Filipinas goalkeeper Olivia McDaniel was once again in the middle of the team’s victory as she willed the team to the SEA Games 2025 gold medal via penalty shootout.
BANGKOK — The goalkeeping prowess of Olivia McDaniel was once again thrust in the spotlight after the Filipinas won its first-ever gold medal at the 2025 SEA Games in Chonburi on Wednesday night.
This is the Filipinas' second game in a row that was decided by penalties.
While her tremendous goalkeeping was on display for the whole 90 minutes and 30 minutes of added time, McDaniel’s biggest contribution was when she stopped Vietnam’s last penalty kick attempt sudden death.
After guessing correctly in the two previous attempts but being unable to stop them, McDaniel finally got one firmly in her hands, which ended the reign of four-time SEA Games football champion Vietnam.
[RELATED: Filipinas stun four-peat champion Vietnam for historic SEA Games gold in women's football]
McDaniel wasn’t really keen on having that big of a responsibility again with the gold medal on the line.
“Honestly, I didn't want to do it again, but I knew we all had a part to play and we knew at the end of the day, the job needs to be done,” McDaniel told POC Media.
“And so we just rallied behind each other and we knew there was nothing else but the gold. So I think that's pretty much what our mindset going through the entire game,” she continued.
No quit Filipinas
When McDaniel stopped Tran Thi Thu’s penalty, the Filipinas rushed forward to the field, riding the cheers of the sizable Filipino crowd at Chonburi Stadium.
But before they got to that moment, McDaniel said that there was a lot of adversity they had to go through, especially after playing back-to-back matches which went into penalty shootout. For her, it was a testament at just how determined the Filipinas were.
“Yeah, I mean, it was really a hard fought game. Some of us have played five 90 minute matches plus two extra times and PKs. So there were definitely heavy legs, but every single team we played against, they were always on the ground,” said McDaniel.
“None of us sat down, none of us were tired, none of us were cramping. We had that mentality and that mindset to go forward and to keep going. And so I think that's really what brought us to this gold medal and brought us to the end is that mentality of not stopping and not quitting,” she added.
The Filipinas became the first Philippine football team to win the gold in the SEA Games, marking another historic milestone for the program.
The AFC Women’s Asian Cup will be coming up next for the team in March of next year where they hope to secure another spot for the FIFA Women’s World Cup.
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Luisa Morales is a sports writer with a special interest in promoting women’s sports.
Her coverage highlights include the UAAP, PVL, Southeast Asian Games, and the FIBA World Cup. She also follows Alex Eala, the Philippine women’s national football team, and mixed martial arts.