Photo by: Doug Brown
Quinley Quezada to Represent UCR Soccer and Philippines in 2019 Women's World Cup Qualifiers
3/30/2018 6:26:00 PM | Women's Soccer
Amman, Jordan – After a competitive and demanding women's soccer season, the spring offseason typically provides time for one to get a jump on maintaining and fine-tuning their form well ahead of the upcoming fall season.
The same can be said for our 2017 Highlander side, which extended another season by tying for the most wins in conference play and reaching the Big West Tournament Semifinals for the third time in five years.
This April, junior midfielder Quinley Quezada is taking her spring training a little further than that, though – she'll be representing both UC Riverside Women's Soccer and the Philippine National Women's Team under the bright lights of the 2018 AFC Women's Asian Cup in Jordan.
"Quinley being selected to her National team in the Philippines is an honor not only for her, but for our program," Head Coach Nat Gonzalez said. "This will be a first in our program to have anyone compete in a world class event – the World Cup qualifiers for the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). This is one of many signs that our program is developing players at a very high level."
Quezada becomes the first Highlander in program history to make a senior World Cup Qualifying roster on the heels of a career season as a junior. This past fall, she was a key fixture in the UCR midfield, finishing second on the team in goals (3), assists (3) and points (9) and starting in all but four games.
Beginning April 6, the tournament will serve as the final stage of qualification in the AFC, with five of the eight participating countries qualifying for the 2019 Women's World Cup in France.
Following preparations at their training camp in Japan which began earlier this week, Quezada and the Philippine National Team will travel several thousand miles to western Asia where they will face-off against fellow Group A nations Jordan (Apr. 6), China PR (Apr. 9), and Thailand (Apr. 12).
Should they finish in second place in their group, they will clinch a spot in next year's World Cup and will compete in the semifinals on April 15. A third-place finish in the group stage will put the Philippines in a playoff match against Group B's third-place team, with the winner earning the AFC's final World Cup berth.
The same can be said for our 2017 Highlander side, which extended another season by tying for the most wins in conference play and reaching the Big West Tournament Semifinals for the third time in five years.
This April, junior midfielder Quinley Quezada is taking her spring training a little further than that, though – she'll be representing both UC Riverside Women's Soccer and the Philippine National Women's Team under the bright lights of the 2018 AFC Women's Asian Cup in Jordan.
"Quinley being selected to her National team in the Philippines is an honor not only for her, but for our program," Head Coach Nat Gonzalez said. "This will be a first in our program to have anyone compete in a world class event – the World Cup qualifiers for the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). This is one of many signs that our program is developing players at a very high level."
Quezada becomes the first Highlander in program history to make a senior World Cup Qualifying roster on the heels of a career season as a junior. This past fall, she was a key fixture in the UCR midfield, finishing second on the team in goals (3), assists (3) and points (9) and starting in all but four games.
Beginning April 6, the tournament will serve as the final stage of qualification in the AFC, with five of the eight participating countries qualifying for the 2019 Women's World Cup in France.
Following preparations at their training camp in Japan which began earlier this week, Quezada and the Philippine National Team will travel several thousand miles to western Asia where they will face-off against fellow Group A nations Jordan (Apr. 6), China PR (Apr. 9), and Thailand (Apr. 12).
Should they finish in second place in their group, they will clinch a spot in next year's World Cup and will compete in the semifinals on April 15. A third-place finish in the group stage will put the Philippines in a playoff match against Group B's third-place team, with the winner earning the AFC's final World Cup berth.
Thursday, May 21
Monday, May 04
Friday, May 01
Tuesday, March 24
