WHILE much of the spotlight in Philippine sports remains on basketball, volleyball, tennis and football, another national team has quietly been flying the flag on one of the biggest stages in its sport.
The Philippine women's lacrosse team is currently competing in the 2026 World Lacrosse Women's Championship in Tokyo, where it is vying for ninth place and will face Argentina in its final match.
The members, made up of Filipino-foreign athletes, went 1-2 in pool play with a win over Czechia and losses to Japan and Israel before beating Wales in the classification round to secure a Top 10 finish.
Behind that campaign came another milestone: the first goal for the Philippines in the Women's Lacrosse World Championship history.
It belonged to a player who spent a lifetime standing out before she ever stepped onto a field.
Meet Kalena Johnson, the Filipino-American midfielder who scored the country's maiden World Championship goal against Israel in the Philippines' tournament debut after the team qualified by winning bronze at the Asia-Pacific Women's Lacrosse Championship.
Johnson is a 23-year-old national team player who has alopecia universalis, an autoimmune condition that causes complete hair loss across the body.
While her teammates wore their ponytails high, Johnson stood out bald, and proud. As of this writing Johnson has a personal record of four goals across four games played, a decent contribution to the team.
“Homecoming”
Growing up in California, Johnson always knew she was Filipino through her mother's side of the family. Her Lola is from Ilocos Sur, while her Lolo hails from Santiago, Isabela.
But wearing the Pilipinas jersey transformed that identity into something more tangible.
"I've always been proud to be Filipino, but joining the national team gave that pride a whole new meaning," Johnson told SPIN.ph. "Going through the process, I learned more about my family's story and found a community that shares the same values and experiences."
Every match has become a tribute to the generations before her, and the roots owed most of her values to.
"Every time I put on the Pilipinas jersey, I think about my Lolo and Lola and everything they did to make this possible for me. But this journey has also expanded my family in ways I never expected. I've gained sisters, countless aunts and uncles, and a community that welcomed me with open arms from day one."
She added: "Representing the Philippines is about carrying our family's stories, honoring where we came from, and celebrating our culture. It's also about the family we've found through this team."
The goal that belonged to many
While history will remember Johnson as the player who scored the Philippines' first goal at a Women's Lacrosse World Championship.
She, however, sees it differently.
"That goal ended up being the first in Philippine history at a Lacrosse World Championship, but it really belongs to a lot of people," she bared. "Coaches, families, volunteers, and players have put in years of work to get this program where it is. I just happened to be the one who finished the possession."
Rather than treating the goal as the destination, Johnson, a defender only 5-foot-2, hopes it becomes only the beginning.
"I hope that years from now it's a small part of a much bigger story as lacrosse keeps growing in the Philippines,” she continued.
Owning her story
But before she wore the blue, red and yellow, she learned to wear confidence first. Johnson admits embracing alopecia did not happen overnight.
"Honestly, it took time. Confidence like that isn't something you wake up with one day,” she said.
Her condition is less than a percent of the world population and has no cure. She lived through it from kindergarten. And it was being an athlete and the performance-based nature of sport that gave her a huge boost to improve perspectives.
"One of the things I've always loved about sports is that it doesn't matter what you look like or where you come from because you're respected for your work ethic, how you show up every day, and the kind of teammate and leader you are,” she said.
Out there, appearance faded into the background.
"On the field, what mattered was whether I did my job and showed up for my teammates. That took pressure off in a way nothing else did."
With time, alopecia stopped becoming something she had to explain and simply became another part of who she is.
"Alopecia is part of my story, but it isn't the whole thing," she said. "It's taught me resilience and empathy, and I'm grateful for the person it's helped me become."
Now, Johnson hopes that by embracing her own journey, she can make someone else's a little easier.
"I might be the first person someone has ever met with alopecia. If I can make that interaction a good one, maybe the next person they meet with alopecia feels a little more accepted."
For Johnson, the first goal was never the point.
It was about belonging to a community she had always called her own.
And perhaps, helping more Filipinos discover another sport worthy of a chance, just as it once gave Johnson hers.
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