Just one year after making history as only the second expansion team to ever reach the NWSL playoffs in their inaugural season, Bay FC is back in the mix during their favorite part of the year. They’re on the hunt to prove their 2024 run wasn’t a fluke, and now that the second half of the season is officially underway after a summer break for international tournaments, Bay FC wants a repeat playoff appearance.
Bay FC forward Penelope Hocking joined the team late last season, in time for their playoff push, and she remembers the surge the team was on a year ago. The group won three of their last five games to launch themselves into the 2024 postseason as a seventh-seed, and in the quarterfinal, pushed eventual 2024 NWSL Championship runners-up Washington Spirit into extra time, where Hocking recorded her second assist with the team.
This year, she’s the club’s leading goal scorer with five goals, four of them scored over Bay FC’s last six games.
“I know teams were afraid to play us last year at this time, and they should fear us again this time of the year, just because we have something to prove,” Hocking said ahead of Bay FC’s rivalry weekend game on Sunday (1 p.m. ET, CBS).
“I know teams don’t take us lightly, even though we sit on the lower half of the standings. I know people are like, “Shit, we have to play Bay FC this weekend?’ like it’s gonna be a hard one.
Developing a rivalry
It’s hard to label a rivalry between two teams that have only met twice during one team’s first year of existence. While other clubs with regional feuds will meet this week, Bay FC will face Chicago Stars FC, on the road at Seatgeek Stadium for just the fourth time in their short franchise history. You factor in approximately one historic game at iconic ballpark Wrigley Field, and perhaps for some, it becomes the catalyst to market a rivalry.
While many NWSL faithful will be the first to call a manufactured rivalry deepfakes, there’s still plenty of lore around the upcoming game. Including Hocking’s arrival in the Bay Area from Chicago last year, and sometimes player movement between clubs builds rivalry more in the stands than on the pitch. Hocking’s focus is on her new club and teammates, their recent surge, and the career year she’s having — though it wasn’t an easy process in the beginning.
“It was super challenging. I don’t think I realized how challenging it was until I got there, just like, learning a new team, new structure, being in Chicago for almost two years, and then going into a brand new environment. It was, like, kind of a whirlwind, right in the beginning [for me] or end of season [for Bay] too,” she says of her arrival last year.
“But then getting to start fresh in preseason, and like, kind of learning the structure, and kind of getting my feet under me, is still really hard. I felt like, when I started scoring goals, they just kept coming. So it was, it’s been really nice. It’s been great. Like, I feel like we’ve been playing well … the ball’s just found my feet more. It’s found all of our feet more.”
Hocking’s sentiments mirror Bay FC’s desire to claw its way back into the 2025 postseason conversation. She was one player they made a move for last year to boost the roster, and they added more pieces with free agent defender Kelli Hubly, and first-year prospects in midfielders Taylor Huff and Hannah Bebar. There have been games this season that have shown the growing pains of a group evolving together, but the team is just three points off of the playoff line, and plenty of season still remains to make a statement.
“I feel like we have something to prove to the league,” Hocking says. “I think we’ve dropped points in games in the first half of the season where we really shouldn’t have, and honestly, like that pisses me off,” Hocking explained.
“Because, you know, I know we should win games. We know we can win games, we can. We’ve stayed with almost, probably, every single team in the league, and I have no doubt that we can beat any team in the league. I think we have such a great team. We’re peaking at the right time. And it’s just like that final piece, and once that clicks, I think we’ll be unstoppable.”
Hocking is approaching one year with Bay FC, after being drafted in 2023 and then traded from the Chicago Stars late mid-2024 season, and the differences in getting acclimated to a team mid-year vs. having an entire preseason to build with a squad is starting to show. Her five goals are outperforming her expected goal rate (xG 4.54), a career high and best on the team this season.
A new club environment and being close to home and family are just some of the differences for Hocking in her third year in the league. Adapting to new coaching styles and tactics has also played a role in her breakout year.
As for who has “won” the trade that sent Hocking for $350k in intra-league funds? Right now, it’s trending the Bay’s direction in terms of a career year for Hocking and the club being within striking distance of the playoff line, while Chicago is currently closer to elimination from contention than the actual postseason.
“The [Bay FC] coaching style is just, like, very, very different. And I loved [former Stars FC manager] Lorne’s [Donaldson] coaching style, and I also love our team’s coaching style. They’re just different and something to get used to. Also, like the personnel that, like we were playing with, I feel like we were playing a completely different structure and clearly different way than in Chicago,” Hocking said.
“So, just getting used to playing more possession style, rather than just try to get down and get to the goal in the least amount of passes as possible, like that was kind of our game plan in Chicago. And then getting here, more build-up play, possession-oriented. It was just a little different for me, even a lot of getting used to, but you know, I’m glad that I’m finally finding my feet and learning a lot about myself, and people around me too. It’s been a lot of fun.”
Second half playoff push
Building on budding chemistry will be key for Bay’s trajectory if they want a repeat appearance in the playoffs. Hocking’s attacking partnership with teammate Racheal Kundananji has stood out as the duo continues to build together. Kundananji’s relentless efforts are notable. Despite not having more goals (one) on her team leading 38 shots, it hasn’t stopped the player from repeatedly attacking the goal and constantly looking for Hocking as an extra outlet.
“It’s so great to play with someone like her. She just has that bite. And I have that. So I love that when someone just wants to go to goal and I’m like, I’m right there with you. It’s really cool to be able to play off her, and I feel like we’ve always had a little bit of connection, but playing alongside her just more and more, it just leads us to getting more and more comfortable, and I want us both to be unstoppable in the league,” said Hocking.
“Even in practice, like we’re always trying to be on the same page. If a rep doesn’t go our way, we’re always trying to fix it. We’ll even watch film together, like, we’ll point out things in games. So, I think we’re always trying to help each other out, and we’ve both been very receptive to each other’s feedback. So it’s been like a pleasure to work alongside her, just because she’s such a great teammate. She’s not only a great person on the field, but off the field, she’s a wonderful person too. It’s just been great, and I’m really excited to just continue to build a relationship.”
Balancing team and personal goals
Bay FC is a franchise still building team culture and history. While the club set the bar high with a playoff appearance in its inaugural season, there have been growing pains along the way. Ahead of the 2025 regular season, Bay FC coach Albertin Montoya was under investigation for allegations of a toxic work environment, and club executives stated Montoya would continue with the club as complaints were related to “communication challenges” and supported Montoya on the sidelines for 2025. Just last month, an investigative report found Montoya didn’t violate the NWSL harassment and bullying policy.
The group returned to the regular season with a 2-2 draw against Houston Dash. It’s already a better start to how they finished the first half of the season, on a two-game skid ahead of the summer international break. For Hocking and the team, a second-half push feels like a familiar place for them and a match load they’re ready to embrace.
“I think we have such a great team. We’re peaking at the right time. And you know, it’s just like that final piece, and once that clicks, like, I think we’ll be unstoppable. I know our team knows it too, like, we have so much confidence. When we’ve lost games, when we’ve gotten scored on, I’ve just seen us bounce back like so quickly, and we have that fight in us.”
