A lot is on the line for Bay FC on Saturday night at PayPal Park.
A win over the North Carolina Courage would add three points to Bay FC’s current tally of 28, inching the expansion team closer to securing an NWSL playoff spot. A loss, combined with other weekend results around the league, could throw the playoff chase wide open heading into the final week of the regular season.
Bay FC sits in the eighth and final playoff spot in the NWSL table, trailing seventh-place Portland by three points. North Carolina enters Saturday in fifth with 39 points, followed by sixth-place Chicago with 32.
Bay FC forward Asisat Oshoala (8) leaps over Kansas City Current defender Hailie Mace (4) while chasing the ball during the first half of their match at PayPal Park in San Jose, Calif., on Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
Ninth-place Louisville is nipping at Bay FC’s boots with 25 points, and several other teams aren’t far behind, including Utah (24), Angel City (23) and San Diego (22).
Bay FC can clinch a playoff spot with a win on Saturday and a Louisville loss or draw against Portland in those teams’ matchup on Saturday afternoon. Bay FC would also secure a playoff spot with a draw against North Carolina, a Louisville loss to Portland and an Angel City draw on Sunday against Utah.
Regardless of the weekend’s results, Bay FC isn’t likely to play another home game this season, as the highest playoff seed it could attain is sixth. The Bay’s team closes out the NWSL regular season on the road Nov. 2 against the Houston Dash.
Were Bay FC to make the playoffs, it would be only the second expansion side to earn a postseason spot in its first season of competition. San Diego Wave FC clinched a playoff spot in 2022, its first season of competition. The Wave earned the No. 3 seed and defeated Chicago 2-1 in the quarterfinals before washing out of the playoffs with a 2-1 semifinal loss to eventual NWSL champion Portland.
Bay FC defender Emily Menges (4) moves the ball past Kansas City Current forward Temwa Chawinga (6) during the first half of their match at PayPal Park in San Jose, Calif., on Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)