrero. "It's going to be a practically new team next year."