MANILA, Philippines – Filipino female athletes continue to carry the fight for the country in the world stage.

This time, it’s national women’s football striker Sarina Bolden who emerged as the Philippines’ latest heroine after unleashing the country’s first ever goal in the FIFA World Cup. 

Bolden scored a header at the 24th minute as the Filipinas carved a piece of history and stunned host and world No. 26 New Zealand, 1-0, to keep their campaign alive in the sport’s biggest stage.

Get to know more about the Filipinas’ team stalwart!

Early years

Sarina Isabel Bolden was born in Santa Clara, California, USA to American father Robert and Filipina mother Sherry Calpo, who traces her roots to Pangasinan. 

Early on, the 27-year-old forward proved to be adept in the sport and soon played high school football at Milpitas High School. 

As a varsity player, Bolden bagged several awards, including the Milpitas Junior Athlete of the Year and also made the first team selection of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League (SCAVL) twice.

After winning the SCAVL El Camino Division title in 2015, Bolden entered Loyola Marymount University (LMU) and played collegiate football for four years.

Bolden made 58 appearances for LMU and was named to the West Coast Conference (WCC) All-Conference twice – first team in 2016 and second team in 2018.

Club football journey

A successful collegiate career opened the doors for Bolden to play professional football and first signed with Sandvikens IF, a Swedish football club, in 2019.

The 5-foot-8 Bolden then proceeded to play in Taiwan for Xinbei Hangyuan in 2020 before flying to the United States to sign with the San Francisco Nighthawks and play in the Women’s Premier Soccer League.

Japan was the next country for Bolden as she signed with Elfren Saitama and played in the WE League for over a year.

She currently plays for Western Sydney Wanderers FC in Australia. 

Filipinas talisman

Ahead of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, Bolden shared the record for most goals scored by a Filipinas player alongside Quinley Quezada at 22 goals. 

But her historic World Cup strike against New Zealand catapulted her to the top of the goal scoring list at 23 goals.

The Philippines’ maiden World Cup stint also wouldn’t have been possible without Bolden. 

In January last year, Bolden converted a spot kick in the penalty shootout versus Chinese-Taipei in the 2022 AFC Women’s Asian Cup to secure the country’s first World Cup berth. 

The score was locked at 1-1 after full time and extra time, and headed into a tense penalty shootout between the Filipinas and Chinese-Taipei.

Philippine goalkeeper Olivia McDaniel came up huge as she saved a couple of penalties, but it was Bolden who drilled in the final kick that sent the Filipinas to the semifinals of that tournament and a spot in the world stage.

Including the two matches in this year’s World Cup, Bolden now has 39 appearances for the Philippine women’s football team.

Her debut came in 2018 at the AFC Women’s Asian Cup versus Jordan.

World Cup magic

Bolden carved another piece of history when the Filipinas stunned world No. 26 New Zealand, 1-0, after scoring a header at the 24th minute to record a 1-0 victory in the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup on July 25 in Wellington.

In a stellar play, Filipinas midfielder Sara Eggesvik produced an accurate cross from the right wing and connected with Bolden, who towered above the New Zealand defense and guided the ball into the net.

The lone strike of the match was the country’s first ever goal at the World Cup stage – a crucial goal that not only secured the Philippines’ maiden win at the world stage, but also kept the country’s campaign alive.

– Rappler.com