Bay Cities FC is finding its footing

“That’s not bad for an expansion team with the lowest payroll in the league,” said Anders Perez, team president and head coach, who spent the previous seven years as the general manager of youth club Juventus Academy Silicon Valley, based in Redwood City.

BCFC received a jolt of publicity when it played a pair of U.S. Open matches at PayPal Park in San Jose, home of Major League Soccer’s San Jose Earthquakes. Bay Cities earned its first-ever victory with an 2-1 Open Cup win over Monterey Bay FC, followed by a second-round meeting with the Quakes.

While the MLS showed the NISA squad there is still quite a gap between the two — the Earthquakes posted a 5-0 win — Perez and Bay Cities saw it as a step toward legitimacy.

“We wish we could have gone against the Earthquakes 12 games in (to the season). We might have given them a better game,” Perez said.

There is a for the confidence. Bay Cities dropped a 2-0 decision to Valley United FC after the loss to San Jose, but DCFC seemed to turn the corner April 23. Although it lost to Cal United Strikers FC, BCFC scored its first league goals, getting a brace from Anthony Orendain in a 4-3 loss.

A week later, playing in front of the home fans at Sequoia Stadium on the campus of Sequoia High School, BCFC earned the first NISA win in club history, posting a 3-1 win over Albion San Diego April 30. Orendain picked up his third goal of the season with a second-half penalty kick, while Josiah Romero and Antonio Jimenez opened their BCFC scoring accounts. Bay Cities made it two in a row and picked up its first road win on Romero’s strike in the 85th minute in a 1-0 decision over Los Angeles Force May 7.

Last weekend, Cal United Strikers FC slowed BCFC’s roll with a 1-0 win. Bay Cities sits at 2-2-3 (using the world standings of wins-draws-losses).

“Chemistry plays a big part of it. Learning the nuances of player movement and understanding each other. It took a while (to develop that chemistry) and we knew it would take a while,” Perez said. “70% of the (BCFC) players are rookies who had never played a pro game. You’re going against veteran pros.

“Most of [our] players are coming out of three-month seasons. Now they’re playing a 10-month season. The amount of training — everything is different.

“We knew what this team has. This team hasn’t even scratched the surface.”

Next up for Bay Cities is an East Coast swing to play its next three games against East Division sides Maryland Bobcats FC (3-2-2), Michigan Stars FC (2-2) and Chattanooga FC (1-2-1). Bay Cities will return home for a June 1 match against Flower City Union, based in Rochester, New York.

Perez, however, said there is some uncertainty with COVID possibly affecting the road trip.

Bay Cities FC is about more than just wins and losses, however. For Perez and the front office, the team is about giving professional opportunities to those who otherwise might not get a chance.

And it’s not just giving chances to anybody. Bay Cities is specifically targeting local Peninsula and Greater Bay Area talent.

It’s not just on the field BCFC is trying to keep it local. Perez is joined by Nick Dye, who spent three seasons coaching the Aragon varsity girls’ team and is now BCFC’s director of performance. Eric Bucchere, who coached at Menlo College as well as the short-lived Burlingame Dragons, is the club’s sporting director.

“It’s difficult to do this in this landscape (starting a new professional team). There have been so many San Francisco-based teams who have come and gone,” Perez said. “The players have known that they’re here to represent their families, their demographics and to lay the path for future kids.

“Someone has to build the bridge. They’re building that bridge now. Ultimately, this will be a community resource. Bay Cities represents opportunities.”

To that end, Bay Cities is preparing to launch a women’s semi-professional team that will compete in a newly-formed division of the United Premier Soccer League. Perez said the ultimate goal is to have the women’s team fronted and managed by women.

“We want it to be led by women,” Perez said. “We want to show that women in soccer have a place.”

In the meantime, BCFC will continue to try and grow on and off the field. To show how far the club has come in a short amount of time, the team announced last week that starting goalkeeper Ian McGrane had been sold to St. Louis FC, which will be joining MLS as an expansion team in 2023. McGrane started five of the first six games for Bay Cities, posting a pair of shutouts and earning the win over Monterey Bay.

“We sold our goalkeeper. The magnitude of that is unheard of. Fourth-division teams are not supposed to sell players,” Perez said. “The talent is here. It’s just about giving more opportunities.

“It just speaks to the players, really. We’re really going to raise some eyebrows.”