In front of 1,600 fans at the Biñan Football Stadium, the Philippine Women’s National Football Team etched their names into the history books.
Not only did the Nationals put on their best performance in the 2019 Southeast Asian Games after a 5-0 whipping of Malaysia, they also secured their first-ever final four appearances in the history of the biennial meet.
And none of that would have happened if weren’t for Sarina Bolden.
“Actually si Sarina is ‘yung pinaka-great weapon namin in front. She is very strong dealing with the high ball and the ground ball; she can able to use her body [sic]. Then ‘yung shots niya rin,” said PWNFT head coach Let Dimzon of the 23-year-old Bolden.
“So I think nag-work out kung ano ‘yung tini-training namin.”
The Fil-American forward booked a first-half hat-trick to power a 4-0 start for the Philippines.
Bolden’s first goal came in the 24th-minute mark, squeezing past the tight Malaysian defense inside the box.
After Alisha Del Ocampo’s header in the 38th, Bolden continued her stellar play. She first delivered a goal in the 41-minute mark, then also converting one off a corner kick from Mea Bernal. Eva Madarang capped off the Filipinas’ historic night, scoring in the dying seconds of the match.
Despite her masterful performance, though, Bolden admitted that she’d struggled against Malaysian goalkeeper Nurul Azurin Binti Madlan, who made it hard for the Filipina booters in the early-goings of the first half.
“She was very good, she’s good at stopping those goals. We could’ve had more but she definitely put up a good fight. But we were able to get some shots, five goals,” Bolden said.
More than the victory, though, Bolden is just glad that the PWNFT are finally getting the recognition they deserve. In addition, she feels thrilled to have made history with her sisters in front of hundreds of Filipino fans.
“It’s super exciting. We just made history, so we’re definitely gonna make it to the semifinals, and we’ll see if we can get in the finals. But it’s just super exciting, overwhelming… just all of the emotions right now I’m just happy,” Bolden explained.
“Thank you so much for coming out. It means a lot to me, the girls, our coaches for you to support women’s soccer, Philippine soccer. And it just means the world, so please just keep coming out to more of our games because you guys don’t understand how much it means to us, and especially to me.”
