Filipinas star Sarina Bolden is headed to the semifinal of the women’s A-League in Australia with the Newcastle Jets after they knocked out third seed Western United in the tournament on Saturday night, April 13, at the Wyndham Regional Football Facility. 

The 27-year-old forward delivered a brace in the first half to give Newcastle a fighting chance to step into the next round. 
 

Bolden opened the scoring in the 11th minute of the match with a right footed shot past a crowd of players inside the box as the Jets took off for the early lead. 

However, Western’s Alana Cerne registered her first goal in the tournament after converting a free kick to level the match at 1-1 in the 22nd minute. 

Bolden then restored Newcastle’s advantage with a penalty kick off her Filipinas teammate Jackie Sawicki’s hand ball, who was on the opposing end just before the break.  

Moments later, Catherine Zimmerman earned herself a penalty kick which she converted to equalize once more, 2-2. 

With the game tied in full time, Bolden and company went to extra time which saw Melina Ayres and Sophie Hoban with back-to-back finishing kicks that eliminated Western from competition. 

Bolden, the Philippines’ maiden goalscorer in the FIFA Women’s World Cup, only signed with Newcastle halfway through the ongoing season. 

Alongside the Mark Torcaso-coached Filipinas, Bolden just recently made an appearance in a pair of FIFA friendly matches against South Korea last week. 

As it stands, the national team member is the second candidate for the Golden Boot award with 14 goals and nine assists in 20 appearances — just three goals behind league-leading scorer Michelle Heyman of the already-ran Canberra United. 

Bolden and her side, though, is due for a tough climb right away in first leg of the semifinal as they tackle top seed Melbourne City next Sunday, April 21.