To build its new women’s team, Monterey Bay FC partnered with local clubs.

On a sunny Sunday morning, 50 female soccer players, ranging in age from 18 to over 30, showed up at the Salinas Regional Soccer Complex to try out for local women’s semi- or pre-professional soccer teams.

Cosmos Femenil FC has won eight trophies since it started back in 2022, competing in the Women’s NorCal Division of the United Premier Soccer League and part of the nonprofit Salinas Soccer Femenil. Monterey Bay FC’s Sirens began in January as an entry in the United Soccer League W.

To jumpstart the Sirens squad, MBFC partnered with both SSF and the Cosmos. “It’s a very high-level league, and having the support of Monterey FC really just elevates it to a new level, and it gives an opportunity to our local players and from our surrounding area to really achieve something special,” says Laura VanWart, head coach of both the Sirens and CSU Monterey Bay.

The Central Coast is a seedbed for soccer players, both male and female. Salinas Soccer Femenil focuses on providing opportunities for female players, including a Sunday soccer league and a girls academy. Manuela Rangel, SSF’s co-founder, says the goal is to provide local players with a path to pro.

Coaches from both the Cosmos and Sirens observe tryouts and will meet to decide which players to add to the rosters. Some will qualify for both teams, and there is an advantage for athletes: more playing time. For now, the USL has a limited schedule.

Alessandra Tejada from Gonzales, a freshman player with the Hartnell College Panthers, participated in the first tryout on Sunday, March 8. She says she found out about it online and told her friends and teammates.

“I was like, ‘Why not go try out for a [semi] pro team?’ And I sent the invite out to my friends, asking if they wanted to come, join the tryouts with me,” Tejada says, adding that the competition was fierce. “It makes everyone work extra hard.”

On Saturday, March 28, the Sirens conducted another tryout, and 22 players who attended the previous one were invited to participate. (Tejada did not make it to the second round.)

The squad members are yet to be announced, but VanWart says the team will have a mix of young and older players, some out of high school or college, and some with professional experience. Their first game is in May.

The Sirens’ first game is at 7pm on Saturday, May 9 at Cardinale Stadium against Stockton Cargo.