Where to Support Professional Women’s Hockey, Soccer and Rugby in the Bay Area
Growing up in New Jersey, Christina Ellerby was fixated on watching ice hockey from a young age. Naturally, she wanted to start playing herself.
She started with roller blades, recalling how her dad would “throw me around on the pavement until I eventually just stood up.”
“I eventually got to play in a roller hockey league when I was like 11, 12, 13 — but I was the only woman in the entire league,” she said.
But the ice hockey hopes were dashed.
“My mom was basically like, ‘You aren’t playing ice hockey. You’re going to get hurt,’” Ellerby said, explaining that the games in the league would include competitive contact, like bodychecking, with boys. “She refused to sign the waiver.”
But years later, the chance to get on the ice came back. When Ellerby moved to San Francisco, someone posted a flyer for “Give Hockey a Try Day,” a biannual event hosted by the Northern California Women’s Hockey League that allows anyone — including first-time skaters — to play low-key, controlled plays on the rink.
“I had not skated in 15 years, and I was like, ‘I’m still going to do this,’” she said.
The NCWHL notes that many players go on to become league regulars after starting with the “Give Hockey a Try Day,” a distinction that now belongs to Ellerby, who has returned for three seasons.
Around the same time Ellerby joined the NCWHL, the Professional Women’s Hockey League officially launched in 2023.
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Ellerby was enthralled. “I had pretty much just incessantly started watching it,” she said.
And this season, the pro league will be heading to the Bay Area, with a new team establishing itself at San José’s SAP Center.
The PWHL expansion is coming at a time when the Bay Area is getting national recognition for being a hot spot for women’s sports teams. Along with ice hockey, the Bay Area this year also became home to a professional baseball and volleyball team.
“We’re witnessing the crazy history right now,” said San Francisco’s Ozzy Palacio, sports reporter and managing editor of the San Francisco State student paper Golden Gate Xpress. “It’s super awesome to be at the epicenter of it here in the Bay Area.”
As a companion to our previous guide to supporting women’s basketball and baseball in the Bay Area, we’ve now got a rundown of the region’s noncollege women’s teams in hockey, soccer and rugby — and how you can get involved with their enthusiastic fandoms locally, by supporting the teams and even trying the sports yourself.
Supporting women’s hockey in the Bay Area
What should I know about the professional sports team?
The Professional Women’s Hockey League has announced that it will be expanding to San José in May — and the team’s name has not been revealed yet. (The jury’s out whether it’ll be an equivalent of the San José Sharks, the men’s ice hockey team.)
But excitement has been mounting for the roster, which includes Olympians like Laila Edwards, Tia Chan and Rory Guilday. The new San José team will debut in late November during the 2026 PWHL season, playing at SAP Center.
All PWHL games have historically also been streamed on the league’s YouTube channel. The PWHL has a guide on its website on how to catch games for specific teams.
Tip for newcomers attending any games: Bring a jacket, because ice skating rinks are genuinely cold.
Where does the community hang out?
The place for hockey fans to really meet: rec leagues. The Northern California Women’s Hockey League has four divisions for different skill levels. The league also holds a “Give Hockey a Try” day twice a year, which Ellerby says is an affordable and accessible entry point for newbies.
The day costs $25, includes rented gear and requires no previous experience. Plus, if you decide to stick with it, used gear is then offered by the NCWHL at a deep discount.
There is also a beginner’s course for adults on ice hockey at a rink in Walnut Creek.
“There is a very supportive community,” Ellerby said. “It’s very much a community that realizes that the opportunities might not have been there for everybody. There’s people who start the season who can’t skate, and they do everything to train you so that you can.”
(One more incentive to get in with the NCWHL: Sometimes the PWHL will reach out to host events where you can skate with key players.)
The Sharks franchise manages the San José Adult Women’s League.
In addition, there’s the San Francisco Earthquakes, an LGBTQ ice hockey team founded in 1998 that plays at Yerba Buena Ice in San Francisco. For those who prefer asphalt to ice, there’s Bay Area Street Hockey, too.
What are some publications or podcasts I can follow to learn more about women’s hockey?
- The Gist
- Snatch Magazine
- 365 Hockey Girl
- Sports Girls Club
- Too Many Men
- Jocks in Jills
- PWHL to San José
- Women of Hockey San José
Supporting women’s soccer in the Bay Area
What should I know about the professional sports team?
The Bay Area’s professional women’s soccer team is Bay FC, playing at PayPal Park in San José.
Bay FC’s regular season runs until Nov. 1. The team’s official website lists the ways you can stream each game, which include platforms like CBS Sports Network and ESPN 2.
Also good to keep in mind: Next year will bring the Women’s FIFA World Cup, hosted by Brazil. The U.S. team includes Claire Hutton, a player from Bay FC.
Are there other Bay Area teams I can support?
KQED has a guide to soccer teams in the Bay Area — women’s, men’s and co-ed — which includes Oakland Soul, the preprofessional team (aka the future of soccer).
Bay Area Futbol News also has an incredibly handy, pretty extensive chart on the tiers of soccer teams in the region, which includes many other women’s teams such as:
Where does the community hang out?
There are several official Bay FC fan clubs, such as the Bridge Brigade, The Big Poppies, Bay Imperio and Pier 75
Rec leagues are also a major way for soccer fans to connect (which, fun fact, is how the founders of Rikki’s — the Bay Area’s first women’s sports bar — met each other). Some of those leagues include:
- SF Spikes
- Flinta
- Golden Gate Women’s Soccer League
- OutLoud Sports rec soccer leagues
- Volo’s rec leagues
- Dyke Soccer East Bay
What are some publications or podcasts I can follow to learn more about women’s soccer?
- Full Time
- Diaspora United
- The Women’s Game
- Attacking Third
- The Re-Cap Show, hosted by former U.S. Women’s National Team stars (and married couple!) Christen Press and Tobin Heath.
Supporting women’s rugby in the Bay Area
What should I know about the professional sports team?
Founded last year, the Bay Breakers are the local semi-professional women’s rugby team, though the team plays in Lodi, about two hours from the Bay Area.
They compete in the Women’s Elite Rugby League and made it to the 2026 Legacy Cup final on Aug. 8 — but lost 24-17 to the Denver Onyx.
When games pick up again next year, you can stream the games through the Women’s Sports Network on platforms like Roku, Tubi and Fubo.
Are there other Bay Area teams I can support?
The Bay Area hosts many women’s and inclusive LGBTQ rugby clubs. The best-known is the Berkeley All Blues, which has fostered several Olympians and more than 50 national team players, according to its website.
Others include Silicon Valley Women’s Rugby Club, the San José Seahawks and SF Fog Rugby FC.
Where does the community hang out?
Many of rugby’s nonprofessional clubs in the Bay Area are open to beginners. For example, the All Blues field four teams that cater to all levels of experience, including one for high school students.
Also an LGBTQ club, The Fog’s highest-skill team plays with the Northern California Rugby Union, a men’s league. Women are welcome to play, however, on nonleague teams that arrange games independently with other local teams.
The Fog runs a free Pathway to Rugby program designed for beginners to learn fundamental skills: a multiweek crash course consisting of guided practices twice a week. The next program begins Oct. 5, 2026.