San Francisco's Oracle Park the Stage as Bay FC Welcomes Washington Spirit to Bay Area
NWSL Bay FC

San Francisco's Oracle Park the Stage as Bay FC Welcomes Washington Spirit to Bay Area

Published on August 22, 2025 under National Women's Soccer League (NWSL)
Bay FC News Release


SAN JOSE, Calif. - Bay FC plays its second straight home match this week as Washington Spirit visits the Bay Area. Set to be played on the shore of the San Francisco Bay at one of the country's most iconic and picturesque venues, Oracle Park, home of the San Francisco Giants. With a scheduled kickoff of 1 p.m. PT, the match will broadcast nationally on CBS with Chris Wittyngham and Lori Lindsey on the call.

It's sure to be an energy-packed day as a record crowd descends on downtown San Francisco. With ticket sales already surpassing the NWSL single-game attendance mark, the game promises to shatter the previous record and set a new high bar for single-match attendance for any U.S. women's professional league, across all sports.

The first 20,000 fans in attendance will receive a Bay FC x Oracle Park flag, and fans are urged to arrive early to take in special performances inside and outside of the ballpark. It's the first women's professional soccer match held at the venue.

The highly anticipated match will see the 2024 NWSL finalist Washington Spirit make their second trip to the Bay Area. When Bay FC traveled to the capital earlier this season, the club had two goals reversed on video review, while Washington forward Ashley Hatch scored a brace to hand her team the victory.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Bay FC midfielder Caroline Conti: Conti converted from the penalty spot for her third goal of the season last week vs. San Diego, her club-record third penalty conversion. As the second half of the season has kicked off, Conti has seen her role shift to include more responsibilities behind the ball and in the build-up. She's been a major key to the club's strong chance creation all season, stabilizing the middle of the pitch and opening windows for her teammates to threaten.

Washington Spirit forward Trinity Rodman: When Rodman is on the pitch she commands attention. The U.S. Women's National Team standout is a transcendent talent who makes an impact nearly every time out. After missing a bulk of the season due to injury, she returned to the lineup Aug. 3 and found the net immediately, scoring the game-winner in stoppage time vs. the Portland Thorns.

RECORD CROWD IN STORE

Wednesday, Bay FC announced that ticket sales for the match had surpassed 35,000, making it not just the most-attended NWSL match ever but also the highest-attended game from any U.S. professional women's league, across all sports. It's not a milestone new to the Bay Area, however, of the top 50 most attended women's professional league games, the Bay Area has been represented four times. In addition to The Show in 2025 and last year's match at Wrigley Field, the San Jose Cyber Rays were part of the 2001 WUSA Inaugural Match (34,148) and 2001 WUSA Championship Match (21,078).

IN A GOOD CROWD

Bay FC is expecting a record-breaking crowd at Saturday's match, but the club is no stranger to record setting crowds. After opening their home account in 2024 to a sell-out crowd of 18,000 fans at PayPal Park - then the largest stand-alone crowd in Bay Area Women's Soccer History. The club was the visitor for three other club's highest attendance matches. Topping them all was Bay FC's visit to Wrigley Field in Chicago.

35,038 fans piled into The Friendly Confines to see midfielders Kiki Pickett and Joelle Anderson lead the visitors to victory. Leading into Saturday's match, Bay FC sales have already surpassed that number and the club has its eyes set on filling up the 40,000 seat venue.

Despite this being the first professional women's soccer match at the iconic San Francisco venue, Oracle Park is no stranger to high-level football. Saturday's match will be the eighth professional soccer match played at Willie Mays' Field. Real Madrid vs Club América attracted 40,630 fans, with the United States Men's National Team 3-2 victory over Japan coming in second with 37,365 fans.

WELCOME BACK TO THE BAY AREA

Friday, Bay FC bolstered its defensive unit with the acquisition of defender Sydney Collins from the North Carolina Courage. The Beaverton, Oregon native and UC Berkeley product joined the club via trade, and in a move to secure the club's back line for the future, Bay FC has signed Collins to a two-year contract through 2027 with a team option for 2028. She'll be available for selection Saturday vs. Washington

OPPONENT REPORT

Washington visits the Bay Area playing its third match in eight days. The club was in action Tuesday abroad, where it hung seven goals on Honduran side Alianza in its Concacaf W Champions Cup debut. In league play, the club has opened the second half of 2025 unbeaten on one win and two draws. The club currently occupies fourth place in the league standings but sits just one point back of second place San Diego. Late-game heroics have been a theme since the calendar turned to August, with a pair of stoppage-time scores leading the club to results Aug. 3 against the Thorns and last week vs. Racing Louisville.

The Spirit has seen some personnel shuffling this summer, with manager Jonatan Giráldez moving back overseas for the head job at France's Première Ligue club, Olympique Lyon. Longtime assistant Adrián González has taken back the helm in his stead as the permanent manager. The Spaniard formerly held the interim tag for the club prior to Giraldez's arrival last season. On its roster, the NWSL's first Italian, forward Sofia Cantore, signed a three-year deal July 17 has made an instant impact with her new club.

HEAD-TO-HEAD HISTORY - BAY vs WAS

Bay FC and Washington last met March 28 at Washington, with the hosts taking a 2-0 victory behind a brace from Spirit forward Ashley Hatch. Despite the scoreline Bay FC had the better of their foes in the second half and nearly equalized but had two goals taken off the board after video review.

The two clubs have a history of tightly contested, exciting matchups. The first meeting between the two clubs in 2024 seemed destined to end in a 1-1 draw, before Washington found the net late in stoppage time for the game-winner. The two clubs met in the postseason last November, a match that required extra time after Bay FC scored first and Washington netted an equalizer at the death. The hosts came away victorious in their run to the 2024 title match, winning 2-1.

GET IN EARLY

Fans are encouraged to arrive early to Saturday's match as a number of pre-match performances are set to bring the energy leading into kickoff. DJ's Ruckus, Bitesize, and Umami will spin inside and outside the stadium leading to the opening whistle. Oakland native Mistah F.A.B will take the stage on the third base dugout pre-match, and Pinole native P-Lo is set to perform at the halftime break. The first 20,000 fans in attendance will receive a Bay FC x Oracle Park flag to wave for all 90 minutes as the cheer on the club.

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National Women's Soccer League Stories from August 22, 2025


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