Story by
Bay FC have fresh direction off the field. They need a tangible rebuild on it
- Story by
- Bay FC have fresh direction off the field. They need a tangible rebuild on it
Bay FC have failed to reach the postseason for a second year in a row as the NWSL club will now shift its focus to the final stretch of the regular season, with a 2027 rebuild on the horizon.
The California club became the fourth team ousted from playoff contention over the weekend after falling to Orlando in a must-win match in San Jose. First-year Bay FC head coach Emma Coates was visibly frustrated as her team fell to Orlando Pride 3-1 at PayPal Park.
Bay FC have fresh direction off the field. They need a tangible rebuild on it
"We're all hurting now," Coates said. "Obviously, knowing our fate in terms of being eliminated from playoffs is frustrating …. Other than sticking the ball in the back of the net, the players all left it out there today"
Advertisement
After berthing a postseason spot in their inaugural year in 2024, the club has struggled to maintain meaningful momentum in the last two seasons. The hope is now that an influx of front-office investment will steer the team in a better direction.
Bay FC finished 13th last season, winning four matches and tallying just 20 points, finishing above bottom-of-the-table Chicago Stars on goal difference. So far in 2026, the team is 13th again (this time in a league of 16) with 26 points from a 7-14-5 record (win-loss-draw). Bay has begun its rebuild by bringing in Coates, the former head coach fo England 's under-23 team, and more recently bringing in former Chelsea Women head of football Paul Green as the club's new chief football officer.
With promising players like Claire Hutton and recently signed Jenna Nighswonger , the former 2024 NWSL Rookie of the Year, there is plenty to reflect on, as Bay enters a new era in 2027
As we will do with all teams that get eliminated from playoff contention, here is The Athletic's review of Bay FC's season and what comes next.
Advertisement
How it started
Bay started 2026 by turning a new chapter, hiring Coates for her first season with the club. Coates was brought on with her assistant, Gemma Davies, and followed a steady stream of front-office changes as the team pursued change.
On the pitch, the club brought in promising players like Hutton, a rising USWNT star who Emma Hayes has described as a "captain in the making". Hutton, 20, arrived in March form Kansas City Current on a five-year contract through the 2030 season, offering stability and a player the team can build around for seasons to come. The club also brought in Cristiana Girelli and Aldana Cometti , captains of Italy and Argentina respectively, at the start of the year, as well as 18-year-old Alex Pfeiffer after two seasons in Kansas City.
The team opened the year with a 2-0 win over expansion side Denver Summit. But Bay quickly begin struggling with consistency, only winning one pair of back-to-back games this year in July, topping Racing Louisville 2-0 and following that with a dominant 3-0 win over North Carolina Courage. The team then proceeded to endure a five-game winless streak.
Advertisement
What went wrong?
Bay has struggled to find its footing, hampered by early-season absences that created gaps in their roster. Defender Alyssa Malonson suffered a torn ACL in preseason, forcing her to sit out the entirety of this year. Three other defenders — Abby Dahlkemper , Caprice Dydasco and Emily Menges — were all out on maternity leave at the start of the year. Dahlkemper and Menges returned to the roster over the summer.
The team failed to secure crucial points early on, which has proven costly as the final weeks of the regular season dwindled.
"There's probably four games that jump out to me right now that we've probably let ourselves down (in) a little bit, either with just how we played throughout the game or how we ended the game and let points slip away," Coates said. "That's how close we could have been."
Advertisement
Still, the team pushed, bringing in meaningful signings over the summer. In June, Bay signed 19-year-old U.S. midfielder Kennedy Fuller on a $520,000 transfer. By August, the team also acquired Nighswonger from Arsenal on a contract through 2028, offering yet another piece to the rebuild puzzle. The key now is fitting these pieces together and actively pursuing additional components to perfect their vision, which is where Green comes in.
Where do they go from here?
The team made a serious investment when it hired Green, who is credited with building Chelsea into one of the world's best women's teams during his 13 years at the club. His dismissal at the WSL club baffled the soccer world but, for Bay, it meant a promising opportunity.
As Green told The Athletic, his priority list includes Bay's roster construction. He plans to tap into the network he's built over the last two decades to strengthen Bay's lineup and bench, all while navigating the NWSL's salary cap.
Advertisement
"The league table doesn't lie," he said last week. "We need to improve if we want to get into the playoffs and challenge for championships and for shields. I'm hoping that I can help with that in terms of bringing in quality players to help the talented roster that we've already got, but it's clear there needs to be some change in that, naturally."
With four games of the regular season to go, on the pitch the immediate goal now is to secure "as many points as possible", according to Coates.
"Coming in and spending my first season with the group, we've talked a lot around shaping the identity and the culture of the club, and the style of play and turning the dial," said Bay's head coach. "I think we've done that. I think people talk about this club very different (now) to how we how people were talking about us, certainly when I first came through the door.
"Our focus now has been around to keep turning that dial and keep wanting to be competitive, keep doing the right things, and there's still everything to play for.
Advertisement
"We're competitive people. We want to get as many points on the board as possible, get the best finish in the table as possible, and that sort of tees up next season."
This article originally appeared in The Athletic .
Bay FC, NWSL, Women's Soccer
2026 The Athletic Media Company
