Bay FC defender Abby Dahlkemper (13) takes the ball down field against the Washington Spirit’s forward Trinity Rodman (2) at Audi Field in Washington DC on Sun Nov 10, 2024 (Bay FC X photo)

By William Espy

Bay FC played their first-ever playoff game on Sunday morning against the Washington Spirit in the Nation’s capital at Audi Field. As the underdogs, Bay FC had the freedom to go out and play their own game with little pressure on them. Meanwhile, as the second seed there was an abundance of pressure on the Spirit in front of their home crowd. With that being said though, it was win or go home for both teams.

Bay FC couldn’t win big so they had to take their marbles and head back to San Jose after getting edged by the Washington Spirit 2-1.

Bay FC did have quite a few ties to the Spirit as well. Albertin Montoya was previously interim head coach in Washington, and midfielder Dorian Bailey won her only NWSL Championship to date with them in 2021.

The game started with both teams getting chances, but Washington controlled possession. As the Kansas City Current’s victory over the North Carolina Courage on Saturday proved though, possession doesn’t guarantee a win.

Casey Krueger blocked a shot from Rachael Kundananji in the 13th minute that otherwise would’ve tested Aubrey Kingsbury. A foul by Makenna Morris on Alyssa Malonson in the 21st minute led to a dangerous free-kick. The set-piece resulted in a scramble in front of the goal, but ultimately Washington was able to clear their defensive third.

Less than two minutes later Ashley Hatch was fouled by Kiki Pickett and got the Spirit a dangerous set-piece roughly 25 yards from goal. It was a call that Bay FC certainly wasn’t happy about, but it did not matter.

The shot hit the wall in front, bouncing to Trinity Rodman whose shot was saved by Katelyn Rowland. Caprice Dydasco blocked another Rodman shot moments later after a pass by Bailey missed Abby Dahlkemper and launched a Spirit attack.

Malonson intercepted quite a few of Washington’s passes and turned them into scoring chances early in the first half, doing exactly that in the 29th minute. Defense was key for both sides in the first half-hour of play. Each team had been pinned in their defensive third for long periods of time, but had yet to concede a goal.

Tess Boade was fouled in the 34th minute, and the free-kick led to a Rachel Hill shot that forced Kingsbury to tip it over the bar. In the 37th, Morris had a chance but ended up running the ball out of play. Rachael Kundananji accidentally hit herself in the face with the ball in the 38th, ending a dangerous attack for Washington as play was called due to a head injury. She got up and remained in the game after a momentary delay.

There weren’t many stoppages during the first half, so only a single minute of stoppage time was added to the end of the half. The majority of that minute was spent with the Spirit controlling play in their offensive third, but near the end Bay FC launched a counterattack that ended in a controversial foul on Asisat Oshoala. The game went into the break tied 0-0.

Courtney Brown came out for Leicy Santos to start the second half for Washington. Hal Hershfelt got a yellow card right after the start of the half when her cleat hit the ankle of Kundananji. A collision between Trinity Rodman and Oshoala caused Rodman to go down in difficulty as Oshoala had landed on her head.

Meanwhile, Oshoala was shown a yellow card as well. Rodman was evaluated but ended up remaining in the game. Rodman drew another foul that resulted in a yellow card in the 59th minute when she was taken down by Malonson.

Hershfelt fired a shot that sailed well over the goal in the 72nd minute. Penelope Hocking entered the game for Hill in the 73rd minute. Moments later, Emily Menges gave the ball away to Santos which allowed the Spirit to earn a corner. Heather Stainbrook came out for Kate Weisner in the 79th minute.

Oshoala gave her team a late lead in the 82nd minute, making it 1-0 off of the assist by Hocking. Washington tied it up in the 86th minute, with a goal by Tara McKeown. The Spirit maintained quite a bit of pressure during stoppage time, with Hal Hershfelt having the best chance in the 99th minute when she hit the crossbar.

In extra time, Washington took the lead off of a Caprice Dydasco own goal in the 95th minute. Pickett was shown a yellow card for pulling down Rodman by the arm in the 99th minute. Bailey came off in the 101st minute, with Deyna Castellanos entering the match.

A strong attack by the Spirit in the 104th minute nearly gave them a 3-1 lead, but nobody was able to get on the end of the cross and it remained 2-1 in favor of the home side. Maddie Moreau entered the game for Bay FC, taking Dydasco’s place, in the second half of extra time.

Bay FC would be unable to find an equalizer, and Dydasco’s own goal would end up being enough for Washington to advance with a final score of 2-1. Despite the result, Bay FC had a massively successful inaugural season and will look to build on it in the spring.