San Jose – Bay FC didn’t have a great start to the Summer Cup, losing their first two of the three group stage matches, but they had a strong finish in the club’s first international matchup.
Maddie Moreau scored her second Bay FC goal of the season to spark their 2-1 win over Mexican side Club America in the Summer Cup finale.
“We had a very good performance,” head coach Albertin Montoya said. “It wasn’t as consistent as we would have liked, but we played some really good football.”
Moreau, normally a defender who plays in the front attack against Club America on the night, earned her goal in the seventh minute, scoring on a deflection off an America defender off a cross from wide.
“I was just in front of the ball, and the ball popped to my feet,” said Moreau. “I was like, ‘I guess I’ll just hit this somewhere near the goal.’’
America eventually pulled even in the 29th minute off a goal from former Bay FC attacker Scarlett Becerra, who recently transferred over to Bay FC and was making her homecoming of sorts in Friday night’s match.
“I was happy (about the goal),” Becerra said. “We were losing 1-0 and nobody likes losing and I think we deserved that goal.”
Becerra said that playing as the away club at PayPal Park, even though she’s playing with a storied club like America, was “a little weird at first.”
“I’ve played here and trained here every day,” Becerra explained. “But once you start playing, you’re in the zone, and (the night) was about winning the game. Unfortunately, we didn’t do that.”
“She’s an incredible player,” said Montoya of Becerra. “I’m not surprised she scored today.”
Bay FC took the lead in the second half off a goal from Dorian Bailey in the 53rd minute. Bailey scored on a tap-in following a headed cross from Jen Beattie initially off a corner kick. Bailey got her toe on it at the post to get it into the back of the net to put Bay FC up 2-1.
The win marks the club’s first overall in over a month when they defeated Angel City FC on June 22 in NWSL play. It’s also great momentum that Montoya is excited to take into the second half of the NWSL season starting on August 23 at the Utah Royals.
“I’m really excited that the Summer Cup was there for us and we used it to experiment a little bit,” Montoya explained. “There was a little bit more of an emphasis on winning tonight. The last two games were more about just playing a certain way and giving opportunities for players. Today was about getting back on the right foot, in a winning way that we know and will help us.”
Photo by Jeff Weisinger
