Bolden bags Player of the Year plum

Sarina Bolden essayed an emphatic finish to her first season as the Newcastle Jets FC named her as its Player of the Year following a stellar campaign in the A-League Women in Australia.

Bolden, the hero of the national women’s football team’s historic stint in the FIFA World Cup in 2022, is credited for scoring 14 goals in 20 games in her first season, helping the Jets reach the A-League semifinals for the first time in six years.

Aside from Player of the Year, the 27-year-old forward from California also claimed the Golden Boot award, the Member’s Player of the Year award and the Cheryl Salisbury award to cap her first season in Australia’s women’s premier football league.

She shared her honor with Apostolos Stamatelopoulos, who clinched the Men’s Player of the Year award, the Men’s Golden Boot, and the Craig Johnston Award.

With her focus set on helping her Australian club, Bolden did not play in the national team’s friendly match against South Korea on 8 April. In fact, the Filipinas faced the Koreans on the same day that Bolden was preparing for their match against Western United in the elimination finals on 13 April.

Her decision to stay focused proved to be crucial as Bolden scored a brace in the Jets’ 4-2 win and advanced to the semifinals.

Newcastle then got knocked out by Melbourne City FC on aggregate, 0-6, in the two-legged semifinal of the A-League Women where the team lost 0-3 twice last 21 April and 28 April.

Newcastle has yet to win an A-League Women’s title since its establishment in 2008.