UP's Liam Lampayan celebrates his late goal against Ateneo in the UAAP Season 87 men's football tournament, November 10, 2024 at the UP Diliman Football Field. UAAP MediaMANILA -- Liam Lampayan put an end to Ateneo de Manila University's perfect run in the UAAP Season 87 men's football tournament on Sunday at the UP Diliman Football Stadium.
The junior defender headed the ball home in the five minutes into second half stoppage time, giving the University of the Philippines a dramatic 1-0 victory against the Blue Eagles.
His late goal ended Ateneo's seven-match winning streak and handed their Katipunan rivals their first loss of the tournament.
"It was a relief," said Lampayan. "The coaches always pushed me to score talaga and it's a relief I finally got my first goal of the season. Ateneo's obviously the team to beat because of their record of seven wins. Our goal was to stop their winning streak and kill their momentum. I'm happy that I was able to contribute to that."
Both teams flubbed chances to break the deadlock early on.
Ateneo midfielder Galen Fernandez hit the crossbar for the Blue Eagles halfway through the first half while Viggo Herce and Ramil Bation's headers went wide before the break.
Leo Maquiling had a big chance to open the scoring early in the second half, only for him to miss the target while Fernandez had another opportunity that went begging. At the other end, UP goalkeeper Alfonso Gonzalez managed to prevent the ball from fully crossing the line after Dov Cariño and Jethro Flores combined in attack.
"Kudos to Ateneo, they're a great team," said Fighting Maroons head coach Popoy Clarino. "It was a neck-to-neck battle. I think we deserved this because of the work that we put in. We were rewarded with the win."
The Fighting Maroons strengthened their hold on third place by increasing their tally to 16 points and a plus-9 goal difference.
Despite the loss, Ateneo remains on top of the table with 21 points and a +17 goal differential.