By Oluwapamilerin Micheal and Oluwademilade Ogunleye
After a thrilling opening matchday in the female category of the Seals Cup, Matchday 2 and 3 came with more twist and turns. The 16 female participating teams were on a quest to qualify out of the group and into the next round. At the end of Matchday 2, only the departments of Human Kinetics, Statistics, Archeology/Anthropology, Forestry, Physiotherapy, Philosophy and History could secure a spot in the Quarter Finals.
Here’s how the last 8 performed in their respective groups:
GROUP A
In Group A, the departments of Human Kinetics and Statistics beat the defending Champions, Arts and Social Science Education, to a spot in the quarter finals. After a slow start in the competition where they played a 2-2 draw against the defending Champions, KHE bounced back on Matchday 2 with a 1-0 victory against Statistics as Debby scored the only goal of the match to give her side all 3 points.In the other match center, it was a goalless affair between LARIS and ASSE as the two education teams failed to find the back of the net.
ASSE again, played out a goalless one against the Department of Statistics in their Matchday 3 encounter. KHE on the other hand, finished off the tournament on a high as Favour’s brace gave them a 2-1 win over LARIS. Marvellous however scored the consolation game for the education outfit. At the end of Matchday 3, it was the Department of Human Kinetics who led the group with 7 points with Statistics following with 5 points.
ASSE ended the group with 2 points while LARIS finished bottom with just one point after two goalless draw and one loss.
GROUP B
Group B featured big wins, powerful finishes and surprising results from the departments of Law, MBBS, Physiotherapy and Forestry. Following their 1-1 draw on Matchday 1 against the ladies from the department of Law, the Department of MBBS were set to build momentum.
Their Matchday 2 result was nothing short of a statement as Victoria Kolawole scored the only goal of the game to give MBBS all 3 points against Physiotherapy. Forestry on the other hand thumped the incomplete Faculty of Law team 4-0 with Sarah scoring an hatrrick and Oreoluwa completing the set.
Matchday 3 came with its twists and turns as Physiotherapy defeated the Faculty of Law 4-1. Feyi’s hatrrick and one from Rashidat was enough to seal it for Physiotherapy while Law signee, Grace scores the only goal for them. Forestry however finished their tournament on a high in a slim 1-0 win over MBBS, a result that knocked the MBBS team out of the competition. Sarah’s goal was enough to seal it for the girls from Forestry.
Following these results, Forestry and Physiotherapy both secured a spot in the next round with 7 and 5 points respectively. MBBS also managed 3 points, winning just one game. Law finished with just one point, scoring just twice in the group stage.
GROUP C
Group C had one of the most one sided results and thrilling draws as the departments of Archeology/Anthropology, Environmental Health Science (EHS), Sociology and Microbiology faced off here.After benefiting from a walkover in Matchday 1, Environmental Health Science kept the momentum, playing a 2-2 draw with Archeology/Anthropology on Matchday 2.
Kemi and Olamide were on the scoresheet for EHS while Grace and Feranmi scored for Archeology/Anthropology. Microbiology failed to show up for their Matchday 2 fixture, gifting Sociology 3 goals and 3 points.
Matchday 3 was one for draws as Sociology and EHS both played out a 1-1 draw with Jumoke and Feranmi being on the scoresheet for Sociology and EHS respectively.Again, Microbiology refused to show up for their third match, gifting Archeology/Anthropology 3 goals and 3 points. After a thrilling group stage round of matches, Archeology/Anthropology topped the group with 7 points, followed by EHS with 5 points. Sociology on their own picked up 4 points, thanks to a walkover and a draw. Microbiology didn’t show up for any matches and finished with 0 points.
GROUP D
The last group came with plenty of energy and goals as Philosophy, History, Pharmacy and Computer Science gave it their all with strong performances and standout moments. Following a statement Matchday 1 result, the Philosophy Femini played out a 1-1 draw with History. Anwuli’s goal for Philosophy was cancelled out by Augustina’a for History. In the other game of the Matchday, Computer Science got all 3 points against Pharmacy with Inioluwa scoring the only goal of the game.
Philosophy finished off their group stage round of matches on a high with a 4-1 victory over Computer Science. Asinya, Heritage, Gloria and an own goal from the Computer Science keeper was enough to cancel out Ini’s goal for Computer Science.History on Matchday 3 benefited from a walkover after pharmacy refused to show up for their game.
After Matchday 3, Philosophy finished top of the group with 7 points and 9 goals scored. History followed with 5 points, keeping things right with a strong finish. Computer Science earned 3 points while Pharmacy ended with 1 point, scoring just one goal across all matches.
With the group stage round of matches done and the final 8 confirmed, the tournament would now progress to the quarter final in the journey of crowning a new champion of the Seals Cup.
Table toppers, Philosophy would kick off the quarter final round of fixtures as they take on the champions of the provost cup, Environmental Health Science while Statistics would play against Forestry. Archeology/Anthropology would have a date with the department of History while Human Kinetics would take on Physiotherapy. All matches are to kick off at the Old SUB pitch on Sunday 15th June, 2025.
