A battle of equals.
Proving they were no pushovers, the rookies gave most of the mainstays a run for their money, resulting in a thrilling 1-all standoff at the end of the Filipinas’ intrasquad match that formally opened the Mall of Asia Sky Football Field in Pasay City late Tuesday night.
After kicking off a half-hour later than the official 7 p.m. start, the rookies, donning blue, played like the challengers that they were against most, if not all, of the Filipinas mainstays from the get-go.
Forward Alex Carpio scored the first goal in the 14th minute inside the box from the left wing past stunned first-choice goalie Olivia McDaniel, who played for the White squad.
But the veterans avoided humiliation as striker Merryl Soriano scored on follow-up during a goalmouth scramble in the middle of the second half, and it was nip-and-tuck the rest of the way in the match that climaxed the national women’s football team’s weeklong training camp at the rooftop of the huge mall.
Among those who missed the national women’s team training camp cum tryouts was striker Isabella Flanigan, who recently moved to Australia to play for a commercial club and was in transition, Australian Filipinas coach Mark Torcaso said.
“Bella is still very much a part of this squad but we are trying to help her transition in Australia with a club there,” he said.
Torcaso, who fielded the majority of the 33 players who showed up for the training camp, among them Filipina5 futsal player Dionesa Tolentin, was pleased with the outcome and intensity of the match.
“Obviously, there were a lot of new faces in this environment today. This was an opportunity for us to build a training camp that would prepare us for the year. we know we will have a very busy year,” he said.
“It was also a good opportunity to have a match like this because we got to see all our players compete in a really good exhibition game in a brand-new facility as well,” the Aussie mentor said.
“Hopefully, the talent came out so it is now building on our group of players in the next couple of weeks so we can have a strong team going to the back end of this year,” he explained.
Among those who were thrilled to train and see action in her first Filipinas training camp was youthful striker Emma Tovar, 21, who was born in San Jose, California and plays for Spanish First Division club Valencia CF Feminino.
“Honestly, it felt surreal. I was given the opportunity to play for the national team right away. It is always a dream of mine to play for the Philippines,” Tovar said. “It is an honor me to wear this jersey.
“I believe I can be beneficial for the team since I do have a lot of experience playing at a high level. We had an amazing experience and hope to have more of it in the future.”
Filipinas defender Sofia Harrison-Wunsch was likewise enthusiastic about the result of the exhibition game as well as the training camp, especially being the first squad to perform at the MOA Sky artificial pitch.
“We’re really grateful as far as having a FIFA grade pitch at MOA. As far as the game was concerned, it was definitely a battle on both ends. Working on a new formation and working on new players. A learning opportunity for us,” Wuensch said.
“We have a big year ahead of us, so we are making sure that we learn everything, getting the details right. It is important to continue to grow and move forward,” she said, adding: “We are grateful that we have girls who want to play for the country. They are all amazing girls.”
She acknowledged that some of the new players were gunning for her own position on the team, saying: “It definitely motivates me. I never see my spot as guaranteed. I am always looking for that challenge to have that someone. I see it as an opportunity to be better than what I was before.”
Torcaso said the goal is “we are all one and we work together for a common goal and that is to get to another World Cup but also qualify for the Asian Cup, and as we said win the AFF and win the SEA Games.”
