Bay FC officials have been hoping that their expansion team wouldn’t take long to excite local soccer enthusiasts and quickly develop a loyal fanbase to cheer them on at PayPal Park.
The club’s debut on Sunday, a 1-0 win over Angel City FC, couldn’t have gone any better.
Here are some takeaways from the club’s first-ever match in the National Women’s Soccer League:
1. This was not some boring 1-0 game.
On paper, Bay FC was out-possessed 60-40 and allowed twice as many shots (19 to eight) and twice as many corner kicks (12 to six) as it created.
It might lead you to believe that the club was content to sit back, tuck 11 players behind the ball and play a compact, if not boring style of defensive football that could put the casual observer to sleep.
Far from it.
Head coach Albertin Montoya had no problem spreading the field horizontally and vertically as Bay FC played a wide-open, fast-paced style of play that relied on speed and stamina.
The players pressed high up the pitch, pushing numbers forward and swarming the opposing players whenever they were out of possession.
It was a dangerous way to play — “the soccer gods were with us today,” Montoya said afterward — but it made for an exciting game full of scoring chances and last-second saves from the Bay FC defense.
2. Bay FC did not play its intended style.
How did Bay FC lure some of the world’s top players to Northern California to join an expansion team in its first season of play? In large part due to Montoya’s sales pitch: Come to Bay FC and play a creative, fun, possession-based style of football that gives its players freedom to make decisions.
But Bay FC had so little of the ball on Sunday that the team spent most of the game playing defense.
“It was not the style of play we wanted to play,” Montoya said afterward. “Angel City did a very good job defending us, creating problems for us. We were trying to solve them. That’s a work in progress. I told our organization and players, it’ll take time for us to dominate the ball. We want to dictate how we play, but that takes time.”
Montoya also coached the Bay Area’s last professional women’s soccer team in 2010. He took over the FC Gold Pride in 2009, finished second-to-last that season, then won the whole thing the following year in 2010, the final season before the team folded.
The development of soccer teams isn’t unlike the development of basketball teams, which take time to evolve, find chemistry and understand their playing style.
“This is a new team, everyone is coming from different clubs, a different environment,” said star striker Asisat Oshoala, who scored the game-winning goal. “We only had six or seven weeks to train together. And some of us missed a bunch of that as well.”
3. The connection between midfielders and forwards isn’t there, but defensive chemistry was on point.
Bay FC was one of only three NWSL teams to shut out its opponent on opening weekend. There were 23 goals scored in seven games, an average of more than three goals per game, but Bay FC pitched a shutout against an Angel City FC team that scored 31 goals in 22 matches last year, tied for second-most goals in the league.
Much of the credit belongs to veteran center backs Emily Menges and Kayla Sharples, who controlled the back line, clogged holes and made sure Angel City attackers rarely got a second chance on goal.
Meanwhile, outside backs Caprice Dydasco, one of the league’s most experienced players, and rookie Savy King, a 19-year-old who was the No. 2 overall pick in this year’s draft, were exceptional, winning almost every one-on-one and playing mistake-free soccer in their own third.
Montoya called King’s performance “world-class,” as she was one of five teenagers to start on opening weekend in the NWSL. The others: Olivia Moultrie (Portland Thorns FC), Claire Hutton (Kansas City Current), Kennedy Fuller (Angel City FC) and Alyssa Thompson (Angel City FC).
4. Bay FC found its goalkeeper.
When Melissa Lowder suffered a season-ending knee injury a week before the club’s first game, it could’ve been a momentum-shifting blow. But 24-year-old Lysianne Proulx stepped up big on Sunday, making eight saves, tying an NWSL record for a goalie making her debut.
The number of shots and corner kicks allowed were more of a representation of Angel City’s ability to force the ball into dangerous areas than a breakdown of defensive responsibility, but Proulx was always in the right spot and showcased her athleticism on several highlight-reel saves.
A goalie on the Canadian national team, Proulx previously played professionally in Australia, but her ability to stay calm and use her feet to distribute the ball will give Bay FC a lot of confidence going forward.
5. Oshoala looks poised for a breakout year.
It’s hard to think of a two-time Ballon d’Or Award finalist as someone who could “surprise” in her first year in the NWSL, but after Oshoala fell out of favor and out of the starting lineup with Barcelona, she joined Bay FC looking to make an immediate impact.
Her debut on Sunday was impressive, as the 29-year-old goal-scoring legend rarely lost a 50-50 ball, looking like a strong No. 9 who could hold up play while awaiting numbers to transition into the final third.
Every touch was intentional and sharp, and while the offense often seemed like it was one pass short of creating more chances, Oshoala was clearly the most dangerous player on the field.
Her ability to play on her first touch paid off in the 17th minute, when she hit a one-time strike from the top of the penalty area into the upper 90 for Bay FC’s first-ever goal.
As she develops chemistry with wingers Tess Boade and Scarlett Camberos — and soon, star forward Racheal Kundananji, the most expensive acquisition in women’s soccer history — expect Oshoala to find the back of the net on a regular basis.
6. On a team with talented veterans, it was 24-year-old Alex Loera wearing the captain’s armband on Sunday.
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Loera was the club’s first-ever acquisition last November and arguably the most important one. A budding star as a defensive midfielder, Loera was named the team captain for Bay FC and will play a key role dictating play from the midfield this season.
She was fantastic on the defensive end Sunday, and while she had the right ideas on the attacking end, her execution of first-time passes was a little off, leading to several turnovers that created odd-man opportunities for Angel City FC on the counter attack.
Still, Montoya trusts Loera to grow into a leadership role as the club hopes she develops into a star No. 6 for years to come.
Next up:
Bay FC will travel to the East Coast for a clash with the Washington Spirit on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. PT.
Washington was out-shot 15-2 in a 1-0 loss to Seattle Reign FC in its opening game.
It remains uncertain if Kundananji (knee injury) will be ready to make her debut for Bay FC or if she’ll need a bit more rest.
Bay FC’s home opener at PayPal Park is March 30 at 7 p.m. against the Houston Dash. Tickets are still available for as low as $20 each.