THE Philippine women’s football team is the talk of the town following its excellent performance in the 2022 AFC Women’s Asian Cup. In the quarterfinal round, the Philippines beat Chinese Taipei on penalties to clinch a spot in the 2023 Fifa Women’s World Cup, the first-ever for the country.
Here are some facts that you may not know about the new heroes of Philippine sports.
RECENT COMPETITIONS
The core of the current Philippine women’s football team, also called as Malditas by fans, has been competing for the country for several years now, including the inaugural Women’s Asian Cup campaign in 2018, the AFF Women’s Championship in 2019, and the Southeast Asian Games in 2019.
PAST PERFORMANCES
History hasn’t been kind to the Philippine women’s team in the Asian Cup, magnifying the success of the squad this year even more. They have won only four times before this year. The Philippines also struggled in past tournaments, with a bronze medal in the 1985 Southeast Asian Games as one of the few shining moments of the squad.
NCAA DIVISION 1 PRODUCTS
All but four players of the 23-member Philippine line-up in the Asian Cup were born in the United States where they grew up and learned the game, landing in different schools that are mostly part of the NCAA Division 1, and one of them is Ryley Bugay, who played for Marquette.
Hali Long, considered as the team’s best defender, is also a former NCAA Division 1 player at University of Arkansas-Little Rock. She actually has the most number of caps in a Philippine jersey among the American-born Filipina players with 41 prior to the Asian Cup. She debuted in 2016.
UAAP STINTS
The four players born in the Philippines are Sara Castaneda, Anicka Castaneda, Inna Palacios, and Camille Rodriguez. The two Castanedas (more on that in a moment) and Palacios were part of the varsity team of La Salle and played in the UAAP, while Rodriguez played for Ateneo.
MOST GAMES WITH THE NATIONAL TEAM
Of all the players on the squad, Palacios, one of the three goalkeepers of the squad, has the most international experience prior to the Asian Cup with 47 international matches or caps. Palacios and Long are part of the Kaya FC-Iloilo women’s football team here in the country.
SISTER ACT
There are two sets of sisters in the squad in Sara and Anicka Castaneda, from DLSU, and Chandler and Olivia McDaniel, from University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Sara was one of the goal scorers in the penalty shootout against Chinese Taipei after coming in as a substitute. Chandler knocked in the only goal in the Philippines’ first-ever win over Thailand, and Olivia was one of the heroes in the hard-earned win over Chinese Taipei after scoring goals and pulling off saves in the shootout.
TEAM CAPTAIN
Tahnai Annis is the team captain, and, at 32, the eldest player in the team. She is also part of the LGBTQ community and is part of Athlete Ally, whose mission is to eliminate homophobia and transphobia in sports communities.
DEBUTANTS
Seven players made their national team debut in the AFC Women’s Asian Cup including Katrina Guillou, who scored a goal in the match against Indonesia, and Kiara Fontanilla, who had a strong outing as the keeper of the Philippines versus Australia.
Also in their first tournament as a member of the Philippine team were University of Southern California product Dominique Randle, one of the top defenders of the team, and Malea Cesar, scorer in the Indonesia contest.
CLUB FOOTBALL OVERSEAS
Guillou is one of the five members of the team who play professional football overseas, based on the club listing on the team’s official roster. Guillou plays for Pitea IF in Sweden while Eva Madarang and Jessica Miclat suit up for CD Pozoalbense in Spain and Aris Limmasol in Cyprus respectively.
JAPAN LEAGUE
Sarina Bolden and Quinley Quezada also play professional football abroad, specifically in Japan. Bolden is part of the Chifure AS Elfen, while Quezada is part of the JEF United Ichiara Chiba. Bolden, a Loyola Marymount product, scored the winner for the Malditas in the shootout while Quezada, from UC Riverside, broke the ice in the 48th minute with a goal of her own.
YOUNG PLAYERS
Future is bright for the team. Three players in the team are in their teens including 19-year-old Carleigh Frilles. A former member of the PH U-14 team, Frilles came in during extra time of the Philippines’ grueling contest against Chinese Taipei.
A former member of the U16 team, Tara Shelton, 20, is another talented player who is with La Salle in the UAAP after a brief stay with Pacific Lutheran.
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