AFTER winning the Philippine Football Federation Women’s Cup last December, Stallion Laguna FC is getting ready for its next challenge — defend its PFF Women’s League 2025.
Coach Finn McDaniel said this will be their next goal following their successful campaign last season.
“We’re defending our title. Our past campaigns have been good,” said McDaniel following the official launch on Friday of the PFF Women’s League 2025 at the Studio 300 along Chino Roces Ave. in Makati City.
Five other teams will crowd the Stallions for the title, namely the Capital1 Solar Strikers, Makati FC, Kaya FC-Iloilo, University of Santo Tomas and the University of the Philippines Lady Maroons.
Finn’s sisters Olivia and Chandler are returning three months after Stallion Laguna FC beat Kaya FC-Iloilo, 1-0, in the final of the PFF Women’s Cup last December at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium.
Another McDaniel, Kayla, is coming in, along with national team player Kaya Hawkinson.
Also joining the Stallions are Fil-American Malia Cerdon, a new member of the national squad, along with US-based players Madison Samilo and Jenna Mills.
Organized by the National Capital Region Football Association, the tournament starts on March 22 at the Mall of Asia rooftop football pitch.
Chandler, who scored the winning goal in the second minute of the game last December and was named as the Most Valuable Player of the tournament, will surely make her presence felt.
The Capital1 Solar Strikers, formed three weeks ago to replace the Manila Diggers, will challenge the Stallions, who fought them for the crown back in 2023.
The Strikers are managed by the Romero sisters, Milka and Mandy, and coached by multi-titled Far Eastern University mentor Let Dimzon. In the roster are former collegiate standouts Judie Arevalo, Yasmin Elauria, Regine Rebosura and Hazel Lustan, and Lyka Teves.
They will be backed by foreign players Emma Young and Arianna Del Moral, who played for teams in the US.
Officials of the Philippine Football Federation, led by its president John Gutierrez and secretary general Gelix Mercader, lauded National Capital Region Football Association head Mico Gutierrez for the NCRFA’s efforts in organizing the event.