Maya Alcantara ’22 Representing the Philippines at 2023 Women’s World Cup

It's always a special occasion when a former Gael gets to represent SMC on the big stage. And no stage is bigger than the World Cup.

Fortunately Maya Alcantara ’22 is no stranger to success on the big level. This time around she'll be with team Philippines as a reserve player as they head to Australia and New Zealand for the 2023 Women’s World Cup.

Alcantara was a defensive rock in the Saint Mary's lineup during her four-year career with the Gaels. Featuring in 54 games over her career, Alcantara notched four goals over 4,100 minutes of play. During her senior season, she played 90 minutes or more in 16 matches, and she received All-Regional accolades from United Soccer Coaches.

Alcantara spent last fall at Georgetown, where she spent her graduate year playing for the Hoyas. She started 14 games and recorded two assists at Georgetown over the course of the 2022 season, helping the Hoyas claim the Big East Championship. 

Raising the Profile of Soccer in the Philippines

This is the second time Alcantara has been included with the squad, with her first being back in April 2022. The team had just qualified for the World Cup when Alcantara reached out to the head coach about potentially playing with the squad. 

With former Australia Women’s Team Head Coach Alen Stajcic on board, the program included Alcantara in its current infusion of North American-Filipina talent along with home-grown players from the Philippines on their roster. The success of this current team is helping raise the profile of soccer in the Philippines as well.

Stajcic believed in Alcantara's values and skills, and she now finds herself heading to the biggest tournament in the world representing her home country. 

The Philippines squad has a strong base of players from the United States, including 12 who are currently based here—some still in college—while their three European-based players (in Cyprus, Spain, and Sweden) and two abroad in Japan's WE-League were all born in the United States and played collegiately here.

A Big First

This year marks the first time team Philippines has qualified for the Women's World Cup, and they're poised to cause some noise and disrupt some of the world's best squads. They are also coming off a big victory last year: In July 2022, the team from the Philippines—including Alcantara—claimed the AFF Women's Championship. They defeated four-time champion Thailand to claim that title.

Only six of the 23-person roster at last year's AFC Women's Asian Cup Finals in India played for club teams in the Philippines. The program's ability to find talented players of Filipino descent in the US and was crucial to the team's qualification.

The Philippines Women's National Football Team was formally organized after the Philippine Ladies' Football Association (PLFA) was established in 1980 by Christina Ramos, who played for the team from 1980–86.

The national team had a training camp in the United States in 2012. Management scouted for players with Filipino heritage in the US, similar to the invites extended to US–born Filipina players now, as they did during an ID camp in the States in 2017 and in November of 2021.

For the FIFA World Cup, the Philippines will be in Group A when the tournament begins on July 20. Their group includes Switzerland, Norway, and host country New Zealand. For their first match, the Philippines takes on Switzerland. For fans in New Zealand, the game is at 5 p.m. on July 21. For fans watching the broadcast in Pacific time, you can catch it at 10 p.m. on Thursday, July 20.

READ MORE: The Washington Post tells Maya Alcantara’s story in “How eight countries beat the odds to make their first women’s World Cup”

This story as it originally appears at SMCGaels.com.

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