MILWAUKEE - A pair of sisters on the Milwaukee women's soccer team have been selected to train and compete with the Philippine Football Federation Women's National Team as it goes through the steps to try and qualify for the World Cup in France in 2019.
 
Olivia Davies and Chandler McDaniel will be spending much of the Spring 2018 semester at training camp with the national team in preparation for the 2018 AFC Women's Asian Cup. That tournament will be held in Amman, Jordan starting April 6. The tournament is also a qualifier for the FIFA Women's World Cup and the five top finishers will qualify for the World Cup in France in 2019.
 
"Any opportunity you have to play for a national team on an international stage is special," Milwaukee head coach Troy Fabiano said. "The fact that Chandler and Olivia were selected to represent the Philippines in the AFC Women's Asian Cup shows their caliber as players, as well as, the quality of our program. We look forward to their continued success on the field this spring."
 
Davies was a redshirt sophomore on the roster this past fall. A goalkeeper for the Panthers, she appeared in five games in her first season at Milwaukee in 2016, posting a 1.13 goals-against average. McDaniel is new to the squad, having transferred in at semester break after two seasons at Virginia Tech.
 
The sisters have already played a vital role in the success of the team. On Feb. 25, Davies posted a shutout in goal as the Philippines won, 1-0, over Cal State Northridge. Who had the goal? Of course, sister Chandler netted the winner.
 
On Feb. 27, the team cruised to a 5-0 victory over Cal Baptist University. Olivia again had the clean sheet and Chandler found the back of the net again.
 
A pair of stateside friendlies remain – March 1 against UC San Diego and March 2 against the University of San Diego.
 
At the AFC World Cup Qualifier, their games will be:
4/6 vs Jordan
4/9 vs China
4/12 vs Thailand
 
Going at least 1-1-1 in those matches would go a long way to help them qualify for the 2019 World Cup, which would be the first-ever for the country.