Bay FC score goal and later enjoy the thrill of victory defeating the San Diego Wave at Pay Pal Park in San Jose on Fri May 17, 2024 (Bay FC X photo)
By William Espy
SAN JOSE–Bay FC had an opportunity to get revenge on the San Diego Wave on Friday night. Their previous meeting was a 2-1 victory for the Wave, however heading into the night they had yet to win a game on the road which would be some good news for Bay.
Bay FC’s performances lately haven’t been great either though, as they entered the night in the middle of a five-game losing streak which they desperately hoped to end. Prior to the match, Caprice Dydasco was given a shirt commemorating her 150th career NWSL match which she had played a few weeks ago. Bay turned the tables on the Wave on Friday night with a 2-1 win of their own at Pay Pal Park in San Jose.
Bay FC Starting XI: Rowland, Dydasco, Menges, Sharples, King, Anderson, Pickett, Blade, Kundananji, Oshoala, Camberos
San Diego Starting XI: Sheridan, Lundkvist, Girma, Wesley, Westphal, van Egmond, Colaprico, Sanchez, McCaskill, Jones, Carusa
On the injury front, Bay FC would be without Maddie Moreau, Jordan Brewster, and Maya Doms. Alex Loera and Melissa Lowder remain on the season-ending injury list and will not return until 2025. San Diego on the other hand would be without key player Alex Morgan as well as Jaedyn Shaw and Makenzy Doniak.
An interesting note was that Deyna Castellanos was available off of the bench, which hasn’t been a common occurrence so far this season. After the match, Albertin Montoya said that she had picked up a knock during training and had to be limited as a result.
San Diego did a great job holding possession for the first few minutes of the match, most of the time when Bay touched the ball early it was a simple clearance that would be regathered by San Diego very quickly. Scarlett Camberos got Bay’s first attack going in the fifth minute and earned a corner kick after a fantastic run.
Joelle Anderson kicked it short to Tess Boade who immediately passed it back to Anderson who fired a shot that went just high of the goal. Bay got another strong attacking opportunity when Kailen Sheridan came out of her box to play the ball, the attacking duo of Asisat Oshoala and Rachael Kundananji tried to pass it around to find a shot on the open net, however, were unable to do so.
In the 23rd minute, a scramble in front of the net eventually found its way to the Wave’s striker Kyra Carusa who was able to take advantage and give her team a 1-0 lead halfway through the first half. In the 26th minute, the ball deflected awkwardly off of Katelyn Rowland’s hands and nearly gave the Wave a 2-0 lead, however, Kiki Pickett was able to get back and make a goal-line save to deny a second goal.
Camberos continued to create chances in the offensive third of the pitch through hard work and determination, but at the half-hour mark, they still hadn’t been able to convert on any of the chances. Boade was shown a yellow card during the 35th minute following a play in which she lost possession and made a challenge in an attempt to get it back.
The dynamic duo of Oshoala and Kundananji had another strong chance in the 45h minute, however, the goalkeeper played it almost perfectly and prevented them from getting a shot off. After a single minute of stoppage time, the referee would blow the whistle to mark the end of the first half.
Despite San Diego leading considerably in possession time, shots, and shots on target, the game felt much more even than the numbers indicated at the half. Many of Bay’s opportunities were coming in transition, which didn’t come across on the stat sheet very well.
Albertin Montoya’s squad remained the same to start the second half, while Casey Stoney made one change taking off Naomi Girma for Abby Dahlkemper. Camberos, who had been one of the focal points of the offense all night, finally got herself a goal in the 55th minute.
She was left alone by the back post, and once the ball got to her off of a pass from Pickett, Sheridan had no chance to stop it. It marked Camberos’s first goal with her new team, as although she’d been close on many occasions she hadn’t been able to convert on any of her chances to that point.
After the goal, San Diego would make a couple of substitutions taking off Carusa and Christen Westphal for Kristen McNabb and Elyse Bennett. In the 65th, Stoney would make another substitution taking out Mya Jones for Sofia Jakobsson.
Anderson got a chance in the 67th minute, as she got behind the defense but Sheridan came up big for San Diego and denied the shot. With the game tied up, an already physical game got much more physical. Bay was desperate for a point, although they’d undoubtedly prefer three, and the Wave weren’t going to give it to them without a fight. In the 71st minute, Sheridan required some medical attention but remained in the game after a short delay.
Jakobsson nearly scored a go-ahead goal for San Diego in the 74th minute, but a clutch save by Rowland maintained the tie for the time being. Anderson came out for Dorian Bailey in the 75th minute. Bay FC continued bringing a lot of pressure in their offensive end of the pitch as the match entered the final 15 minutes, however, San Diego was responding with some pressure of their own as well.
It was quite a bit of back and forth at that stage of the game. In the 87th minute, Bailey jumped around a diving Sheridan while maintaining control of the ball. She passed the ball into the center of the box and Rachael Kundananji was able to get to it and give Bay FC a 2-1 lead with minimal time remaining.
Boade and Savy King came out after the goal with Castellanos and Alyssa Malonson taking their place.Camberos came out in the 92nd minute for Jen Beattie as Montoya looked to defend the lead.After an abundance of time wasting and creating even more offensive chances, the referee would blow the whistle in the 98th minute and Bay FC’s losing streak was officially over. They walked away with a 2-1 win.
They’ve played well most of the season so far despite not getting the result on many occasions, it’s possible this could be remembered as a turning point in the season but we’ll have to wait and see.
William Espy is a Bay FC beat writer for http://www.sportsradioservice.com
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