Bay FC’s Abby Dalhkemper’s kick at the 83rd minute is the match’s only goal which stood up defeating the North Carolina Courage in NWSL action on Sat Oct 19, 2024 (AP News photo)
By William Espy
SAN JOSE–Bay FC played their final home game of their inaugural season on Saturday night, when they hosted the North Carolina Courage in a game with massive playoff implications for the home side. With Racing Louisville defeating the Portland Thorns with a last-minute goal, playoffs went from looking likely for Bay FC to them being in the middle of an intense fight.
As a result, Saturday’s game was a must win for the home team. Bay FC got the wining and only goal of the match when Abby Dahlkemper scored at the 83rd minute that defeated North Carolina 1-0.
Bay FC Starting XI: Rowland, Dydasco, Dahlkemper, Menges, Malonson, Pickett, Bailey, Hocking, Oshoala, Boade, Kundananji Courage Starting XI: Murphy, Williams, Kurtz, Sanchez, Berkely, Weatherholt, Jackson, O’Sullivan, Matsukobo, Wingate
Bay FC came out fighting right out of the gate. Considering their current predicament with the playoffs, this needed to be one of their strongest performances of the season and it seemed like they were up for the task early in the night.
Due to their desperation though, they were making some big mistakes as well. Costly turnovers in the defensive and middle thirds were giving possession back to their opposition and occasionally helping them create attacks of their own.
Katelyn Rowland had to make her first save of the night in the 15th minute, denying a long shot that nearly gave the Courage a 1-0 lead. Off of the ensuing corner, North Carolina hit the crossbar off of a header again nearly taking the lead.
Heading into the 18th minute, Bay launched a massive attack that led to multiple opportunities inside of the box but strong defending by the opposition eventually knocked it out for a corner kick. Ultimately, North Carolina would regain possession and get the ball out of the dangerous areas.
Despite Bay’s early attacks, they still struggled in the same way they have for a majority of the season: they couldn’t find the back of the net. They were generating quite a few chances, and nearly took the lead multiple times but weren’t able to.
In the 34th minute, Rowland gave the ball to an attacker right outside of the box but luckily for Bay FC, Abby Dahlkemper and Emily Menges were able to recover defensively and disrupt the play. Olivia Wingate had a scoring opportunity in the 39th minute for North Carolina but ended up putting the ball in the side-netting next to a diving Rowland.
Both Kerolin and Asisat Oshoala got a talking-to from referee Elijio Arreguin after an altercation along the sideline, but neither was shown a card. Oshoala was denied on a fantastic scoring opportunity in the 43rd minute, as Casey Murphy had to stretch out her body fully to get a hand on the shot and send it out for a corner.
Moments later, Tess Boade was taken down inside the box but no penalty was awarded to the dismay of the crowd at PayPal Park. After a single minute of stoppage time, the game would head to halftime tied 0-0.
Kiki Pickett would be shown the first yellow card of the game in the 61st minute which drew protest from both Boade and Oshoala. Oshoala was taken off for Rachel Hill in the 66th minute. Niarumi Miura and Meredith Speck were brought on in the 67th minute for North Carolina replacing Ashley Sanchez and Riley Jackson.
Boade created a strong scoring chance in the 72nd minute, but rather than shooting passed it to Kundananji. It resulted in a scramble, ultimately falling to Hill who shot it wide. Alyssa Malonson, who was recently named to the US Women’s National Team camp, got a header on target in the 75th minute but it was saved by Murphy.
Bay FC got a very dangerous free-kick in the 77th minute, but it was cleared out by the Courage who immediately went on a counter-attack with only two defenders back. Bay FC was able to take away space from the attackers and force the ball out for a goal-kick.
Even though a draw would keep Bay above Racing Louisville in the standings, they were desperately fighting to take the lead and walk away with the three points, rather than one. In the 82nd minute, Bay FC got another free-kick.
This one ended up on the boot of Dahlkemper who put it past Murphy, giving the home side a late 1-0 lead at the 83rd minute. In the 87th minute, Ryan Williams and Kundananji collided heads, leaving Bay FC’s striker on the ground in considerable discomfort.
She got up and walked off a few moments later, remaining in the game. Maddie Moreau came on in the 90th minute for Pickett, who high-fived fans as she walked off the pitch. With six minutes of stoppage time, Bay FC just needed to hold on a little longer to walk away with three points and put themselves in control of their own destiny in their final game in two weeks. Rowland made a save in the 95th minute, keeping her team ahead. Moments later, the final whistle would blow, and Bay FC walked away victorious, 1-0.
Bay FC conclude their season against the Houston Dash on Sat Nov 2 a 6:30pm PT kick off at Shell Energy Stadium in Houston
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