CHONBURI – Add a breakthrough gold medal in the Southeast Asian Games to the Philippine women’s football team’s all-time greatest hits.
Continuing their history-making acts in the global and Asian stage, the Filipinas gave the country its first-ever triumph in SEA Games football, male or female, with a nail-biting 6-5 victory on penalties over Vietnam after a 1-1 tie at the end of extra time Wednesday night.
Jackie Sawicki, the sixth Philippine player on the penalty shootout lineup, sent Vietnam keeper Tran Thi Kim the wrong way, giving the Filipinas a one-goal edge.
After failing to stop Vietnam’s first five shooters from scoring, Olivia McDaniel made the biggest save of this campaign against Tran Thi Thu, sealing the Pinay booters’ rise as new SEA Games queens at the expense of the eight-time champions, no less.
The Chonburi Daikin Stadium erupted as the players and Filipino fans celebrated the country’s greatest feat in the biennial meet.
Once the region’s minnows, the Philippines is on top of women’s football.
And it’s thanks to the efforts of these amazing Filipinas, who in recent years have made history after history.
In a storybook debut at the Fifa Women’s World Cup in 2023. The year before, the Pinay booters ruled the Asean Championship at good old Rizal Memorial Stadium.
Wednesday night in this coastal province that's a three-hour drive from the Thai capital, the Filipinas decided it was time to bring their history-making act to the SEA Games, where the country could only account for a best finish of third twice, in 2021 and 1985.
And the way they did it was like cinema.
The protagonists played on even terms for the whole 90 minutes of regulation and 30 minutes of extra time, both failing to score.
A thrilling shootout then ensued.
And just like in the testy semi-game against Thailand, the Filipinas showed nerves of steel.
Gael-Marie Guy, Alex Pino, Hali Long, Angie Beard, and Ari Markey took turns converting their spot kicks, putting pressure on the Vietnamese shooters who came after.
The Vietnamese did.
Then, Sawicki, a veteran of the World Cup, scored the Philippines’ sixth.
That left it in the hands of McDaniel. And the Fil-Am stalwarts, who were the Player of the Match in their WC victory in Wellington, responded big-time to set the stage for Philippine football's shining moment. POC MEDIA POOL PR