Team aims to refine offense after opener
It’s tough to imagine Asisat Oshoala surprising anyone on the soccer pitch, but the Nigerian striker proved she belongs on an NWSL field Sunday with her game-winning goal against Angel City FC.
Now, Bay FC (1-0-0) would like to see an extension of some of the strong looks they had in their opener. Against the Washington Spirit (1-0-0) on Saturday in the nation’s capital, they’ll have another opportunity to see what offense they can build around Oshoala’s encouraging start.
“It’s gonna be control, tempo, recognize moments to go forward and being a little bit more effective also in the final third, but we can’t concede as much possession as we did in that first game. And hopefully, not as many corner kicks, because we defended quite a few corner kicks,” head coach Albertin Montoya said Friday. “But really it just comes down to we need to keep the ball a little bit better and be patient with it.
“There was a lot of excitement in that first game. This second game, our nerves are gonna be a little bit better and we should be able to control just our energy a little bit more.”
Despite the victory — which Bay FC also owes to a late Caprice Dydasco save and an Angel City shot off the crossbar — Bay FC’s offensive analytics lacked. Angel City had a game expected goal rate (which measures likelihood of scoring off of shots) of 1.83, and Bay FC had 1.03. ACFC held a 6040 possession advantage and a 19-8 advantage in shots.
Some of that disparity can be attributed to Bay FC ratcheting up their press defense once they went ahead. Bay FC did have two earlier scoring chances from Joelle Anderson and Tess Boade.
Oshoala is a proven scorer, but fell out of favor with Barcelona and was coming off the bench before she signed with Bay FC. Once Racheal Kundananji (knee) is healthy, those two could thrive. Kundananji has been training with the team in Washington this week.
But a stronger connection between the forwards and midfield needs to develop, too, and that just might take time.
“This is a new team — everyone is coming from different clubs, a different environment,” Oshoala said. “We only had six or seven weeks to train together. And some of us missed a bunch of that as well.”
Boade, who started on the right side of Oshoala in the attack, had a stellar debut, netting an assist and a team-high five touches in the offensive box.
Selected from North Carolina in the expansion draft, she has a bit to prove, too; especially once Kundananji returns, and she might have to fight for her spot in the lineup.
“Albertin’s message for us is he just wants footballers,” said Boade, who has played midfield in her career as well. “He wants people who are comfortable moving all over the field. Whoever’s wide, whoever’s in the middle, we know what we have to do and that’s what’s going to make us great this year.”
It’s going to take time for Bay FC to click the way they would like. They still haven’t had everyone on the same field at the same time yet. But there are positives to take from Oshoala and Boade about the structure of a strong attack.
Kingsbury in the cage: The NWSL ruled to reverse a red card against Spirit goalkeeper Aubrey Kingsbury that will allow the USWNT keeper to be available Saturday against Bay FC.
In a win over Seattle last weekend, Kingsbury was sent off in second-half stoppage time for interfering with a scoring opportunity outside the box, a decision upheld after a lengthy video review. The league reversed that decision this week.
Defensive doings: The Spirit finished last season scoreless in four of their last five games. Bay FC are coming off a shutout of Angel City and could keep building defensive momentum.
Dydasco had an impressive debut, and 19-year-old rookie Savy King held her own starting at left back. In the middle, Emily Menges was solid and Kayla Sharples made several strong plays in transition.
The Spirit managed one shot on goal in their 2024 season opener. They did have a cornerkick goal waived off after video review, but mostly Washington struggles for offensive chances. The Spirit also played five rookies last week, including No. 3 overall pick Croix Bethune.
Last week, the Spirit were without USWNT striker Trinity Rodman, who was suspended after receiving a red card in last year’s season finale. She will be back to face Bay FC on Saturday.