The Gods of Soccer are rooting for Bay FC

Angel City FC dominated their new rivals from California in the National Women's Soccer League opener Sunday afternoon, dominating the ball and repeatedly finding the back of upstart Bay FC's net while giving their opponents few good looks. I hammered it in.

It was a rout, but it wasn't. The soccer gods have a wicked use of the game's tools, a cunning sense of coincidence, and an unashamed delight in pesky underdogs, and here, in full force, San Jose-based visitors We added a little magic to our debut.

nigerian striker Asisat Oshoala Canadian goaltender appreciates early gift Lisianne Proulx Emerging big time and time again, the Hawaiian came right back. Caprice Didasco He capped off an incredible day by converting what would have been an equalizer on the goal line just as stoppage time began, sending Bay FC home with an all-important 1-0 win at BMO Stadium.

“As they say, we were 'unbroken,''' head coach said. Albertine Montoya He spoke later when speaking to the media. “We 'broke' so many times, but it was very emotional. It was our first win as a franchise. They won because they just believed in themselves, had passion, and came out on top.” He just had a passion for wanting to be that way.”

If they had the time, they might have a game for that too. As expected, the preparation period took him less than two months, during which he did not have the most exciting acquisitions, and before attacking the centerpiece, the connection is not fully operational. . Rachel Kundananji She was paid $785,000, the highest ever for a woman, and had the chance to participate.

That's enough for now.

“The heart, the passion, the desire to get better from these guys, it was just incredible,” Montoya told NWSL+ before leaving the field. “It's an overwhelming feeling. We're playing against one of the favorites to win this year – they're an unbelievable team.” [and] They've been playing good football, but we just believed in what we're trying to do here as a club. And the fact that they played with so much heart and desire and got the win means a lot. ”

This is a good first step on the pitch. Angel City and the San Diego Wave, another California club, also won in their debuts two years ago. This club has a confident attitude with bold ambitions.

Former national team star (and Santa Clara University graduate) brandi chastain, Allie Wagner, leslie osborne and Daniel Slaton Bay FC was founded less than a year ago, but things have gotten busy since then.they invited alan waxman His San Francisco-based global investment firm, Sixth Street Partners, has spent $125 million to aggressively build a dynamic roster, with Madrid playing for Zambia, who was sidelined with a knee injury in late February. It produced seven players including Kundananji of CFF.Team — Barcelona's Oshoala and Arsenal Dana CastellanosVenezuela's command center.

The goal is to “go big,” club co-president Wagner told Yahoo!. Sports. “We want this to be an iconic global brand.”

“It was kind of surreal.”

Angel City, which was launched with a similar purpose, is also a source of inspiration, and it's the perfect opportunity to kick things off against this most natural rival.

“It was kind of surreal to come to the stadium as a team and actually do something like this,” said Didasco, who won an NCAA championship with UCLA. We've been working on this for a year and we just wanted to make them proud and make the club and all the fans proud.”

It took some work.His eight saves from Proulx came from a great job, with the defender clearing his two balls off the line and Angel City's MA Vignola At the end of added time, he took a shot that hit the left post. There was some intense play at the back and some of the luckiest moments up front. Didasco, signed as a free agent in November, was the second player on Bay FC's roster and played both ends.

Oshoala's skillful finish gets him ahead of the goalkeeper. angelina anderson Then, in the 17th minute, a shot from almost nowhere hit the bottom of the crossbar.

ACFC's left-back Vignola picked up the ball on the wing from the centre-back. Paige Nielsen After a quick goal kick, he went upfield. Didasco made a mad dash to block the track, and Vignola turned to feed Nielsen just above the box. tes boardthe ever-threatening player stepped in to cut it off and quickly slotted the ball into the box for Oshoala's first shot.

“When I scored the goal, I looked back to see if it was offside,” said Oshoala, who scored 92 goals in 108 games during his four-and-a-half years at Barcelona. “At the end of the day, it was good. It gave us extra confidence and helped us until the end of the game, because we are one of the favorite teams to win all this season. Because we had a one-point difference against them.” [provides] I have great confidence. ”