Kaya nears AWCL group stage after 5-1 win

Kaya FC-Iloilo moved to the brink of qualifying for the 2026-27 AFC Women’s Champions League group stage after routing Cambodian champion Phnom Penh Crown, 5-1, in their second preliminary-round match Thursday in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.

The Philippine club secured its second straight victory and set up a winner-take-all Group B finale against Hong Kong champion TSL FC for the group’s lone ticket to the next round.

Kaya broke away from a 1-1 deadlock early in the second half by scoring four consecutive goals.

United States beach soccer national team player Marissa Vasquez and reigning PFF Women’s League Best Midfielder Sarahgen Tulabing each recorded a brace.

Kaya entered the Phnom Penh Crown match after opening its campaign with a 6-0 victory over host FC Ilbirs last Monday.

The two wins gave Kaya six points ahead of its final Group B assignment.

TSL’s lineup includes former PWL Golden Boot winner Isabella Bandoja and Filipina5 standout Lanie Ortillo.

Kaya struggled with erratic passes in the final third before PWL Most Valuable Player Alex Carpio intercepted the ball through a high press in the 32nd minute.

Carpio’s intervention started the buildup that allowed Inday Tolentin to score from the right flank following Vasquez’s assist.

Phnom Penh Crown equalized in the 58th minute through Japanese midfielder Miki Ichikawa.

Ichikawa converted Airi Kuroki’s chipped pass from the right wing after the Japanese pair combined inside the penalty area.

“We started a little bit slow but since the water break, I talked to the players that they can do better and they have to believe in themselves. Then, in return, they played well, they believed in themselves, they made good passes, simple passes until we scored. Then, second half, good efforts especially from our game changers who changed the game,” said Kaya head coach David Basa.

Vasquez restored Kaya’s advantage in the 61st minute with a blistering solo run from just past the left centerline.

She beat three Phnom Penh Crown defenders before slipping the ball past goalkeeper Chea Fariya for the go-ahead goal.

Vasquez completed her brace nine minutes later by firing a 19-yard strike from Tolentin’s back pass.

“[I’m] just really happy that we had to make adjustments but we kept working together and fighting and we got the result we’ve been hoping for,” Vasquez said, thanking Kaya for giving her the opportunity to compete in the recently concluded PWL and the AWCL.

Tulabing entered in the 75th minute alongside La Salle recruit Maegan Alforque and veteran Camille Rodriguez.

The defensive midfielder, recruited from the Far Eastern University Lady Tamaraws and also a Filipina5 member, forced Fariya to save a dangerous shot from outside the penalty area in the 84th minute.

Tulangbing tried again from the same area one minute later and extended Kaya’s lead to 4-1.

Rodriguez had sprinted to recover the ball along the right baseline before crossing to Alforque, who laid it back for Tulabing’s 85th-minute finish.

Tulangbing completed her brace in the 88th minute after punishing Fariya’s weak clearance of another Rodriguez cross from the right.

The Asian Football Confederation confirmed Kaya’s 5-1 victory, which kept the club’s perfect preliminary-stage record intact.

The 2026-27 preliminary stage features 24 clubs divided into six groups, with matches scheduled from August 17 to 23, 2026.

Each of the six group winners will advance and join six directly qualified clubs in the 12-team group stage.

Kaya and TSL will contest Group B’s lone qualifying place on Sunday, August 23, at 6 p.m. Philippine time.