Sarina Bolden rose above two defenders and headed the ball toward the goal. New Zealand keeper Victoria Esson bobbled and fumbled it as it crossed the goal line, reports AP.
Bolden pumped her fist as she sprinted to the sideline to celebrate with her teammates after scoring the first-ever goal at the Women’s World Cup for the Philippines, one that also made her team the first of 2023 edition’s eight newcomers to claim a win. It was 1-0, but that’s all the Filipinas needed to beat the Football Ferns.
The 27-year-old forward didn’t have a straightforward path to representing the Philippines. Born in Santa Clara, California, Bolden spent her early sporting years playing for American academies.
Bolden joined the Philippines national team in 2018 while she was playing for Loyola Marymount. She would go on to sign her first professional club contract in 2019 with Sandvikens IF in Sweden.
After departing Sweden, she spent time playing for teams in Taiwan, the United States, Japan and now Australia with the Western Sydney Wanderers.
Source: Bahrain News Agency