THE 56th season for Women’s National Collegiate Athletic Association (WNCAA) opened with the University of Asia & Pacific (UA&P) Women’s Futsal team defeating San Beda Collega Alabang (SBCA) with a score of 1-0 at St. Paul’s Activity Center last Sept. 9, marking the first game of both teams and UA&P's first win of the season. 

The first half started at a slow pace, with both teams evenly matching each other’s capabilities, with UA&P strong at playing patiently and focusing on ball movement, while SBCA relied on a solid defensive stand. 

Both teams struggled to score and had a hard time finding momentum, exhausting their timeouts early in the first half. A crucial error by the red lions led to a penalty kick, which resulted in UA&P’s first goal, ending the first half with a score of 1-0 in favor of UA&P.

After the huddle and the discussion with their respective coaches, the second half began with SBCA coming out aggressively. A foul by UA&P gave SBCA a chance to equalize through a penalty kick, but UA&P’s defensive strategy prevailed, ending the game with a 1-0 victory.

In a post-game interview with THE BEDAN HERALD, the SBCA Women’s Futsal Team Goalkeeper Yesha Natividad (II-BSP), shared that despite the loss, she is enthusiastic about the performance of the team and looks at it as an opportunity to improve for the following games. “Marami pa kaming aantabayan na magiging improvement next game at ‘yung pagkakamali namin tinitignan namin siya as a positive side, kasi it can be our strength next game,” she shared.

The Women’s Futsal Team will have another opportunity to redeem themselves on Sept. 14 against Assumption College at St. Paul College, Pasig.