Bay FC Dominates in Tough-Luck Loss to Spirit

It's early in a long season, but Bay FC has already found its identity.

Despite experiencing a tough-luck loss to the Washington Spirit, 2-0, in the nation's capital, Bay FC dominated the 2024 NWSL finalist at Audi Field on Saturday evening. The loss drops Bay FC's record to 1-1-1, but the way the team has started, they could easily be undefeated.

That is something you couldn't say last season about the Bay Area squad after its first three games in its inaugural season, when the team was still getting to know each other. The chemistry wouldn’t evolve until the middle of the season, which led to Bay FC becoming just the second expansion team to make the playoffs in its inaugural season.

Gone are players like Deyna Castellanos, Alex Loera, Katelyn Rowland, and Kayla Sharples, who have left for other teams in the NWSL or have retired from the game of football. In for this season is a surge of young talent led by rookies Taylor Huff and Karlie Lema, and second-year goalie Jordan Silkowitz, who have already made an immediate impact, complementing Rachel Kundananji, Asisat Oshoala, Abby Dahlkemper, and Tess Boadie.

Against Washington, Bay FC gave up two goals in the first half off set pieces to Ashley Hatch, the veteran forward of the U.S. Women's National Team. They played better through the first 45 minutes but weren't able to capitalize on their chances. They completely dominated the second half, maintaining the majority of possession and keeping the Spirit on their heels for the majority of the second half, which included 11 minutes of stoppage time.

“It was, I think, a tale of two halves. In the first half, we started well in the first 10 minutes, possessing the ball and playing the way we wanted to play. And then credit to Washington, that’s why they’re such a good team, they made it difficult for us and got a couple of goals. But in the second half, we responded exactly as expected. We came out on the front foot, created all sorts of problems for them, and I thought we were actually the much better team,” Montoya said after the match.

In the 59th minute, it appeared Bay FC had cut the lead when Huff dribbled through unchallenged into the Spirit's half of the pitch and launched a shot that beat Spirit goalkeeper Aubrey Kingsbury to the lower right corner of the net, halving Washington's lead. However, after a VAR review, it was determined that Kundananji had fouled Gabriele Carle, despite Carle running into Kundananji on the play, wiping away what should have been Huff's first career NWSL goal.

Then, in the 87th minute, another goal was taken off the board for Bay FC when Huff centered a ball into the middle of the box, where Oshoala tapped it home into an open net. However, the linesman ruled that Oshoala was offside, negating what would have been her second goal of the season.

Both plays by Huff showcased her creative playmaking and why she was highly coveted by head coach Albertin Montoya and the coaching staff.

"There is a reason why we were after her (Huff) for the past couple of years, I mean last year as well," said Montoya last Saturday after his team's 2-0 win over Racing Louisville in its home opener at PayPal Park. "She's different because she plays like a 10 (position). She's creative. She's got this technical ability, but she has the engine of a (position) eight, which is box to box. That's someone who is difficult to defend because if you're man-marking her (on defense), you can't because she's covering too much distance. And if you're zoning, then there are pockets that she understands she can exploit."

Lema had the league's goal of the week last week against Racing Louisville when she raced down the pitch more than 70 yards after receiving the ball from a clearance off a free kick. Lema, the former star at the University of California and last season's ACC Player of the Year, lasered in a shot from just outside the box into the top right corner for her first career NWSL goal, sending the Bay FC fanatics into a frenzy. Lema had two quality chances late in the match against the Spirit, where she one-timed incoming crosses each time, only to have them sail just wide of the net.

There's something about not being able to earn a point against Washington despite outplaying them in three of their first four matches against one of the best teams in the league, especially with star players like Hatch, fellow USWNT teammate Trinity Rodman, Croix Bethune, and Ouleymata Sarr. Whether it's bad luck or, in this recent match, a combination of bad luck and some questionable officiating, Bay FC is not making excuses and is confident in their ability to know their attack will pay off down the road.

"I think we came into this game knowing we could win," said Dahlkemper regarding the mindset before the match. "As opposed to last year, when we were an expansion side, this team knows what we're about. You know, it's game three of a very long season. Like Tess (Boadie) said, we're not going to get too low, we're not going to get too high. We just tackle what's in front of us. Again, I'm proud of the group for the resilient second half and for giving everything we had," Dahlkemper said.

The match featured a family affair, as Boadie and her sister Meg, a midfielder for the Spirit, were on opposite sidelines for the first time facing off as professional soccer players in the NWSL. Both parents were in attendance. The sisters, who exchanged jerseys after the match, made a friendly wager before the match, with the loser having to cook for the winner during the offseason.

Bay FC has a week off for the international break and will look to fine-tune and learn from what they can do to keep improving as a team. If these first three games are a foreshadowing of what's to come this season, Bay FC fans are in for an exciting and fun season with expectations soaring higher and higher in 2025.

Bay FC returns to the pitch in two weeks when they host Chicago Stars FC at PayPal Park on Sunday, April 13. Kickoff is set for 4:00 p.m.