FC Gold Pride was an American professional

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

club based in the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area G ...

, which participated in

Women's Professional Soccer Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) was the top-level professional women's soccer league in the United States. It began play on March 29, 2009. The league was composed of seven teams for its first two seasons and fielded six teams for the 2011 sea ...

. The club replaced the

San Jose CyberRays San Jose CyberRays was a professional soccer team that played in the Women's United Soccer Association. The team played at Spartan Stadium on the South Campus of San José State University in San Jose, California. Stars included U.S. National ...

of the defunct

Women's United Soccer Association The Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA) was the world's first women's soccer league in which all the players were paid as professionals. Founded in February 2000, the league began its first season in April 2001 with eight teams in the Un ...

as the top-level women's soccer team in the

. FC Gold Pride moved to its final home of Pioneer Stadium on the campus of

CSU East Bay California State University, East Bay (Cal State East Bay, CSU East Bay, or CSUEB) is a public university in Hayward, California. The university is part of the 23-campus California State University system and offers 136 undergraduate and 60 post ...

in June 2010 after opening their 2010 home schedule at the Castro Valley High School Athletic Stadium. The club ceased operations in November 2010 after struggling financially and being unable to find new investors.

Team history

Founding

FC Gold Pride was founded on 3 September 2008 as the seventh and final team to join the new top tier Women's Professional Soccer league. The team is owned by a group led by Brian and Nancy NeSmith, the former being the CEO of

Sunnyvale Sunnyvale () is a city located in the Santa Clara Valley in northwest Santa Clara County in the U.S. state of California. Sunnyvale lies along the historic El Camino Real and Highway 101 and is bordered by portions of San Jose to the nort ...

-based internet technology company

Blue Coat Systems __FORCETOC__ Blue Coat Systems, Inc., was a company that provided hardware, software, and services designed for cybersecurity and network management. In 2016, it was acquired by and folded into Symantec. In 2019 was, as part of Symantec Enterprise ...

. Former San Jose Clash midfielder and local youth coach

Albertin Montoya Albertin Montoya (born February 19, 1975) is a Cuban-born American soccer coach and former player who played as a midfielder. He is currently the interim head coach of Washington Spirit. As a player, Montoya spent two seasons with the San Jose E ...

was named the team's first head coach, while former CyberRays and Brazilian National Team player Sissi was announced as the first assistant coach for FC Gold Pride on 29 September 2008. On 13 November 2008, the team's home venue was revealed to be Buck Shaw Stadium in Santa Clara, which it shares with

San Jose Earthquakes The San Jose Earthquakes are an American professional soccer team based in San Jose, California. The Earthquakes compete as a member club of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). Originally as the San Jose Clash, the franchise ...

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Cana ...

as well as the

Santa Clara University Santa Clara University is a private Jesuit university in Santa Clara, California. Established in 1851, Santa Clara University is the oldest operating institution of higher learning in California. The university's campus surrounds the historic Mis ...

soccer teams. The team revealed its official name and logo (FC Gold Pride) to the public for the first time on 19 November 2008. On 16 September 2008, the initial WPS player allocation was conducted, which consisted of U.S. Women's National Team players.

Nicole Barnhart Nicole Renee Barnhart (born October 10, 1981) is an American soccer player who plays as a goalkeeper for Washington Spirit in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). She previously played for FC Gold Pride and Philadelphia Independence in ...

, Leslie Osborne and Rachel Buehler were allocated to FC Gold Pride. On 24 September 2008, a further four players were allocated to the Bay Area via the 2008 WPS International Draft. The allocated players were strikers

Christine Sinclair Christine Margaret Sinclair (born June 12, 1983) is a Canadian professional soccer player who plays as a forward and captains both National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) club Portland Thorns FC and the Canadian national team. An Olympic g ...

(

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

) and Eriko Arakawa (

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

), along with two

Brazilians Brazilians ( pt, Brasileiros, ) are the citizens of Brazil. A Brazilian can also be a person born abroad to a Brazilian parent or legal guardian as well as a person who acquired Brazilian citizenship. Brazil is a multiethnic society, which ...

, midfielder Formiga and defender Érika. The Pride signed a one-year deal with Formiga in February 2009, as well as Arakawa, post-draft discovery pick

Adriane The name Adriane may refer to: *Adriane Carr (born 1952), Canadian academic, activist, and politician * Adriane dos Santos (born 1988), Brazilian association football player * Adriane Fugh-Berman, American medical researcher *Adriane Lenox (born 19 ...

(

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

), Érika, and Sinclair. At the

2009 WPS Draft The 2009 WPS Draft took place on January 16, 2009. It was the first draft held by Women's Professional Soccer to assign the WPS rights of college players to the American-based teams, though other players not previously assigned could be drafted as ...

, FC Gold Pride drafted three former college stars:

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

midfielder

Christina DiMartino Christina DiMartino (born November 6, 1986) is an American professional soccer midfielder. She previously played for the Philadelphia Independence of the WPS and was a member of the United States women's national soccer team. Early life Born i ...

, Notre Dame defender

Carrie Dew Caroline Frances Dew (born December 8, 1986) is an American former soccer defender who last played for Sky Blue FC of Women's Professional Soccer (WPS). Personal Dew was born in San Diego, California and grew up in the city of Encinitas, Ca ...

, and Penn State forward Tiffany Weimer. Also amongst the 2009 draftees was former United States national team star

Brandi Chastain Brandi Denise Chastain (born July 21, 1968) is an American retired soccer player, two-time FIFA Women's World Cup champion, two-time Olympic gold-medalist, coach, and sports broadcaster. She played for the United States national team from 1988 ...

2009 WPS season

FC Gold Pride won their inaugural WPS game against the

Boston Breakers The Boston Breakers were an American professional soccer club based in the Boston neighborhood of Allston. The team competed in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). They replaced the original Breakers, who competed in the defunct Women's ...

on April 5, 2009. The club remained in strong contention until defender Kandace Wilson was injured during a home game against the Los Angeles Sol. After that, FC Gold Pride's second loss at the hands of the

Washington Freedom Washington Freedom was an American professional soccer club based in the Washington, D.C., suburb of Germantown, Maryland, that participated in Women's Professional Soccer. The Freedom was founded in 2001 as a member of the defunct Women's Unite ...

marked the beginning of the club's slide to the bottom of the WPS rankings, where it would remain for the rest of the season. The club's transactions in the wake of Wilson's injury included signing Los Angeles Sol draftee Greer Barnes, elevating developmental player Marisa Abegg to the full roster, and returning Sissi to the field as a player. In the end, FC Gold Pride failed to make the 2009 Women's Professional Soccer Playoffs, after a must-win game against the Saint Louis Athletica ended in a 1–1 draw. The club finally snapped its ten-game winless streak with a final 3–2 win against the

on August 1, 2009. However, a last loss to Sky Blue FC and a tie with Saint Louis Athletica did not allow FC Gold Pride to avoid finishing last in the WPS standings.

2009–2010 off-season moves

The only player FC Gold Pride lost to the

2009 WPS Expansion Draft The 2009 WPS Expansion Draft was a special draft for the Women's Professional Soccer teams Atlanta Beat and Philadelphia Independence, taking place on September 15, 2009. Each expansion team made 9 selections from the existing seven WPS teams. Fo ...

was defender

Leigh Ann Robinson Leigh Ann Brown (; born August 17, 1986) is an American former soccer defender. She previously played for FC Kansas City of the National Women's Soccer League, FC Gold Pride, Atlanta Beat, and the Philadelphia Independence of the Women's Profe ...

, chosen by the Atlanta Beat. Over the course of the offseason, the club traded Allison Whitworth to the Atlanta Beat, and released several players, including team captain Leslie Osborne, leading assist-getter Tiffany Weimer, Eriko Arakawa, Formiga, and

. Osborne and Weimer would later join the

, and Formiga was taken by the Chicago Red Stars. The club signed Niki Cross (later to rejoin her first WPS club, Saint Louis Athletica), and Candace Chapman. After scouting the 2009 UEFA Women's Championship, the club signed Norwegian international Solveig Gulbrandsen. In what was considered a major coup, FC Gold Pride signed Los Angeles Sol player

Camille Abily Camille Anne Françoise Abily (born 5 December 1984) is a French football manager and former player, best known as a star midfielder for both the French women's national team and for the Lyon club in the Division 1 Féminine. She currently is t ...

, trading midfielder

, FC Gold Pride's top

pick, to Los Angeles. The club also had a successful 2010 WPS Draft, drafting 2009

Hermann Trophy The Hermann Trophy is awarded annually by the Missouri Athletic Club to the United States's top men's and women's college soccer players. History In 1967, Bob Hermann, the president of the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) and th ...

winner

Kelley O'Hara Kelley Maureen O'Hara (born August 4, 1988) is an American soccer player, two-time FIFA Women's World Cup champion, and Olympic gold medalist. She currently plays as a defender for the Gotham FC in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) and ...

, New Zealand international Ali Riley, and 2008 U-20 World Cup champions Becky Edwards and Kaley Fountain, among others. The Los Angeles Sol ceased operations not long afterwards; in the ensuing 2010 WPS Dispersal Draft, FC Gold Pride acquired

Marta Marta may refer to: People * Marta (given name), a feminine given name * Märta, a feminine given name * Marta (surname) : István Márta composer * Marta (footballer) (born 1986), Brazilian professional footballer Places * Marta (river ...

Kiki Bosio Kiara Michelle "Kiki" Bosio (born November 3, 1987) is an American former soccer player from Mission Viejo, California. She played as a forward for the Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) club FC Gold Pride and the United States women's national ...

, and

Lindsay Browne Lindsay may refer to: People *Clan Lindsay, a Scottish family clan *Lindsay (name), an English surname and given name, derived from the Scottish clan name; variants include Lindsey, Lyndsay, Linsay, Linsey, Lyndsey, Lyndsy, Lynsay, Lynsey Places ...

. Another Los Angeles Sol player,

Brittany Cameron Brittany Taylor Cameron (born December 3, 1986) is an American soccer goalkeeper who currently employed by Wake Forest as women's soccer assistant head coach. Early life Cameron grew up in Dublin, California and attended Dublin High School. Du ...

, was also signed separately as a free agent.

2010 Season

FC Gold Pride started fast and kept its momentum running throughout the 2010 season. Despite the departure of Solveig Gulbrandsen and trading Kaley Fountain to the Atlanta Beat, the Pride dominated the league's regular season and on September 26, 2010, won their first WPS Championship by defeating the

Philadelphia Independence The Philadelphia Independence was an American professional soccer club that was based in the Philadelphia suburb of Chester, Pennsylvania. The team joined Women's Professional Soccer as an expansion team in 2010 and played its home games at West ...

, 4–0. Three members of the team garnered end of season honors:

was named Player of the Year and won the Golden Boot, both for the second consecutive season;

was named Goalkeeper of the Year; and Ali Riley was named Rookie of the Year. After the close of the 2010 season it was revealed on November 16, 2010 that FC Gold Pride had folded and would not be returning for the 2011 season.

Players

Final squad

:''As of 12 August 2010.''

Team captains

* Leslie Osborne (2009) * Rachel Buehler (2009– ) *

(2010– )

Final coaching staff

:''As of January 2010.''

Head coaches

:''Information correct as of 11 August 2009. Only competitive matches (regular season and playoffs) are counted. Wins, draws, and losses are results at the final whistle; the results of penalty shootouts are not counted.

General manager

* Ilisa Kessler (1 November 2008 – 16 November 2010)

Year-by-year

Team records

* Games:

Kristen Graczyk Kristen Marie Graczyk (born June 27, 1983) is an American former soccer forward and defender who played for FC Gold Pride of Women's Professional Soccer. Her brother, Mike Graczyk, is a goalkeeper and played for San Jose Earthquakes in Major ...

, 20 * Goals:

, 6 * Assists: Tiffany Weimer, 3 * Shutouts:

, 2

WPS awards

Michelle Akers Player of the Year Award Women's Professional Soccer hands out a number of yearly awards. Six were awarded from the start in 2009 and one more, the Rookie of the year award, was added in 2010. The first five awards listed are voted on by fans, players & coaches, and media, ...

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

* Goalkeeper of the Year **

* Rookie of the Year ** Ali Riley,

* WPS Golden Boot **

*''Winners'' (1):