GOALKEEPER Michael Casas rose to the challenge as Ceres-La Salle dethroned Kaya and clinched a finals seat with an 8-7 penalty shootout win Wednesday in the United Football League Cup at Rizal Memorial Stadium.
Both teams battled to a 3-3 stalemate at the end of regulation and extra time, before Casas foiled two of Kaya’s last three spot kicks to set up Juani Guirado’s match-winning effort in the ninth round of the shootout.
Kaya fought back relentlessly even after going down to 10 men at the hour mark, as it tied the match for the third time at 3-3 on Louis Clark’s header in the 72nd minute.
But Ceres ultimately got its payback from last year’s finals loss despite midfielder Martin Steuble’s miss when it was still at 6-6 in the shootout. The victory sent Ceres, the reigning league champion, to a finals duel with rival Global on April 16.