Bay FC’s Kayla Lynne Sharples (27) fights for the ball against Utah Royals FC’s Kate Del Fava (8) in the second half at PayPal Park in San Jose, Calif., on Sunday, June 16, 2024. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)

By William Espy

SAN JOSE–It was a battle of the expansion teams on Sunday night, as Bay FC hosted the Utah Royals for the first-ever meeting between the two teams. Utah is off to a difficult start with only four points through their first 12 games, while Bay FC is looking to build off their monumental win against the Chicago Red Stars at Wrigley Field. Bay couldn’t close the deal Sunday at Pay Pal Park in San Jose losing on a 89th minute goal 1-0 by the Royals Kate Del Fava.

Bay FC Starting XI: Rowland, Dydasco, Menges, Malonson, Sharples, Pickett, Anderson, Boade, Hill, Kundananji, Oshoala

Utah Starting XI: Haught, Flynn, Tejada, Del Fava, Burns, Foederer, Henry, Fraser, Tucker, Sentnor, Mozingo

Bay FC started off in control, getting multiple chances in the opening ten minutes while a majority of Utah’s possession was spent in their defensive half of the pitch attempting to break out and launch an attack.

When the Royals did get an attack set up, Bay was finding a way to get in the shooting lanes and prevent them from putting any pressure on Katelyn Rowland. In the 15th minute, Bay got their best opportunity of the night so far when Asisat Oshoala slipped with the ball inside of the box, it fell to Rachael Kundananji who shot it just wide despite the goalkeeper being a non-factor in the play.

They continued applying pressure to Utah’s defense for the next few minutes, with a couple of more chances coming in short succession. Tess Boade had a phenomenal run that nearly gave her team the lead in the 24th minute, however, she was unable to sneak the ball past Mandy Haught who went down in some discomfort after the play.

Utah made an early substitution in the 26th, taking off Lauren Flynn for Madison Pogarch. Caprice Dydasco had a long shot that hit the crossbar in the 28th minute. It was clear in the first 30 minutes that Oshoala and Kundananji are developing the chemistry that fans have been waiting for, as they kept creating chances for one another, but it still remained a 0-0 tie.

Joelle Anderson got called for the first yellow card of the game in the 37th minute when she tripped up Amandine Henry. Kundananji continued feeding passes into the box as the half progressed, but unfortunately for Bay FC, nobody had been able to get good contact on any of them, otherwise they could’ve easily been leading at this point in the match.

Tess Boade had a solid opportunity of her own in the 42nd, but it was saved by Haught. Dydasco picked up Bay FC’s second yellow card of the night during the 45th minute when she tripped up the ball carrier from behind. The first half came to an end, with the game still tied at 0.

Rowland faced her first real test of the night in the 56th minute when she was forced to extend out completely to tip a ball over the crossbar. Anderson and Oshoala came out in the 60th minute with Deyna Castellanos and Dorian Bailey taking over.

Utah was playing stronger to start the second half, creating more opportunities and not letting Bay get as many attacking chances but still, the game remained 0-0 by the 70th minute. Kundananji continued to create chances though, taking another shot in the 74th minute that sailed just over the goal at this point, Albertin Montoya made another substitution taking out Rachel Hill for Scarlett Camberos.

Kundananji seemed to have gotten her goal in the 85th minute, but it was called a foul as she pushed off of the defender. Utah would get awarded a free kick in the 89th minute when Boade picked up a yellow card, they then went on to score off of the set piece when Kate Del Fava was able to connect with the cross and put it in the back of the goal.

Now, Bay FC only had the nine minutes of stoppage time to find an equalizer. They’d be unable to do so, and Utah would walk away with their second win of the season, defeating Bay FC 1-0.