SAN JOSE — Fresh off an assist in her first game with Bay FC, Penelope Hocking tried to be modest when asked how she’s fitting in with her new team.
Asisat Oshoala was not going to tolerate modesty.
“She said she was just an addition to the speed we already have up front. I don’t think the same,” Oshoala said. “I feel like she’s a special type of player, and she has speed, which is an addition to her talent. She uses the ball for everybody; you could see that in today’s game. Without P on the ball, we wouldn’t have scored the goal we had today. So I think that’s a sign that we made a good trade.”
“I think it’s a good deal for us, to be honest.”
Hocking opened the scoring for Oshoala at PayPal Park on Saturday night as Bay FC (8-0-11) beat Racing Louisville FC 1-0 to move up to seventh place in the standings. And while it’s far too early to definitively say Hocking is a steal, Bay FC is more than happy to add his talents to a team that’s playing some of its best games of the year.
“She adds a shot with her right foot, left foot and head,” Bay FC head coach Albertin Montoya said. “She has that kind of tenacity and she’s a winner.”
Hocking’s productive debut comes a week after Menlo Park native Abby Dahlkemper, acquired in a trade from San Diego, scored a goal in her own debut as Bay FC easily beat the Portland Thorns, 3-1.
Bay FC’s player base and identity have evolved over the course of its first NWSL season, with the recent weeks highlighted by the additions of Dahlkemper and Hocking. With seven games remaining, Oshoala is confident the team is playing one of its most consistent games of the year.
“Some days you feel frustrated… because what you’re used to is different than what you’re starting from now,” Oshala said. “But I look at the big picture, and the big picture is what’s happening right now. We’re six steps ahead of where we started.”
Tonight’s game wasn’t mathematically a must-win game for Bay FC, but the win gives the team some breathing room before an absolutely brutal end to the regular season. Of Bay FC’s seven remaining games, five are against teams that are firmly in playoff contention: the North Carolina Courage (twice), Orlando Pride, Gotham FC, and Kansas City Current.
A loss to Racing Louisville FC would have made life difficult for Bay FC late in the game. For the first three quarters of the game, a crushing defeat was not out of reach.
Bay FC and Racing Louisville FC both entered the half without a goal. At halftime, Bay FC held the advantage in shots (eight to six), shots on goal (three to two), corner kicks (three to one) and time of possession (52%). Bay FC had several prime opportunities, including around the 13th minute when they had two chances in the back of the net following a Racheal Kundananji corner kick, but were narrowly denied both times.
The stalemate continued until the end of the second half. That seemed to change when Kundananji forced a Louisville defender to the turf with an ankle breaker, but Dorian Bailey wasn’t ready for the next pass and Bay FC couldn’t get a shot off. A sea of cheers turned into a collection of groans.
In the 74th minute, Hocking and Oshoala finally gave their home crowd a reason to stand and scream.
“I tried to pass the ball to Tess (Boade), try to slide it so she could get it back to Z (Oshoala),” Hocking said. “Then I saw she got intercepted by the other Louisville girl. I saw her kind of trip. It was my time to get the ball and get it to Z, and Z put it in play like she does.”
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