Chicago Red Stars – Sports Radio Service

Bay FC celebrates their victory match over the Chicago Red Stars at Wrigley Field in Chicago in NWSL action on Sat Jun 8, 2024 (Bay FC X photo)

By William Espy

Bay FC’s mission not to lose to a team more than once in their inaugural season continued as they looked for revenge against the Chicago Red Stars on Saturday night. It was a historic night for the NWSL, as it was the first game ever to take place in an MLB stadium and it happened to be one of the most famous stadiums in the country, Wrigley Field.

In their only previous meeting, the Red Stars walked away with three points following a 2-1 game at PayPal Park. This night was also very important for one member of Bay FC, Kayla Sharples, who grew up in the Chicago area and spent a considerable amount of time with the Red Stars to start her professional career, returned for the first time since leaving as a free agent in the offseason. Bay would pick up their second win in their last three games with a 2-1 tally at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

Bay FC Starting XI: Rowland, Dydasco, Menges, Sharples, Malonson, Pickett, Anderson, Boade, Kundananji, Oshoala, Hill

Chicago Starting XI: Naeher, Malham, Staab, Kuikka, Anderson, Roccaro, Nesbeth, Swanson, Schlegel, Bianchi, Hocking

On a rainy night in Chicago, Bay FC wanted to try to get off to a hot start, getting chances early including one from Tess Boade in the 4th minute. Bay was undoubtedly the stronger team in the first half, and that got reflected on the scoreboard when Kiki Pickett had a phenomenal strike from outside of the box to give her team a 1-0 lead in the 25th minute.

She took advantage of the defenders leaving her quite a bit of space, and the end result was her first career NWSL goal. Rachael Kundananji nearly extended the lead in the 36th minute, but Alyssa Naeher was able to get a hand on it and tip the ball over the net.

Set pieces were a big part of Bay FC’s first half, as they set a franchise record with 11 corners in the first half. They also led significantly in possession with 60% and shots with 14. Although the scoreboard was in Bay’s favor, it still didn’t reflect how well they played in the first 45 minutes. Both goalkeepers had been great when called upon though, as both Naeher and Katelyn Rowland got tested a couple of times in the half.

Bay tends to struggle with holding leads into the second half, so with only a single goal separating them from their opposition, they needed a strong start coming out of the break if they were going to walk out with three points.

Meanwhile, if Chicago was going to take advantage of that fact they’d need to find an equalizer quickly so they have enough time to take the lead later in the match. Chicago made a couple of substitutes to start the second half, Tatumn Milazzo and Jenna Bike entered the match for Natalia Kuikka and Julia Bianchi.

The second half started off similar to the first, Boade immediately got a scoring chance then Pickett had another long shot, however, Naeher was able to get in front of this one. The first five minutes of the half were all Bay FC, but a counter-attack led by Penelope Hocking got the Red Stars their first opportunity of the half in the 50th minute but the shot trickled wide.

Rowland made a dangerous mistake in the 54th minute when a pass got picked off by Hocking with no defenders back. Bay was able to recover, however those mistakes have become very common lately. Bay made some substitutions of their own when Scarlett Camberos and Dorian Bailey entered the match in the 62nd minute for Rachel Hill and Asisat Oshoala.

Sharples went down in some clear pain in the 66th minute after taking a ball directly in the face. Meanwhile, Chicago took advantage of the break in play to make a couple of more substitutions with Chardonnay Curran and Shea Groom coming on. In the 72nd, Chicago had a corner kick and Groom collided with Rowland who had possession of the ball.

The play was not called a foul, but Bay was awarded a goal kick. Moments later, Kundananji had a fantastic run following a through ball from Boade that got her behind the defense. She was able to dribble around Naeher however the ball sailed over the empty goal.

Less than a minute later, Kundananji had another chance, this time off of a spinning shot that hit the crossbar. In the 75th minute, the attendance was announced for the game which set the NWSL record and got a massive response from the crowd.

In the 79th minute, Bay was finally able to get their second goal of the night when Bailey’s centering pass went to Curran who attempted to clear the ball and it went directly into Joelle Anderson and into the back of the net. Rocarro nearly broke Bay FC’s clean sheet in the 88th minute, however it rang off of the crossbar and went out of play.

Eventually, Chicago would get on the board with Hocking scoring in stoppage time. It would be too little too late though, as Anderson’s goal would ultimately be the difference. Bay played their best complete game of the season which bodes well for their return home against Utah next weekend. On the biggest stage in NWSL history, Bay FC stepped up and walked away with the three points.

Bay FC fell short to the Chicago Red Stars at Pay Pal Park in San Jose on Sun May 5, 2024 (Bay FC X photo)

By William Espy

SAN JOSE–Bay FC finished off their hectic three-game week on Sunday when they hosted the Chicago Red Stars for the first time. Due to the intense workload, the Bay saw a massively different lineup once again with quite a few first-time players coming off the bench or in the case of Asisat Oshoala, out of the lineup altogether due to an injury.

Kayla Sharples was back in the starting eleven to face off against her former club and hometown team. The Bay once again failed to get in the win column losing their fourth straight game 2-1 to the Red Stars at Pay Pal Park in San Jose.

Bay FC Starting XI: Rowland, King, Dydasco, Beattie, Sharples, Shepherd, Conti, Anderson, Boade, Princess, Camberos

Chicago Starting XI: Naeher, Rall, Staab, Kuikka, Milazzo, Roccaro, Nesbeth, Swanson, Schlegel, Joseph, Hocking

Bay started the game off with an instant attack but were unable to convert despite some early pressure. In the fifth minute, Ally Schlegel of the Red Stars took a bit of a knock inside the box while they led an attack when a slide tackle left her in some clear discomfort however she would remain in the match.

Tess Boade gave Bay the lead in the eighth minute under very strange circumstances. The goalkeeper received a pass from the centerback and attempted to clear it out, but it bounced directly off of Boade’s head and she had her second goal of the season.

Chicago attempted to go the other way and tie it up, however Mallory Swanson was stopped by Katelyn Rowland. Entering the night, Chicago was 0-3-1 on the season when conceding the first goal of the night. According to the broadcast, it had been 28 matches since they’d found a way to win after giving up the first goal. In the 18th minute, Jen Beattie went down and received medical attention.

She left the most recent game on Wednesday with a knock, but she jogged off and remained in the match on this occasion. Princess nearly added to the lead in the 17th minute when a cross from Caprice Dydasco found her inside the box, however the header went just wide-left.

Rowland got caught out of position when a ball over the top found Penelope Hocking and Bay’s goalkeeper was just outside of the box making it so she couldn’t play it with her hands, as a result, an easy shot allowed Hocking to tie it up at one in the 31st minute.

A couple of moments later, Tatumn Milazzo went down in considerable pain following a challenge on Scarlett Camberos. She was holding the back of her leg while down on the pitch as the result of an awkward fall following the collision.

After a short delay, she remained in the game. A few minutes later, Camberos found herself in another physical battle this time with Lelanni Nesbeth. It was a similar situation as the collision with Milazzo, however following two physical plays in a row the official gave Camberos a short talking to.

Swanson tried to get her team in the lead in stoppage time, but her shot went wide. She was likely looking for a pass to Jameese Joseph, but she had wandered offside forcing Swanson to go for the goal. The half would end with a corner kick by Chicago, but it would go directly to Rowland and the whistle would immediately blow.

It was 1-1 heading into the break, in a game that Bay could have been winning at this point. They led possession with 53% and were by far the more aggressive team, but it was even where it mattered most.

To start the second half, Milazzo was substituted out for Chicago with Taylor Malham coming on in her place. The momentum was in Chicago’s favor to start the second half, as Bay was struggling to get it out of their defensive third for more than a few moments.

A throw-in from Staab in the 54th minute gave Chicago a great opportunity, after a header deflected the ball near the goal, an attacker missed a follow-up chance and it went directly to the goalkeeper. In the 56th minute, Beatty came out of the match with Emily Menges coming in off the bench for the first time this season, having started every prior game.

Swanson got medical attention for her knee in the 58th minute, she was able to walk off under her own power and came back on the field. The first yellow card of the game was given to Hocking in the 61st minute following a challenge on Camberos.

In the 63rd, A giveaway from Princess led to a scoring opportunity and Schlegel ended up capitalizing to give the Red Stars a 2-1 lead. In the 66th, Dorian Bailey, Alyssa Malonson, and Deyna Castellanos came in for Princess, Caroline Conti and Jamie Shepherd.

Moments later, Camberos got run into by Nesbeth and went down in some pain but got back up quickly. In the 77th minute, a collision between Hocking and Sharples inside the box was under view as a potential penalty, however, it was difficult to tell if she was onside and if she had possession of the ball.

The penalty was eventually awarded and Sharples was given a yellow card for the play as well. Rowland made the save on a shot to the right side of the net, keeping Bay FC’s hopes of a point alive. In the 90th minute, Dydasco crossed into the box, but the shot from Castellanos went just wide. After a total of ten minutes of stoppage time, the final whistle was blown with a 2-1 scoreline and Bay FC lost their fourth straight game.