Olivia McDaniel made the winning save on penalties against four-time defending champions Vietnam when the Philippines became its first-ever football gold medalist at the Southeast Asian Games at the Chonburi Daikin Stadium.
McDaniel saved Vietnam’s Tran Thi Thu’s penalty shot for a thrilling 6-5 victory after a scoreless draw at the end of regulation time, capturing the gold in women’s football.
Historical Philippines
Prior to Wednesday, neither the Philippine men’s nor women’s team won a football crown in the multi-sport competition.
Anxious moments followed the regulation period, with both teams performing perfectly in the first five attempts in the shootout.
Jaclyn Sawicki blasted into the top left corner on the sixth attempt for a 6-5 lead before Tran’s shot to the right went straight into McDaniel’s hands, sparking a celebration on the pitch.
The Philippines under head coach Mark Torcaso completed their magical ride to the SEA Games gold.
The Philippines started their campaign with a 2-1 defeat to Myanmar, but took victory over the now dethroned champions 1-0 in their second outing.
The Philippines defeated Malaysia 6–0 to advance to the semi-finals, where they ousted the host country 4–2 on penalties after a 1–1 draw.
Vietnam almost scored in the 29th minute after star striker Nguyen Thi Bich Thuy’s header, but it was later ruled offside.
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