Monterey Bay FC women’s team announces its first players.

Prior to the second round of tryouts, Monterey Bay FC W announced the first three players who will join the women’s team. They are defender Izabella Tejada and midfielders Monserrat Hernandez Marquez and Vanessa Aguilar.

All of them are local players. 

“Launching into our first USL W League season is a proud moment for our club and our community,” said Laura VanWart, MBFC W’s head coach on a press release. “Bringing in three local talented players like this is just the beginning—we’re building something special, and they’ll play a key role in shaping our culture and success.”

Tejada grew up in Royal Oaks and currently plays for the University of Oregon. Prior to that, she played for Palma in high school and earned the 2025 Golden Boot Award for being the PCAL Cypress Division Offensive Player of the Year.  She also played internationally for Club Santos Laguna in Mexico for 2 years.

Hernandez, from Watsonville, played for Cal Poly for four years. She attended Aptos High School and her team won the Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League four consecutive times and was named Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League Most Valuable Player in back-to-back seasons in 2017-18. 

And lastly, Aguilar, a Soledad native who played locally for Soledad and Presentation high schools. She currently plays for the University of Washington and has international experience. In 2023, she played at the Montaigu Tournament in France for Mexico's women’s national team and has played for the team in the U-15 and U-17 levels.

VanWart says Hernandez and Aguilar were both at the tryouts in Salinas on March 8 and she’s familiar with the three players. “It's a very small world of soccer players,” VanWart says.

From the early tryouts, 22 players were invited to participate in the March 28 tryouts at Cardinale Stadium. 

“We're really just looking for the best players we can find so that we can create a competitive team," VanWart says, noting the team will have a few weeks to train together before its first game in May.