MANILA – Negrense Charisa Lemoran is set to banner the Philippine women’s national football team in their title-retention bid in the MSIG Serenity Cup in Vietnam beginning this week.
The San Carlos City, Negros Occidental native is to play a key role in a youth-driven Filipinas lineup mixed with veterans and key holdovers from the 2022 AFF Women’s Championship team.
Team captain Hali Long headlines the list of six returnees from the title-winning squad at Rizal Memorial Stadium aside from goalkeepers Olivia McDaniel and Inna Palacios, Malea Cesar, Kaya Hawkinson, and Quinley Quezada.
Lemoran is joined by familiar faces from recent camps such as Rhea Chan, Janae Defazio, Isabella Passion, Isabella Alamo, and Dionesa Tolentin, forming a core group expected to guide the younger talents.
The rest of the squad includes Nina Meollo, Alessandrea Carpio, Adelaide Wyrzynski, Nina Mathelus, Jaycee Defazio, Aliana Weibel, Aaliyah Schinaman, Tea Pidding, Lyka Cuenco, and Azumi Oka — many of whom are getting their first taste of senior international competition.
Due to the tournament falling outside the FIFA window, key overseas-based players such as Sara Eggesvik, Meryll Serrano, Angie Beard, and Jaclyn Sawicki were unavailable.
Still, Filipinas head coach Mark Torcaso sees the challenge as an opportunity to prepare for the bigger goal: the 2026 AFC Women’s Asian Cup in Australia.
“We’ve got a long list of players here, some new ones who haven’t been in camp before,” said Torcaso during the team’s sendoff on Saturday. “This not being a FIFA window, it’s a good chance for us to test them and see where they’re at.”
“Obviously, we’re going there to defend the title, but we also want to give young players a chance to prove themselves and see if they’re ready for the Asia Cup — and ultimately, another World Cup,” he added.
The Filipinas are grouped with Timor-Leste, Australia U-23, and longtime rival Myanmar in the group stage. They begin their campaign against Timor-Leste on August 7, face Australia on August 10, and conclude against Myanmar on August 13.
The top two teams from each group will advance to the knockout stage./PN
