The UP Men’s Football team ended their six-year finals drought after outlasting the UST Golden Booters in a thrilling 1(8)-1(7) penalty shootout in the UAAP Season 86 semifinals on Thursday, May 9, at the Rizal Sports Memorial Complex.
UP’s last trip to the finals was in Season 80 where they beat the UST Golden Booters to win their seventh championship.
Defensive masterpiece
Maroon forward Francis Tacardon drew first blood in the 45th minute as he hit a turnaround goal inside the box to give State U a 1-0 lead just before the first half ended.
UST’s Tarshish Garciano retaliated with a recovery score right at the goal early in the second half to tie the game.
The semifinal match went down to the wire as both teams’ defenses prevented any more goals in regulation and extra time forcing a penalty shootout.
In the game-deciding showdown, State U failed to gain an early lead as Golden Booter Jose Abada blocked their first scoring attempt.
Tied at 3-3, UST had the chance to seize advantage but UP super rookie goalkeeper Alfonso Gonzales denied the goal to give State U a chance to control the game.
The Diliman-based squad capitalized on the opportunity as they sniped five-straight penalty goals, capped by an Angelo Pagdanganan score that slipped past the torso of the UST keeper to take an 8-7 lead three hours into the match.
The Golden Booters remained unfazed by Gonzales’ persistent block attempts as they netted four consecutive penalty shots.
However, the defensive pressure forced a narrow miss by UST’s Francis Jay Vercide that hit the crossbar, giving UP the win and a shot for the gold.
Despite a daunting assignment, rookie Gonzales stayed composed, earning him the man of the match honors in the high-stakes battle.
“For me of course, I felt the nerves, I felt all the things that you would normally expect. But I feel like I was able to tone it down and stay focused,” said Alfonso in an interview with UP Fight Club.
Man of the Match Alfonso Gonzales anchored the Maroon’s defense as he rejected 7 out of UST’s 8 on-target scoring attempts.
State U will be riding a five-game win streak as they face defending champions FEU Tamaraws, in the hopes of securing their eighth UAAP title on May 16 at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex.
