Bay FC find themselves in control of their own destiny heading into their final game of the regular season.

This Saturday, Bay FC will be visiting the Houston Dash, and losing is not an option for the away side. They need a single point to qualify for the postseason, which would make them the second expansion team in NWSL history to make the playoffs. The San Diego Wave did so during the 2022 season. 

It took a lot of hard work, and some personnel changes for their season to reach this point. 

Asisat Oshoala, for example, kept Bay’s playoff hopes alive when the organization went through a massive goal drought. Rachel Hill scored a brace, while Joelle Anderson added one of her own in a 3-1 victory against the Portland Thorns on August 30.

After that though, the offense completely dried up for Bay FC, except for one player. Oshoala scored in their next match, earning the team a crucial three points over Racing Louisville which has the potential to be the exact reason that Bay makes it into the post-season. She scored again in the following match, helping her side to a 1-1 draw against the North Carolina Courage on the road.

The Orlando Pride were able to maintain a clean sheet against Bay FC on September 20, before Oshoala scored once again against the Seattle Reign on a penalty, again giving her team a 1-0 win. She got Bay’s only goal in a 5-1 loss to NY/NJ Gotham.

It took until October 19 for a player not named Oshoala to score a goal, when center-back Abby Dahlkemper scored a crucial 83rd-minute goal against the Courage to secure a 1-0 victory.

Speaking of Dahlkemper, the decision to acquire the Menlo Park native was a major turning point in the season as well. When the veteran joined Bay FC, the environment around the team shifted completely. They were more confident and just having her in the lineup gave every single player a boost. 

Losing  Kayla Sharples as a result wasn’t ideal, as she was a key part of the team’s success early in the season but it was a business decision that needed to be made.

In the midfield, players like Tess Boade, Kiki Pickett and Dorian Bailey stepped up when Alex Loera went down with a season-ending injury against the Kansas City Current in April. 

Heading into their final regular season game, Bay FC need to have their most complete game of the season. A single point against the last-place team in the NWSL, the Houston Dash,  doesn’t sound difficult on paper. It’s far from a guarantee though, as the Dash would undoubtedly love to play spoiler. 

There were an abundance of small moments, and some major ones as well, that led to a massively important final weekend for Bay. Now, they’ll need to take advantage of just one more moment. They have their fate resting in their own hands, and a potential playoff berth on the horizon.