Olivia’s new name ‘McSaver’ comes very fitting for PH football heroine
CHONBURI—Olivia McDaniel has been through many penalty shootouts in her decorated career as the top goalkeeper of the Philippine women’s football team that she didn’t want another one on Wednesday, with a historic gold on the line.
She didn’t get her wish, but did her job just the same.
“At the end of the day, the job needed to be done,” McDaniel said after her diving save sealed a dramatic 6-5 victory over powerhouse Vietnam to finally give the Filipinas the crowning glory that had eluded them so many times since making a series of firsts.
Almost four years ago, McDaniel made crucial stops that helped seal the maiden Fifa Women’s World Cup of the Philippines, when she made the difference in the quarterfinals of the 2022 AFC Women’s Asian Cup against Chinese-Taipei in India.
2023 brilliance
In the World Cup, McDaniel didn’t take part in the shootout; she was at the backdrop of Sarina Bolden’s header in the 1-0 defeat of co-host New Zealand. But she had the stops during the tense final minutes of the group stage match on a cold July 2023 evening in Wellington.
This time, McDaniel came through against another 2023 World Cup participant in Vietnam, which ruled the SEA Games for the last four editions.
While she got a close call when a supposed opener from Nguyen Thi Bich Thuy was later nullified as an offside call that wasn’t, McDaniel capitalized on the break, made a crucial save in the 80th minute, much to the delight of the Filipino community that cheered her name almost all throughout.
Then the shootout. The Filipinas converted all six attempts, the last from Jaclyn Sawicki. Vietnam made five, including two that seemed like easy pickings for McDaniel.
Surreal feelings
Vietnam’s last attempt, however, would go straight to the gloves of McDaniel, making her Olivia McSaver, a name coined by Filipino football fans online, once more.
“Sometimes you get a bit frustrated in those PKs (penalty kicks) because if you go the wrong way or you guessed it the wrong way, you can get down on yourself,” she said.
“But every single time I went back in, I told myself that I’m going to get one,” she went on. “Whether it be the first one, whether it was the last one, I was going to get one. And luckily, I got the most important one.”
McDaniel punted the ball as high as she did in ecstasy, prompting massive celebrations from the team, disbelief from Vietnam and surreal feelings from those who likely didn’t expect the landmark outcome.
The Filipinas persevered following a stinging opening loss to Myanmar in the group stage, punching in one grueling win after another. And at the end of the competition, the gold was finally in their hands.
And the team will have Olivia McSaver to thank.
