Bay FC: Bay Area's NWSL team could clinch playoff spot, make history in final game of season
SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- From literally learning each other's names, to an opportunity to make the playoffs and rewrite history - it's been a special year for National Women's Soccer League expansion team Bay FC.
There was a buzz felt by soccer fans across the Bay Area when Bay FC kicked off their inaugural season and the excitement is even greater now as the team wraps up the year.
This weekend, the team has a chance to earn their ticket to the playoffs and win the most games by an expansion team in league history.
With all that said....
"Expansion is really hard," Defender Emily Menges said.
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She says the hard journey has been worth it.
In the early days, they were establishing a rhythm while establishing a team.
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Midway through, things started to click and it all came together at the end.
A win or draw in five of their last eight has Bay FC in position to clinch a playoff spot.
A tie gets them in, but a victory this weekend in Houston seals their fate as well as the most wins in an inaugural season ever for an expansion franchise.
"I think our confidence is high," Menges said. "I think we know we can play with any team. I think once playoff starts, all bets are off - any team can take it all the way. So why not us?"
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Few would've thought this is where a brand-new team would be when we were at their first practice.
It's been exactly eight months to the day that Bay FC first called San Jose home.
Head Coach Albertin Montoya says it simultaneously feels like that was 2 years ago and a blur at the same time.
"It's been absolutely a blast all the way through," Montoya said. "We've learned so much about ourselves - the players, the staff. It's just been a really good experience. And the fact that we are going into this last game with an opportunity to make playoffs, it's exciting for the team and they deserve it."
And so do the fans.
The team says it has been the support of the Bay Area that has made all the difference in making San Jose feel like home.
They see young girls in the stands and push to play harder to inspire them to get to this point one day.
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And what better way to thank them for the love than with a championship.
"They have been with us week in and week out," Menges said. "We have never really seen a dip in attendance when our records were not so good. So, I think they show up for us, we have to show up for them."
"How far can this team go?," asked ABC7 News South Bay Reporter Dustin Dorsey.
"Oh, all the way," Menges said.
History is on the line and a chance to go all the way for the Bay.
