The Dash’s Lisa Boattin (right) shoots against Karlie Lema of Bay FC during Sunday’s game in San Jose, Calif. Thearon W. Henderson/NWSL via Getty Images

By William Espy

SAN JOSE–Bay FC were looking to avenge their recent road loss to the Houston Dash as they returned to PayPal Park on Sunday afternoon. Jenna Nighswonger was in the starting lineup at a home game for the first time as well. Bay FC wound up shutting out Houston 1-0 at Pay Pal Park.

In the 12th minute, a defensive misstep by Houston gave Karlie Lema the ball with just the goalkeeper, Jane Campbell, to beat. Campbell made a fantastic diving save to deny the Bay forward, keeping the game deadlocked at 0-0. 

Two minutes later, Jordan Silkowitz made a pair of big saves of her own to prevent the Dash from getting a lead. Natalie Hammond was certainly a thorn in Bay FC’s side physically early in the game, picking up multiple fouls in the opening 15 minutes. 

Kennedy Fuller received a well-placed pass from Claire Hutton inside the 18-yard box in the 22nd minute, but once again, Campbell made a save. 

Kate Faasse collided with Silkowitz during a Dash attack late in the first half, fortunately both players were able to get back to their feet and remain in the game.

The game remained tied heading into halftime, but Karlie Lema had a strong scoring opportunity just seconds into the second half. Superb defensive play by Houston cut off the scoring chance though, as the ball went out for a goal kick. 

After Bay’s first attack of the half, momentum swung in Houston’s favor. They maintained offensive pressure for quite a while, forcing Silkowitz to make a number of saves but Bay struggled to get the ball out of their own half. 

Just past the hour mark, Bay gained some momentum of their own, launching a lengthy attack.

In the 76th minute, Silkowitz made a save but the ball started spinning toward the goal until Sydney Collins was able to clear it off of the goal line to maintain the tie. 

The first yellow card of the night was shown to Collins in the 84th minute. 

After Keira Barry hit the goalpost on a goal kick, the rebound landed directly at the feet of Cristiana Girelli who scored her first goal with Bay FC to give the home side a late lead in the 89th minute. 

Bay FC held on to end their five-match winless streak, keeping their playoff dreams alive in the process.