Marking strikers? Just another day in the office for these two.
Scoring goals is one of the best feelings in football—for both players and fans. The moment when the offensive team exploits even the slightest of openings to advance the ball, hearts start to rush.
And when a goal is eventually made, the crowd erupts. The scorer is slapped in the butt, tossed up in the air, celebrated.
Like many other sports, however, the beautiful game has facets that most fans often overlook. In the case above, it may be the defender who started the goal-scoring possession by making a stop.
These two Filipinas, Dominique Randle and Jessika Cowart, take pride in building that wall on the pitch—whether they get the spotlight or not.
But in this piece, let’s put them front and center.
Name: Dominique Jaylin Abrena Randle Harris
Position: Defender
Age: 28
Birthplace: Seattle, Washington, USA
Club: Thor/KA
Iron Woman may be a good nickname for Dominique Randle, who first represented the flag in the 2022 AFC Women’s Asian Cup. She started all matches and played the full minutes in that tilt.
Back in college, as a member of the USC Trojans, Dominique’s play earned her a spot in the All Pac-12 third team. True to her strengths, she played all but one match. In 16 games, she recorded an astounding 1,461 minutes. She is playing pro football with Thor/KA in Iceland.
Against higher-ranked teams in Norway, Switzerland, and host New Zealand, the center back’s solid play will be more than needed.
Let ‘em know
Randle, who has African-American roots, has treasured having Filipino lineage. And she gets what it’s like to represent the flag.
“Being Filipino, it’s more about the love that you give [to] the world. It’s the energy. It’s the blood that you have. It’s not what you appearance is. And I think having to deal with those two aspects in two different racial groups has just made me such a stronger person,” she said in an interview on the podcast Future Ancestors.
Pass the sass
Domi is married to Da’John Harris, who once played in the NFL.
Keep slaying
Now that you already know that Randle is one bad woman when it comes to football, why don’t you take a glimpse of how she plays well?
Here’s a clip compiled by the national team’s social media team to show off her skills.
Name: Jessika Rebecca Macayan Cowart
Position: Defender
Age: 23
Birthplace: Fairfield, California, USA
Club: IFK Kalmar
A center back who also plays the role of holding midfielder, Jessika Cowart has made it known that she is versatile and skilled as she has now two goals for the Philippines, including one in the monumental 2022 AFF Championship.
Cowart, who has played pro ball in Turkey, Serbia, and currently in Sweden, is a graduate of the University of Washington, where she also became part of the school’s women’s football team.
At one point in her career, she also played for the United States’ national team for futsal, helping lead the team to the 2017 IFA Women’s Futsal World Cup
Let ‘em know
Jessika knows the gravity of representing not just the Philippines, but all of the women in the FIFA Women’s World Cup. In a recent groundbreaking move by FIFA to disburse prize money to individuals rather than federations, each player in the flagship event will receive at least $30,000. Cowart says it's just about time.
“I grew up in the USA and have seen the fight that the national team there has made for this to become a reality. I don’t think people understand how long we’ve been fighting for this. I am excited about what is happening in women’s football,” she told Swedish outlet Barometern OT.
Pass the sass
Cowart recently became part of DivineTime, a marketing agency devoted for female in sports. National squad teammates Jaclyn Sawicki and Quinley Quezada are also ambassadors of the same company.
Keep slaying
A psychology graduate, Jessika is pursuing a master's degree in Crime Analysis at Arizona State University. While she is smart academically, she has time and again strut the stuff when it comes to football flair.
This series has featured the country's top goal scorers and goalkeepers on the team. Keep it glued here for the profiles of the rest of the Filipinas.