Bay FC midfielder Catherine Paulson (17) takes the ball down the field against the Angel FC defender Sophia Mattice (25) during their exhibition match at Pay Pal Park in San Jose on Sat Jul 19, 2025 (Bay Area News Group photo)

By William Espy

SAN JOSE–Bay FC got the 2025 Summer Series underway with an exhibition match against state rivals Angel City FC on Saturday afternoon that finished in a 1-1 draw at Pay Pal Park in San Jose.

Both sides had quite a few players unavailable, as many of the top talents are off representing their country in various international tournaments taking place this summer. As a result, quite a few players got opportunities to show what they can do and how they can make an impact.

Angel City opened the scoring in the 27th minute, when Jun Endo, who has yet to play in a regular season game this season due to injury, beat Emmie Allen and made it 1-0 in favor of the visitors. Catherine Paulson was taken down inside of the box late in the half, but there was no foul called.

Coach Albertin Montoya was livid, and after a conversation with the referee he was shown a yellow card. Kiki Pickett would also be shown a yellow herself in the 43rd minute.

Catherine Paulson was having a strong performance for Bay FC, however her aggression did lead to some mistakes. She was clearly hungry to show what she can bring to the table.

Bay FC would get an equalizer in the second half, when Penelope Hocking had a phenomenal one-touch finish off of a cross from Maddie Moreau, who entered the match after halftime.

Bay would carry a lot of pressure late in the match, with Kiki Pickett, Hocking and Jamie Shepherd all having chances in the final ten minutes of the match to give Bay FC the lead, but none of them found their way into the net.

Ultimately, the not-so-friendly, exhibition match would end in a 1-1 draw. Bay FC will have one more friendly before getting back to regular season action, as they’ll host Urawa Red Diamonds of the Japanese WE league on Sunday.