After months of build-up, Bay FC, the Bay Area’s NWSL team, held a media day introducing the staff and players to the public while also unveiling the team’s initial jersey.
For the Bay FC’s four founders, Brandi Chastain, Leslie Osborne, Danielle Slaton, and Aly Wagner, it was a day they had been waiting for years to happen.
“The Bay Area’s innovative people take risks here. People want to come here all over the world,” said Osborne. “This is a special place, and women’s soccer, professional soccer, needed to belong here.”
Bay FC has brought twenty-six players into their eight-week pre-season camp, which will depart for Santa Barbara on Tuesday.
“What an exciting time for the Bay Area. We’ve got our team here, finally,” noted Bay FC head coach Albertin Montoya.
“There’s nothing better than being out on the field with talented players that are motivated to be the best and bring a championship here to the Bay Area,” he added later.
Below are some quotes from the staff and players from Bay FC’s first-ever media day:
BAY FC GENERAL MANAGER LUCY RUSHTON
Q: Where does the [Bay FC] roster stand from your perspective, and what are you still hoping to add to it if you are?
Rushton: Yeah, definitely still a few more to come in a few more internationals. And I think names that will really elevate us even further as a club. We’ve got some really exciting players that we’re looking to bring in and add this group. I have to say if you had offered me this roster seven months ago, I would have bit in your arm off for it…..We hope in the next kind of seven to 10 days, maybe that some of those come get over the line, and we can maybe make some announcements and get them here.
Q: When you’re constructing a roster from the ground up like this, how do you balance building for a sustainable future in the long term with having a team that can compete out the gate right away and get that momentum that’s so imperative when you are an expansion franchise in its early stages?
Rushton: I think the way that we’ve tried to do it is really you need to have a blend of youth and experience, right? I think one thing we identified quite early on was the desire to have NWSL experience, particularly in defense. So obviously, Emily [Menges] and Caprice [Dydasco] bring that really well. But you also need to complement that with younger players and developmental players as well. We’ve got one of the best coaches in the country for developing players. So that was always really important to us and, as you said, you need to build for two years time three years time as well.
Q: Just curious how the role of data and analytics factored into the squad building?
Rushton: My background is in data and analytics. So it’s something that I believe strongly in. That said, it’s how you use data, especially in the scouting process, you always need to come back to your eye, which is why we have a scouting department as well….We did a lot of due diligence and research around average ages and the build of rosters that have been successful and unsuccessful. But I think there comes a line as well where we want to play a very different way to maybe some of those other rosters. What’s impactful and what’s not might be different based on how we want to play. So we used it throughout the process.
BAY FC HEAD COACH ALBERTIN MONTOYA
Q: How confident are you that you can have a team that’s competitive during these early stages of expansion?
Montoya: Every expansion team in every sport comes in thinking they’re gonna make playoffs or do well; why shouldn’t they? It’s been proven in lots of different sports, but it has to come together, right? San Diego Spirit had Alex Morgan and had an incredible season got them where they’re at to a certain extent, and and that’s something that we won’t know until preseason and as the season goes on. So we feel that we’ve got all the right players to go out there and have a huge impact, but it’s got to come together, and everyone’s got to stay healthy and put on the show, as I keep saying.
Q: I want to ask you both about Emily Menges. Were you surprised that she was available and willing to come here after so long in Portland? And what dynamic Do you think she brings here to the backline?
Montoya: I was pleasantly surprised, and she brings leadership and experience. She’s won championships, so she knows what it takes to be the best. And we’re going to really look at her for that. There’s some talented young players and she’s going to help mentor them. So she just has so many qualities. She’s a great footballer. She understands the game, she can play the type of football we want to play, and we’re just excited to have her.
Q: Getting a chance to maybe meet Savy King and see a little bit from her what you’ve noticed so far?
Montoya: She’s quite mature. She’s 18 years old but has international experience with the U-17 National Team and the U-20 National Team. And I wouldn’t be surprised if she gets called up to the full team. So just the way she carries herself has this confidence about her. But at the same time, it’s just personable and seems to be an incredible teammate. And that’s something that’s important for us because we look at the character, not just what they do on the field, but off the field. So she’s an incredible young player and she’s got a bright future ahead. Hopefully, it’s here for a very long time with Bay FC.
BAY FC MIDFIELDER ALEX LOERA
Q: You were the first player signed to Bay FC. What’s it like having teammates now?
Loera: I’m super excited to see kind of how we mesh together, just the culture, the chemistry. You can already feel that. We had optional trainings, and almost everybody showed up; and just the chemistry already, the camaraderie, the joking, the laughing. It’s truly going to be an incredible season. So stay excited.
Q: What do you kind of envision for your role now that you’ve talked to Albertin and Lucy and kind of figured out what the roster looks like? How do you see yourself fitting in?
Loera: I know that they value just kind of my possession play, my long-range passing and vision. So I see myself in a position where those strengths can be maximized. Honestly, I’m willing to play wherever I think my versatility is something that is super valuable.
BAY FC DEFENDER EMILY MENGES
Q: When you look at the roster, and you’re one of the veterans on a roster with a lot of young players. How do you see your role maybe being a little bit different, maybe having to take on a leadership role as one of the veterans?
Menges: I’ve been a veteran on Portland as well for the last couple years. I hope I take on a leadership role. I hope that’s something that the coaching staff sees me as. Honestly, the roster doesn’t worry me, I feel like they have their scheming behind the scenes. Also, we know that there’s going to be a lot of people invited into camp and it will be fun. It’ll be fun to see and build this team kind of from scratch. I’ve never been part of something like that before. So it’s exciting.
Q: What have you seen the challenges for players that are so young coming into a team?
Menges: Young players now are so much better than young players were. If I came out of college now there’s no way I would be drafted. It’s kind of it’s kind of a cool evolution of how good players are becoming and which is why expansion is so exciting. It’s the pool is just so much bigger.
Q: Emily, how do you see your style of play fitting in with the type of team that Albertin said he wants to have, a possession-oriented team?
Menges: I like being on the ball. I have a joke with my other center backs and defenders that we our center backs are actually the quarterbacks of the team.
BAY FC DEFENDER CAPRICE DYDASCO
Q: What about Emily Menge’s game stands out to you, and how excited are you to get to be on the same team with her?
Dydasco: I’ve been playing against her for quite a long time. So I really I really liked the way she plays out of the back. She’s very composed. And I always thought she was a solid defender. So I’m excited to be on her team finally, and hopefully we can lock down the backline together and kind of create the start the attack from back there.
Q: Does San Diego’s success early on give you confidence that Bay FC can kind of hit the ground running and be a competitive team in the early stages of expansion?
Dydasco: Yes, I think that this league is so competitive. That’s what makes this league so great is that any team can win any day. And I think just because we’re an expansion team doesn’t give us an excuse just to kind of give us a year to just say we’re building up. But I think this year, just seeing the expansion teams being so successful these past two years. I think that gives us confidence going in.
BAY FC FORWARD SCARLETT CAMBEROS
Q: In your conversations with Albertin and Lucy, what they’ve told you about what they’re hoping to see from you and what your role might be?
Camberos: I think they have a vision of the potential I have as a player and my development because I’m still pretty young, which has really appealed to me because I just want to keep getting better. And I think Albertine is going to be an excellent coach to do that.
Q: Was Albertin a big reason you wanted to join Bay FC, specifically the way he could help your development?
Camberos: That was one of the biggest reasons why I decided to join the team. I think right now, the most important thing for me is to keep developing and Albertin is definitely going to do that. So I’m excited.
BAY FC GOALKEEPER KATELYN ROWLAND
Q: You’ve been on a number of championship teams, you’ve been in the league for a while. You’ve seen the recent success that some expansion teams have had what gives you confidence that Bay FC can be a team that kind of hits the ground running and has success early on in these early stages?
Rowland: I believe in our potential, I believe in our technical stuff, our coaching staff, the roster, everything that they’ve been about, I really believe in and I think we have a whole lot of potential to be really great. And I think over the next couple of months, that’s kind of our time to grind and gain some chemistry and kind of see what we’re about and I’m really excited to see where that takes us.
