Bay FC worked hard to get a ball in the back of the net but the Washington Spirit were just too much on defense at Pay Pal Park in San Jose on Sun Apr 5, 2026 in NWSL action. (Bay FC photo)

By William Espy

SAN JOSE–Bay FC was back at PayPal Park on Easter Sunday to face off against Trinity Rodman and the Washington Spirit for the first time this season. Bay suffered a 2-0 shutout.

Washington was dominating the run of play and possession early on.

Just before the half-hour point, two players collided heads shortly after a corner causing a slight delay. Brooklyn Courtnall and Lucia Di Guglielmo both went down, but quickly got back to their feet. After both were back up, the game went into a short hydration break due to the high temperatures.

Two Washington defenders, Di Guglielmo and Tara Rudd collided with one another. Both went down and got medical attention. Di Guglielmo, who was covered in blood, was the first to walk off the field, while Rudd continued getting medical attention on field. Rudd eventually continued to play.

The game remained a 0-0 tie heading into halftime.

Washington took a 1-0 lead and broke the deadlock in the 57th minute when Jordan Silkowitz attempted to clear the ball and it took a wild deflection off of Brooklyn Courtnall for an own goal.

There was another collision in the 64th minute, this time it was Bay FC defender Sydney Collins who went down following a collision with Silkowitz and a Spirit attacker. Collins remained in the game.

Gift Monday added Washington’s second goal of the night in the 86th minute, making it 2-0 and seemingly putting the game away for Washington.

The Spirit would maintain the shutout, and walk away victorious.