Bay FC forward Racheal Kundananji takes off down field against the Utah Royals at America First Field in Sandy UT on Fri Aug 23, 2024 (photo from Bay FC X)

By William Espy

Bay FC’s inaugural regular season continued after the Olympic break and Summer Cup with a match against the Utah Royals on Friday night. Entering the match, Bay FC found themselves sitting in the final playoff spot for the time being, while Utah was last in the league. It turned out to be another tough night for Bay losing their fourth in their last five games 2-1 at America First Field in Sandy Utah.

After a strong Summer Cup though, the Royals were looking to get things on the right track for the remainder of the season. It was another battle of the top two picks in the 2024 NWSL Draft, which will now be known as the final draft in league history as Ally Sentnor and Savy King took the field against one another just days before they become teammates for the United States U20 team.

Bay FC Starting XI: Rowland, King, Beattie, Menges, Dydasco, Bailey, Pickett, Castellanos, Kundananji, Boade, Hill

Utah Starting XI: Haught, Griffitts, Del Fava, Riehl, Pogarch, Tejeda, Zornoza, Tanaka, Sentnor, Monaghan, Betfort

Just 30 seconds into the game, Rachael Kundananji went down in considerable pain after getting her toes stepped on and received medical attention just moments into the match. She would remain in the game though after a short delay.

In the sixth minute, she’d get Bay FC their first opportunity of the night after a strong run into the box which ultimately ended with a shot by Dorian Bailey. Katelyn Rowland got tested for the first time in the 10th minute when Hannah Betfort took the ball from her own end of the pitch into Bay FC’s box and fired a shot on the Bay FC goalkeeper who made the save.

Jen Beattie made a few mistakes in the opening minutes of the match, but seemed to get stronger as the game went on denying Sentnor of a scoring chance in the 12th minute. Tess Boade got her first chance in the 13th minute after a phenomenal run that resulted from a perfect through-ball from Kundananji, however the shot would go just wide.

Kundananji seemingly gave Bay FC the lead in the 18th minute, however, Mandy Haught’s clearance attempt hit her in the hand and it was ruled a handball so the game remained 0-0. Rachel Hill nearly got on the board in the 23rd minute, but the long shot was deflected out for a corner.

Overall, Bay FC was clearly the better team in the first 25 minutes, maintaining 65% of possession but the game was still scoreless. Betfort and Beattie collided at midfield around the half-hour mark, leaving Betfort in major discomfort but she remained in the game. It remained a 0-0 heading into the break, as neither team had been able to break the deadlock.

Paige Monaghan gave Utah the lead just moments into the 48th minute, with a shot just outside of the box. Rowland nearly got a hand on it, but her reflexes were just a millisecond too late. Once again, Utah was leading over Bay FC who for whatever reason had been unable to score against the Royals up to this point in the season.

Emily Menges’s own goal gave Utah a 2-0 lead. It was a disastrous opening to the second half for Bay FC, and now they had a major uphill battle to get back into the match. Bay nearly got on board in the 58th minute but Mina Tanaka swept it away on the goal line.

Tanaka exited her NWSL debut for Cloe LaCasse to make her Utah debut in the 60th minute while Amandine Henry entered for Zornoza. Alyssa Malonson and Asisat Oshoala entered the match for Deyna Castellanos and King in the 66th minute.

Betfort got behind the defense in the 69th minute, but Rowland came well out of the box to beat her to the ball and clear it out for a throw-in. The surging Maddie Moreau entered the match in the 76th minute for Jen Beattie.

Kundananji finally got her goal in the 83rd minute off of a great cross from Rachel Hill, making it 2-1 in favor of Utah with very limited time remaining. Ten minutes of stoppage time were awarded after the 90 minutes were completed, giving Bay FC a significant amount of time to get an equalizer.

Oshoala nearly got an equalizer in the final minute off of a corner kick, but Utah got another goal line clearance to maintain their lead and walk away with a 2-1 victory. Utah swept the season series, and as a result, Bay FC dropped important points to the team at the bottom of the table on two separate occasions.