Emma Coates has Bay FC playing on the front foot for the most part. The midfield, transformed by Claire Hutton, is now capable of controlling games. And on the front line, the crowd sits up every time 18-year-old winger Alex Pfeiffer touches the ball.
But in soccer as in life, you don’t always get to play your way. So how Coates’ team would cope without the ball was always going to be more telling of how far Bay FC can actually go this season.
Despite losing 2-0 on Sunday, her team did do well for large stretches against a superior Washington Spirit, who were runner-ups last year for the NWSL championship. The visitors came in to PayPal Park like a wounded tiger — having lost one and drawing three straight games — and played like it, sending wave after wave of attack, in search of their first win.
Coates said her team anticipated this and devised a game plan to cede the Spirit more possession in order to keep Trinity Rodman and her teammates from running in behind. As a result, the hosts were mostly confined to defending in their own half and were difficult to break down until the 56th minute when a clearance by Jordan Silkowitz took a deflection off teammate Brooklyn Courtnall for an own goal.
Then, as Bay FC opened up to chase the game, they were punished by Rodman on the counter, whose powerful shot forced Silkowitz into a save in the 85th minute that landed in the path of Gift Monday, who scored a tap-in.
“I’m pleased and disappointed at the same time,” Coates said. “It’s not like they fully carved us open.”
Despite Bay FC only registering one shot on goal all game, the first year coach said the result wasn’t something to dwell on. “We just got to become obsessed with the process,” Coates said.
“If you zoom out on this block [of the schedule], we’ve got six points on the board,” she added. “We’re building something here that doesn’t happen overnight… so the message to the players is to get their shoulders back and their chins up.”
It’s true that one early result shouldn’t define a long season, but with attendance at PayPal Park somewhat dwindling in the team’s third season, Bay FC fans (and the front office) should expect the team to put up more of a fight against the league’s best sides.
Coates will undoubtedly find some adjustments she could’ve made when she reviews the game tape during the upcoming international break. For instance, if she had known that her team wasn’t going to possess the ball as much, then perhaps it would’ve been wiser to start Karlie Lema at striker over Crisitiana Girelli , since the 35 year old Italian prefers to play with the ball at her feet rather than run down long balls. (In defense of the Girelli decision, the long-time Juventus forward does excel at hold-up play.)
In the rare moments that Bay FC did have the ball, the midfielders and defenders were often looking for an escape valve to break Washington’s pressure, but didn’t have any outlets to send the ball to. Kiera Barry has such pace, but cut a frustrated figure having to receive the ball deep in her own half. The Englishwoman was subbed off for Caroline Conti in the 60th minute.
“It was hot, so sometimes those little passes or little movements weren’t necessarily coming off like they were in the last game,” said midfielder Hannah Bebar, who has started every game in the midfield this season next to Hutton.
“Give us some time,” she added. “I think things are really going to start falling into place.”
In two wins against Denver and North Carolina, Bay FC showed that its attacking quality has clearly risen from last year. But in both losses to Angel City FC and Washington, they showed vulnerability when pressed by a comparable or better team.
The key to a successful season will be closing the gap between those ends of the spectrum.
About the Author: Kevin V. Nguyen is a business and sports journalist based in the Bay Area. Follow him on X/Twitter @KevinNguyen_89 or on Bluesky @kevinvnguyen.bsky.social
