Bay FC's Kayla Sharples Has Historic Homecoming Ahead
This Saturday, Bay FC returns from the international break and heads to Chicago to play in historic Wrigley Field.
Bay FC returns from the international break this Saturday with a historic game for the NWSL. They’ll be playing against the Chicago Red Stars at the home of the Chicago Cubs, Wrigley Field. Although this occasion will be noteworthy for every player on both teams, it’ll undoubtedly be an important night for Kayla Sharples specifically.
The 26-year-old defender was born and grew up in Naperville, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. When it came time for her to reach the collegiate level, she remained local and attended Northwestern University in Evanston. She helped them reach a level of success that the team had never before seen.
The program reached the NCAA Tournament four straight years and won a Big Ten Championship in 2016. During her time in college, she nearly set a record for most consecutive starts with 87 however it would’ve been physically impossible for her to do more, as she started every single game during her tenure with the Wildcats. Defensively, Northwestern played phenomenally over those four years, recording 47 clean sheets and Sharples was a big part of that.
As Bay FC fans will know, she was no stranger to scoring goals from the back line, and she had found the goal nine times over her collegiate career. As a result, she was drafted 26th overall in the 2019 NWSL College Draft by her hometown team, and Bay FC’s next opposition, the Red Stars.
Despite her success at the NCAA level, the professional game is always a different animal. She played a total of 13 minutes during her first season in the NWSL and started two games the following season before going on loan in Finland with Kuopion Palloseura.
In 2021, she returned to the NWSL and had a much bigger role than she had previously. She appeared in 14 games for the Red Stars and started 12. It wasn’t enough for her to maintain a place in the team for the following season though, as she’d once again go on loan, this time to Adelaide United in the Australian A-League. She started 11 games for Adelaide and they ultimately finished third in the league that season. It was during this stint though that Sharples scored her first recorded professional goal, however, it’s worth noting I was unable to find records of her loan in Finland so it’s possible she may have scored there as well.
She would return to the NWSL for the next two seasons and play a total of 19 more games for the Red Stars. She also scored her first NWSL goal during the 2023 season against the Kansas City Current. At the end of the season, she became a free agent and signed with the league’s newest team, Bay FC. Since then, she’s shown that she belongs in the NWSL through her steady performances on the back line and at one point early in the season her two goals led the team in goal scoring. As a result, she’s even been moved forward when trailing late in the game. While the team as a whole has struggled, Sharples has been experiencing a breakout season in San Jose.
Now, she returns home to face off against the team she spent five seasons with on their own turf for the first time. Earlier this season, Sharples and Bay FC hosted the Red Stars and ultimately lost 2-1. Now, Sharples has a chance to prove herself against her former team on one of the NWSL’s biggest regular season stages, a game that will be remembered as a big part of the league’s history.
The team has set a goal to not lose to the same team twice, both players and head coach Albertin Montoya have discussed that principle multiple times this season. For Sharples in particular though, there’s added motivation to make sure her hometown team doesn’t walk out of Saturday’s affair with any points. She’ll meet with the media on Friday to discuss the upcoming match as well.