San Jose, Calif. (04/04/2026) – The Washington Spirit will travel to the west coast this weekend for an away match against Bay FC at San Jose’s PayPal Park. Kicking off at 5 p.m. EDT, the match will broadcast nationally on ESPN2.
The Spirit
Washington enters Sunday’s matchup with Bay FC still in search of the team’s first win of the season. Despite its difficulty getting in the win column thus far, the Spirit has collected points in three straight matches, drawing Louisville, Utah and Denver over the past two weeks. Washington currently sits just three points back of the playoff line and nine points from the top of the table with 26 matches to go.
Last weekend, the Spirit earned a hard-fought point in a scoreless draw with expansion side Denver Summit FC in the team’s first-ever home match. In front of a new NWSL record 63,004 fans at Empower Field at Mile High, goalkeeper Sandy MacIver tallied her first career regular season clean sheet as Washington brought a point back to DC.
The Spirit carries a perfect 5-0-0 all-time record against Bay FC into this weekend’s matchup, sweeping each of the past two regular season series and taking a 2-1 win in the sides’ 2024 quarterfinal meeting. Washington is also unbeaten on the road against Bay FC as it won its first trip to San Jose two years ago with a resound 3-0 win before winning 3-2 at San Francisco’s Oracle Park last August in front of a then-record 40,091 fans.
While the Spirit trails Bay FC in goals and assists so far in 2026, it leads the side in shots, shots on target, rate of possession and total big chances. With 6.5 expected goals for and just three goals scored this year, Washington has the worst difference in expected vs actual goals, showing the side’s strong ability to create chances on the attack but unfavorable finishing rate through four matches. Watch for the Spirit attack to come out strong in looking to break through this weekend. With a win by two or more goals this weekend, the Spirit can vault itself above the playoff line into eighth place on the table heading into the international break.
Following Sunday’s match, the NWSL will break from play as players head out for international duty. Once regular season action resumes, the Spirit will host the defending Shield winner Kansas City Current at Audi Field on Friday, April 24. Information on tickets can be found HERE.
The Opponent
Bay FC approaches Sunday’s meeting off its best three-match start to a season in club history with two wins and one loss. Last weekend, the side bested the North Carolina Courage with an impressive 3-1 win on the road in which it took a commanding 3-0 lead in the first 34 minutes of action.
With a win this weekend, Bay FC would reach the nine-point mark after just four matches, compared to its first two campaigns when the side didn’t reach the threshold until matches ten and nine, respectively. In order to reach this mark before next week’s international break, the northern California-based side needs to break its five-match drought against Washington and get its first-ever win in the series.
In contrast to the Spirit, Bay FC has seen a positive difference between goals for and expected goals for, with a +2.2 margin, good for second-best in the league. Through the first three weeks of regular season action, Bay FC has not created as many attacking chances as Washington but has been able to finish at a much higher rate.
Sunday’s match will also see two forwards that took the league by storm in their teens face off. The Spirit’s Trinity Rodman and Bay FC’s Alex Pfeiffer both entered the NWSL as teenagers and became immediate contributors on the attacking end. With her goal and assist performance last week, Pfeiffer joined Rodman and global star Sam Kerr as the only three players in league history to record multiple matches with a goal and an assist before turning 21.
Following tomorrow’s match and the international break, Bay FC will travel to New Jersey to face Gotham FC on Saturday, April 25 at 1 p.m. EDT.
All-Time Series History
The Spirit holds a perfect 5-0-0 record against Bay FC with a +8 goal differential (12-4) across all competitions. Since the start of Bay FC’s inaugural season in 2024, Washington has swept both regular season series against the side and won a quarterfinal matchup with the San Jose-based club in November 2024.
About The Washington Spirit
The Washington Spirit is the premier professional women’s soccer team based in Washington, D.C. and plays at Audi Field in Buzzard Point. The Spirit was founded on November 21, 2012 and is an inaugural member of the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) the fastest growing sports league in the US. The club is home to some of the best players in the world who have won championships for both club and country. For more information about the Spirit, visit WashingtonSpirit.com and follow the club on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
