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Football: PH GK McDaniel hailed for 'unbelievably brave' performance

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Camille B. Naredo, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Olivia McDaniel saved two penalties and converted another against Chinese Taipei. Photo courtesy of the AFC." src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/reuters/01/31/20220131_olivia.jpg"/><figcaption>Olivia McDaniel saved two penalties and converted another against Chinese Taipei. Photo courtesy of the AFC.</figcaption></figure></div>The Philippines&#x27; campaign in the AFC Women&#x27;s Asian Cup 2022 has produced a new cast of sporting heroes for the country, and on Sunday it was the turn of goal-keeper Olivia McDaniel to step into the spotlight.McDaniel, 24, has won just one cap before the tournament in India but has now started in goal in three of the Philippines&#x27; four matches. In those games, she has allowed just one goal -- a tremendous strike from Chinese Taipei&#x27;s Zhuo Li-ping in the 82nd minute of the quarterfinal, taken from well outside the box and bent into the upper left corner of the goal.But it was McDaniel who got the last laugh, as she took charge in the penalty shootout after the teams ended up tied at 1-1 at the end of extra time.The Philippines were down 3-2 in the penalty shootout, after Hsu Yi-yun&#x27;s attempt hit the post and Hali Long&#x27;s kick was saved. McDaniel came through with a superb save at that point, denying Su Hsin-yun to keep the Filipinas alive.She then stepped up to take the fifth penalty, and calmly slotted it past Chinese Taipei counterpart Cheng Ssu-yu.&quot;What an unbelievably brave act,&quot; Philippines coach Alen Stajcic said of McDaniel&#x27;s spot kick. &quot;To have that level of composure and bravery at that moment, to step up for the team and the coolness to slot it away, I think that&#x27;s massive.&quot;But McDaniel was not done: after getting beaten by Zhou in the 82nd minute, she denied the Chinese Taipei midfielder in the penalty shootout to give the Philippines a chance at the victory. Sarina Bolden did not fail her, as she powered a strike past Cheng to wrap up the Filipinas&#x27; 4-3 win in the shootout.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/01/31/22/filipinas-advance-to-fifa-womens-world-cup">MATCH REPORT: History made as Filipinas advance to FIFA Women&#x27;s World Cup</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/01/31/22/watch-highlights-of-phs-win-vs-chinese-taipei">WATCH THE HIGHLIGHTS HERE</a></li></ul>&quot;It&#x27;s really surreal. I&#x27;m just really proud of this team, and proud that we can do it for our country,&quot; McDaniel said after helping the Filipinas clinch a spot in the next year&#x27;s FIFA Women&#x27;s World Cup as well as a semifinal berth in the AFC Women&#x27;s Asian Cup.McDaniel was emotional at the end of the game but she told reporters that she experienced no nerves when she stepped up to take the all-important penalty kick. &quot;To be honest, I was more nervous to stop the PK than to take the PK. I&#x27;ve been hitting PKs for forever, and I get no nerves when I go up and take a PK, because I know it&#x27;s gonna go in the back of the net,&quot; she said.As for saving two Chinese Taipei penalties, McDaniel said she was simply doing her job for the team.&quot;I thought that it&#x27;s make-or-break right now, and you need to show up for your team right now. There was nothing else going through my head but, &#x27;You&#x27;re gonna make this save, you&#x27;re going to do this.&#x27; And luckily, it worked out that way,&quot; she said.Stajcic was all praises for McDaniel afterward, hailing the goal-keeper&#x27;s poise in a truly crucial moment for the team.&quot;I&#x27;m glad that she&#x27;s so relaxed about it, but you know, an unbelievable performance from her, and really she&#x27;s just one of the whole crew that has done remarkably well in this tournament,&quot; he said.McDaniel, whose younger sister Chandler is a forward on the team, said they are just thrilled to push the program forward once more and make football history in the Philippines.&quot;To be able to break history like this, and be able to create longevity for this team, and be able to move forward and create a chance for us to go the World Cup, it was just a dream a couple of months ago, but now it&#x27;s reality,&quot; she said.The Filipinas&#x27; campaign in the AFC Women&#x27;s Asian Cup continues on Thursday when they play South Korea at the Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex in Pune, India.<figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=1911629" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div>

The Philippines' campaign in the AFC Women's Asian Cup 2022 has produced a new cast of sporting heroes for the country.

Football: PH GK McDaniel hailed for 'unbelievably brave' performance

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Football: PH GK McDaniel hailed for 'unbelievably brave' performance

Camille B. Naredo,

ABS-CBN News

Published January 31, 2022 02:35 PM PHT

Read More:

football

AFC Women's Asian Cup

Philippines

Olivia McDaniel

Philippine women's national football team

PWNFT

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