Bay FC forward Asisat Oshola (8) who scored the match’s only goal is congratulated by defender Caprice Dydasco (3) after Bay FC defeated Racing Louisville at Pay Pal Park in San Jose on Sat Sep 7, 2024 (Bay FC X photo)

By William Espy

SAN JOSE–Bay FC’s inaugural season is starting to wind down, and on Saturday night they played a game that will undoubtedly be crucial for the intense race for the playoffs.

They entered the night sitting in eighth, tied with Angel City for the final playoff spot and took on Racing Louisville FC, the team currently in tenth who would move into sole possession of the final spot if they walked away victorious.

Recently acquired forward Penelope Hocking was starting on the bench for Bay FC, considering the impact Abby Dahlkemper made in her competitive club debut, it would be interesting to see if Hocking could contribute immediately right away if given the chance. Bay FC’s Asisat Oashola scored the match’s only goal in defeating Racing Louisville FC 1-0 Saturday night.

Bay FC Starting XI: Rowland, Dydasco, Menges, Dahlkemper, Malonson, Pickett, Bailey, Boade, Kundananji, Oshoala, Hill

Louisville Starting XI: Lund, Milliet, Wright, Jean, Borges, Sears, Digrande, Beckie, Erceg, Flint, Balcer

Bay FC came right out of the gates with pressure, in the third minute they got a solid opportunity on the counter attack but Rachael Kundananji’s pass into the box was just out of Tess Boade’s reach.

In the 13th minute, Louisville’s goalkeeper, Katie Lund made a phenomenal save to deny Kundananji, then a follow-up opportunity by Dahlkemper was cleared out by a defender in front.

Louisville was starting to create some offense of their own as the half progressed, including one attack that was disrupted by a perfect slide tackle on the edge of the area by Dahlkemper. Bay FC’s new centerback pairing of Emily Menges and Dahlkemper seem to compliment one another perfectly and it’s helping the team significantly.

Lund was forced to make another great diving save in the 22nd minute when she tipped a shot from Rachel Hill over the goal. With neither Deyna Castellanos or Joelle Anderson in the starting eleven, Dorian Bailey took over on corner kicks and seemed to be fairly effective with it.

A hard but clean slide tackle by Kiki Pickett saw Taylor Flint go down in some discomfort in the 24th minute. After some delay, she was able to walk off the field under her own power and ultimately remained in the game.

Hill got her second shot on target of the night in the 28th minute, but it was a fairly easy save for Lund. Menges and Bethany Balcer had an awkward collision in the 29th minute, Menges was initially shaken up a bit but quickly got back to her feet and played on.

Kundananji had a strong run in the 33rd minute, but her chip pass toward Asisat Oshoala was broken up by the defender and got knocked just wide of the goal. A Kundananji pass finally got through to Oshoala moments later after the corner, but Oshoala’s shot hit the side-netting.

Balcers had an opportunity to give Louisville the lead in the 38th minute, but her header went just over the crossbar for a goal kick. Alyssa Malonson showed off her speed in stoppage time, with a phenomenal run from her own half but ultimately nothing came of it. The half came to an end with the game still in a 0-0 deadlock heading into the break.

Bay FC entered the second half with quite a bit of physicality, which was definitely frustrating Louisville. One incident in particular saw a collision between Bailey and Laurent Milliet along the touch line, ultimately resulting in Milliet flipping over the advertisement boards. Hill came off in the 60th minute for the debuting Hocking who got a strong ovation from the crowd at PayPal Park.

Malonson continued to make her mark when it came to get involve offensively, earning a dangerous free-kick in the 65th. Oshoala broke the deadlock in the 76th minute after a great run by Hocking found her in front of the goal, making it 1-0 for the home side. Tess Boade came out after the goal for Deyna Castellanos.

Oshoala was shown the first yellow card of the game following a desperation tackle on Ary Borges, that was quite frankly a reckless play. Oshoala was taken out moments later, with Maddie Moreau entering the match in her place.

Bay absorbed quite a bit of pressure from Lousville in stoppage time, but the defense was holding up well and the offensive players were wasting a lot of time when the ball found their feet.

They would maintain their composure through the seven minutes of stoppage time, and walk away victorious with a final score of 1-0. It moved Bay FC up to seventh in the league table for the time being, and extended their lead over the teams right on their tail.