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It took just eight minutes for Bay FC to accomplish something that seemed impossible for stretches of last season: find the back of the net.
Newly acquired forward Alex Pfeiffer sprinted onto the ball on the right side of the field, cut inside the box, sidestepped a defender closing her down, and buried a left-footed shot into the bottom-left corner.
The goal was a confidence-builder for the 18-year-old, who hadn’t scored in nearly two years after signing her first pro contract at 15 and became the NWSL’s youngest goal-scorer at 16. It also set the tone for Bay FC’s first win since last June, a 2-1 victory over Denver Summit FC in its 2026 season opener that launched the Emma Coates era.
The former England’s U-23 women’s coach landed in the Bay last December and vowed to deliver an exciting brand of soccer. On Saturday afternoon at PayPal Park, there was a “glimpse” of what that might look like.
After her early goal, Pfeiffer played the hits. Twenty-three minutes later, she again cut inward from the right wing, but this time, she laid the ball off to Joelle Anderson who slotted home Bay FC’s second goal in the 31st minute.
Bay FC hadn’t scored twice in a game in eight months, and Anderson’s shot ended a streak of 17 matches without two goals in one half that dated back to May, when the club finished with a 2-2 draw against the Houston Dash. In a frustrating second season, Bay FC scored more than one goal just five times and finished with an NWSL-low 26 goals.
One match is nowhere near enough to gauge the trajectory of the franchise in Year 3, especially one against an expansion team playing its first-ever game. Denver also competed with just 10 women for more than 60 minutes after captain Janine Sonis was assessed a red card before the 30-minute mark. But the season opener nonetheless marked an end to the 15-game winless spell that ruined the final months of the 2025 season.
“Getting a win right off the bat is huge for us, it’s huge for the locker room,” said Anderson, a San Jose native who netted her fifth Bay FC goal on Saturday.
After making her NWSL debut, Coates celebrated the win — but made one thing clear: she expects her attack to remain relentless.
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“We probably should have had another one. At least two more today,” the coach said. Her group controlled possession for 63% of the match, and launched 14 more shots than the Summit.
It’s too early to make sweeping judgements, but Coates’ strategic fingerprints were visible throughout the 90-minute sample. Bay FC looked confident in its attack, even after a last-minute shakeup. The club announced this week that Penelope Hocking would join the Kansas City Current in exchange for $350,000 in transfer funds. Hocking was Bay FC’s leading scorer last season, netting six goals in 18 games.
The move suggested Coates prefers different options, including Pfeiffer, and on Saturday, the club looked capable of finding the back of the net more often this season.
Pfeiffer was both creative and productive in her debut, while Karlie Lema, now in her second season, led the line at striker. Racheal Kundananji operated on the left wing while Taylor Huff played as the attacking midfielder in a 4-2-3-1 formation.
Keira Barry, acquired from Manchester United and signed to a four-year deal, made her NWSL debut, subbing in at striker, and Caroline Conti, who played in the midfield last season, also subbed onto the front line, replacing Pfeiffer on the wing with 30 minutes to play.
Bay FC’s defense took a more aggressive alignment — two wing defenders played high when in possession and two center backs pitched in. In contrast, under former coach Albertín Montoya, the back line took a more conservative approach. Anderson, who has played at midfield throughout her career, played at center back, while Maddie Moreau started in place of Alyssa Malonson, who is out for the season with a torn ACL.
The most significant boost to Bay FC’s attack came from Coates’ focus on stabilizing the midfield. Her goal was to move away from the long-ball approach of the past and instead control possession through the center, allowing the group to build attacks methodically and link play more effectively.
Claire Hutton, the club’s highest-profile offseason acquisition and a rising U.S. women’s national team star, anchored the team throughout Saturday’s match. Her first appearance as holding midfielder changed the flow of the game. With Hutton, Huff, and Hannah Bebar in the midfield, the transitions were sharper than they were a year ago.
“They were fluid, and for such young players, really mature. They are brave and want to get on the ball,” Coates said of her midfield trio. “We’re starting to see the start of something really special.”