SAN FRANCISCO — At the same time Bay FC just set the attendance record for an NWSL game, they also continued their slide down the table, to the bottom three, after dropping their marquee game of the season to the Washington Spirit 3-2.
The atmosphere at Oracle Park was spectacular — with more than 40,000 fans filling the waterfront baseball stadium on a sunny Saturday afternoon— but the plot was eerily similar to how most of Bay FC’s season has gone.
Albertin Montoya’s side fell behind early and were forced to chase much of the game. By the time Racheal Kundananji and Kelli Hubly tallied their goals — both from set pieces — Bay FC was already behind by three. Goalkeeper Jordan Silkowitz nearly scored the equalizer in the 96th minute after coming out of her box to help her team on the last corner of the game.
“If [Jordan] had scored that, I would’ve have run onto the field and gotten a red card,” Montoya said.
The second-year coach struck an upbeat tone after the defeat, choosing instead to focus on what the game meant for women’s sports as a whole rather than just Bay FC’s place in the standings.
“If you’re a just a casual fan who came to [Oracle Park] today, you’re now a soccer fan,” Montoya said. “Both teams played a really good game.”
While the game demonstrated there is a robust demand for women’s sports across the Bay Area, particularly in San Francisco, loyal fans of Bay FC might be wondering just how many more silver linings they can take before questioning the product on the field.
After the defeat to Washington, Montoya maintained that his players are “close” to finding their best form and only have “small tweaks in the back” to make.
While it is true that the team’s advanced stats indicate the team should be in the top six of the league in terms of goals scored, all that matters is that it’s been two months since Bay FC have won a game, and Saturday’s defeat pushed them from 10th to 12th place, a clear regression from last season.
Other teams such as Angel City and the San Diego Wave, have leapfrogged Bay FC after making coaching changes.
Kundananji said the team played well for most of the game, but needed to find a way to put together complete performances.
“We didn’t start well” she said. “But after a few minutes, we woke up and everybody was just there. So I feel like we should go with that anger, like in the next game, and not start the way we started today.”
With leading scorer Penelope Hocking out injured and striker Asisat Oshoala left on the bench, too much of Bay FC’s offense is revolved around Kundananji. The Zambian international created several scoring chances with her pace on the wing, but the team struggled to convert the chances she created.
Former Cal star Karlie Lema was signed straight from college this offseason to provide that spark. She came off the bench in the 76th minute to a loud applause but did not get on the ball much or provide much of a spark.
With the lack of forward options, Montoya was asked whether his team had enough firepower to compete with the league’s best teams.
“I do,” he said. “We created in different ways… We’ve got Kundananji up top, we’ve got Rachel [Hill], Karlie, Taylor [Huff], and then our outside backs with Alyssa [Malonson], our midfielders. So it’s not just one dimensional, which it was early on in the season and last season when we relied on Kundananji to do everything.
“We’ve been creating chances,” he added. “Outside of Kansas City and San Diego, we’ve been in every single game, and maybe been outshot here and there, but we’re creating opportunities in different ways.”
About the Author: Kevin V. Nguyen is a business and sports journalist based in the Bay Area. Follow him on X/Twitter @KevinNguyen_89 or on Bluesky @kevinvnguyen.bsky.social
