Don’t call it a friendly: Bay FC, Angel City FC blend intensity and feel-good performances in summer exhibition
SAN JOSE — A friendly neighborhood pickup soccer game broke out on Saturday at PayPal Park, but this wasn’t of the garden variety.
Keeping busy during its summer break, Bay FC welcomed Angel City FC for an exhibition Summer Series game in San Jose, looking to stay sharp ahead of the return of the NWSL regular season in early August.
The stadium atmosphere was calmer than a typical league match, but the play on the field met or exceeded regular-season intensity. In a game with four yellow cards, including one for Bay FC coach Albertin Montoya, the two teams tied 1-1.
Forward Penelope Hocking, who scored Bay FC’s lone goal and nearly had another, had to be restrained late in the second half after a physical tackle led to a confrontation with an Angel City player.
Who said this match was friendly?
“We don’t have time for friendlies,” said new Angel City coach Alex Straus, who took over in June.
“We don’t really like Angel City very much,” said Bay FC defender Maddie Moreau, who entered in the second half and assisted on Hocking’s goal.
Despite some low-key skirmishes and physical play, both teams appeared to get what they wanted out of a game with low stakes.
On paper, there wasn’t much to gain. The NWSL standings were not changing regardless of the result. But Bay FC threw out a lot of players who hadn’t played many minutes, and there were multiple standouts among that group.
Moreau, who has appeared in just four league matches this season, served up a perfect cross to Hocking, who buried a first-touch volley off the left post and in to erase a 1-0 deficit in the 57th minute.
Hocking’s goal helped Bay FC feel better about its performance after Jun Endo’s left-footed finish in the 27th minute beat goalkeeper Emmie Allen and put Angel City up early.
“It’s fun to watch when it comes together like that,” Montoya said. “Maddie comes in in the second half and has an outstanding game, and then what a cross into the box with Penelope’s first-touch finish. But that’s what they’ve been doing in practices.”
Catherine Paulson, a Los Altos native who was originally signed by Bay FC as a national team replacement player in 2024, started at forward for the first time in her career. She could have had a chance to score her first career goal.
While darting into the box late in the first half, the St. Francis High and Stanford alumnus was seemingly fouled by an Angel City defender, but no whistle was blown. The home crowd heartily voiced its displeasure.
They weren’t the only ones who disagreed with the non-call.
“I saw her cut, the player went inside, and the player clearly took her leg out,” said Montoya, who received his yellow for arguing the call. “And what I loved, whoever’s running the jumbotron, they showed that play like 15 times. And that was excellent, because they usually don’t do that for the referees’ sake. And then you could see it over and over and over again. So that’s why I got a little bit heated.
“Because this is a player that’s making her first start. She has an opportunity. And could you imagine, what a great moment for her, if she draws a PK there, being aggressive, trying to take a player on. And that’s what we’re asking. She would have been rewarded for that.”
Paulson also had her mind made up on whether a penalty kick was warranted.
“Yes,” she said of being fouled. “Did you see the replay? For sure. There was no (Video Assistant Referee), so we’ll give it to the ref, because she couldn’t go back and look at it. But I felt it for sure. It was definitely a foul.”
Despite the disappointment, Saturday was a full-circle moment for Paulson, who was on another part-time contract early in the season before signing for the rest of this year on July 1.
Her family and former Mountain View-Los Altos soccer club teammates were in the stands, and she was thrilled to have the opportunity to take the field in front of them for the first time this season.
“It’s awesome seeing all the young MVLA girls,” Paulson said. “I’ll ask when I’m signing afterwards, ‘Where do you guys play? And everyone’s like, ‘MVLA!’ I’m like, ‘That’s so awesome. Me too.’ And then I do have friends from MVLA that are still in the area that I’m super close with, and they’ve come out to games before too. So that’s been awesome.”
Even if they missed an opportunity to see her score on Saturday.
“Just being given the opportunity has been amazing,” Paulson said. “Being in my hometown, it’s everything I’ve ever wanted. All the support of everyone from the area that’s made me who I am has been so special.”