San Jose – Sometimes, there’s nothing like coming home. And as some might say, a little time in church doesn’t hurt either.
For the first time in nearly a month, Bay FC returned to PayPal Park, and the homecoming was just what the club needed. Fueled by first-half goals from Penelope Hocking and Caroline Conti, Bay FC secured a much-needed 2–0 victory over Angel City FC on Saturday night.
“Went to church a lot this week,” Bay FC head coach Albertin Montoya said with a laugh. “That was a very good win for our team today. We played the type of football we’ve been asking them to play all season long, and it came together at the right time against an excellent opponent that’s been playing really well. But credit to our team, our players, they stuck to the game plan, and we came out with a great victory.
Coming back home, these fans are absolutely amazing, and we feel the energy every time we’re in the stadium. That helps us.”
The victory marked Bay FC’s third straight win over their Southern California rivals, having edged Angel City 1–0 in both meetings last season.
“I’d love to say we won because it’s our competitors from down south and there’s a rivalry there,” said Montoya.
Playing in a new 4-4-1-1 formation, Bay FC’s attacking quartet, Racheal Kundananji, Taylor Huff, Rachel Hill, and Hocking, applied consistent pressure on Angel City’s back line, generating chances throughout the night, especially in the first half.
“We just match up really well against them,” Hocking said. “We both want to play, we’re both pretty physical, it just has the feeling of a rivalry game that brings out the best in both of us.”
“We created a lot of problems for them,” added Montoya. “They probably weren’t expecting us to come out in a 4-4-1-1 the way we did, and with different personnel. I think we just gave them a different look, and we were on today.”
Hocking opened the scoring in the 23rd minute, blasting a shot into the top corner after a cross from Huff slipped past multiple defenders and found her unmarked near the right post.
Bay FC doubled the lead in the 33rd minute when Conti calmly converted a penalty kick. The spot kick was awarded after Hill was clipped by Angel City goalkeeper Angelina Anderson near the end line of the 18-yard box on a dangerous attacking run.
The win marked a much-needed bounce-back for Bay FC, who entered the match winless in their previous two outings. Goalkeeper Jordan Silkowitz also rebounded after last week’s 4–1 loss to the Kansas City Current, making four saves to preserve the clean sheet, her third of the season and first since April 19 against the North Carolina Courage.
With the result, Bay FC improved to 3-2-4 (11 points), while Angel City fell to 4-2-3 (14 points), suffering their first loss in three matches.
Bay FC now heads to Houston to face the Dash on Saturday, May 24, before returning to PayPal Park to host the Portland Thorns on June 7.
Photo by BayFC/X
