Philippines defender Sofia Harrison stood in the tunnel of Wellington Stadium before taking on host New Zealand in the 2023 Women’s World Cup.

A young boy standing next to her asked her, “Are you nervous?” Harrison, a 2017 Atholton High graduate and Slippery Rock University alumnae stood confident as ever replying, “No, I’m not actually.”

Harrison’s mindset never changed despite the significance of playing for the Philippines on the world’s biggest soccer stage. The 23-woman Filipina roster was the country’s first team — men’s or women’s — to qualify for the World Cup. She became the first Slippery Rock alum to play in the World Cup and was also the only player in the tournament to come from a Division II program.

Work ethic has always been one of Harrison’s greatest strengths. Each time she takes the pitch, Harrison’s mentality remains the same: nothing is ever guaranteed. That grounded mindset has helped her take everything moment by moment throughout her soccer career. It also brought her gratitude, which helped Harrison remain calm and play at a high level over a landmark few weeks for both her and her country.

“I think it’s very special,” Harrison said. “It’s a huge honor and privilege to be able to represent the Philippines. It’s the very first time that the women’s and the men’s for Philippines fútbol has been a part of the World Cup. I don’t think it’s really sunk in yet that I’ve been a part of such a historic journey. For me, it’s very special to be able to represent my mom’s side and represent a country that I love and I’m very grateful that they have given me the opportunity to do so.”

Harrison has dual citizenship. Her mother is Filipina, making her eligible to play for the national team.

The Filipino women began the tournament against Switzerland. Harrison, who was in the starting 11, doesn’t remember many of her emotions from the moment. Taking the field for warm-ups, Harrison looked out into the stands and saw her family who made the long journey to support her.

That brought a special feeling, which only intensified when Harrison and her teammates recited the national anthem of the Philippines for the first time on a World Cup stage.

However, as soon as the whistle blew it was like any other game as she leaned on her mental preparation.

The Filipinas lost, 2-0, against Switzerland, but that game served as an indication that they were capable of competing on the world’s biggest stage. Four days later, they took the pitch against New Zealand with an opportunity to avenge a 2-1 loss in a friendly last year. They did exactly that, defeating the host nation, 1-0, on forward Sabrina Bolden’s 24th-minute goal, also making history with the Philippines’ first ever World Cup victory.

“It was insane honestly,” Harrison said of the postgame celebration. “My family was there and after the game had ended we went out to the fans in the stadium. We were around the entire stadium just thanking everyone for coming out and supporting us. The entire time I was looking for my family and I couldn’t find them until right before I had to go.

“I finally saw them and just to be able to see them out there, it was very special and a surreal moment for me. Once I finally got into the locker room, the emotions were still raw for everyone. For us, I think that game was really just a redemption. We wanted to win from the beginning and I think even leading up to that game we had the belief that we could actually beat them.”

After their victory over New Zealand, the Filipinas’ World Cup journey ended with a loss to Norway in their final group stage game. Although they didn’t achieve their ultimate goal, Harrison and the Filipinas accomplished something no other team in their nation’s history had before.

Harrison began playing for the national team in 2018 and made 34 appearances before this year’s World Cup. Harrison shared the journey with some of her best friends, seeing all of their hard work, commitment, sacrifices and dedication come to fruition in something they’ll never forget for the rest of their lives.

“I think the biggest thing for me personally is trusting the process and trusting God,” Harrison said. “It was funny because we saw a sign in the stands that said, ‘Thank you for making us dream,’ from one of the Filipino fans. I think that has been a huge part of our journey and our experiences.

“We not only allowed ourselves to live out that dream, but we’ve allowed other Filipinos and other people around the world to live out our dream as well. I think as long as we keep dreaming anything is possible. I’m just very grateful to represent the Philippines and I hope that we can continue on this upward journey.”