The Philippine Women’s National Team scored a 2-1 record in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Qualifiers for the Women’s Olympic Football Tournament. Called the Malditas, the national team defeated Iran and Palestine, but lost to Chinese Taipei in the second qualifying round held last April 4 to 10 in Qatar.
Six of the DLSU Lady Booters—Sara Castañeda, Irish Navaja, Shai Del Campo, Chelo Hodges, Rocelle Mendaño, and Christina Montelibano—were among the country’s representatives on the international stage.
Explosive start
The Philippine squad kick-started their Olympic campaign with a 2-0 triumph over Iran, breaking the deadlock early in the second half.
At the 47’ mark, Joyce Semacio found space inside the box and delivered a quick volley for the country’s first goal of the tournament.
Sara Castañeda played a through pass to fellow Lasallian Shai Del Campo in the 52nd minute, recognizing the wide open space up the field. While Iran’s defense had yet to drop back into formation, Del Campo raced forward and shot a grounder towards the far left post. Both the defender that tried to intercept the pass and the goalkeeper that dove for the low ball failed to stop the quick run of play courtesy of the Castañeda-Del Campo connection.
A game of two halves
The tense matchup against Chinese Taipei materialized from the Philippine team’s 5-0 defeat in the first qualifying round held last November. But the stakes were raised higher as both squads headed into game day with one win apiece in the second round.
Semacio and Patricia Tomanon fired high-arcing strikes in the 13th and 32nd minute respectively, for the early 2-0 advantage. However, the game proved far from finished. A penalty kick before halftime and two own goals—from the Philippine defense’s well-meaning but unfortunate attempts to redirect the incoming shots—put Chinese Taipei ahead by the 64th minute.
Castañeda and Del Campo both came close to pulling one back for the country. At the 50’ mark, Castañeda’s free kick grazed the crossbar. Meanwhile, Del Campo hurled a shot on-target in the 85th minute, but the opposing goalkeeper collected the ball in the air.
Chinese Taipei’s final goal came at the 87’ mark when Ting Chi lobbed the ball past DLSU alumna Inna Palacios, who had left her post to challenge the striker.
Both sides’ goalkeepers pulled off numerous saves the entire game, but the high-scoring match ultimately favored the Taiwanese squad, 4-2. As Del Campo shared, “We felt like it was a big loss that the game ended that way, but we still remained focused on our goal. We reminded ourselves to keep our heads up.”
Finishing strong
The Malditas bounced back with a vengeance, dominating the possession to dismantle Palestine, 7-0. The team “tried scoring more goals”, as Castañeda explained that they were banking on Chinese Taipei losing to level the points and were “hoping [to] beat Iran by goal difference, then go through” to the next round.
The three forwards netted the initial goals. Semacio again scored first by drilling a penalty kick in the 17th minute. At the 28′ mark, Del Campo’s one-touch flick sent the ball over the keeper as she caught Semacio’s low pass from the right side. Eva Madarang followed suit with a left-footed strike in the 32nd minute after receiving the ball from Patrice Impelido.
In the 60th minute, Castañeda played the ball past a line of defenders for Madarang to launch a powerful strike. Palestine’s goalkeeper got a hand on the soaring ball, but was unable to push it out to safety.
The midfielders then joined the scoring action as Impelido nodded in a header from a Semacio corner in the 63rd minute. Castañeda netted a brace of her own—a header coming off a Madarang throw-in at the 66’ mark, and four minutes later, a penalty kick fired towards the left side of the net.
Onto the next
The Philippine squad capped off the tournament with a crushing victory to boost their record to 2-1. Finishing second in their group right behind the undefeated Chinese Taipei, the national team fell just short of progressing to the third round of Asian Qualifiers.
Irish Navaja expressed that the team’s “fighting spirit” shone through as they had hoped to end the tournament on a positive note. She further reflected, “We wanted to show everyone that we will fight for the country despite knowing that we weren’t going to make it through the next round. We wanted to make everyone proud back home.”
Alongside Castañeda and Del Campo, Navaja maximized her playing time against Iran and Palestine by contributing key touches and fighting for ball possession on the pitch. Additionally, the presence of Hodges, Montelibano, and Mendaño on the roster deepened the talent pool available for the country’s midfield and defense.
Though the road to Tokyo 2020 pulled to a halt for the Malditas, the training and exposure gained in the international scene will likely prove invaluable as the six Lady Booters return to Taft. DLSU will look to resume preparations for the UAAP second round robin and continue their hot streak in the local football fixtures.
