Tag: Racing Louisville

Bay FC match review: Courage pound Bay 4-1 in home finale

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North Carolina Courage’s Manaka Matsukobo (pink uniform) celebrates one of her three goals against Bay FC at Pay Pal Park in San Jose on Sat Oct 17, 2025 (Photo by: John Hefti-Imagn Images)

By William Espy

SAN JOSE–Bay FC hosted their final home game of the 2025 season against the North Carolina Courage on Friday night. With playoffs out of the picture for Bay, they were looking to play spoiler against a team in the fight for a playoff berth.

Manaka Matsukobo and the Courage wasn’t going to give Bay FC that opportunity as it was a tough defeat for Bay 4-1. Matsukobo opened the scoring for North Carolina just three minutes into the match. Five minutes later, she added a second goal, giving the visiting side a 2-0 lead just eight minutes into the match.

Bay FC’s Penelope Hocking brought Bay back into the match during the first half’s stoppage time, taking it into the half with a score of 2-1.

From there, North Carolina continued their offensive production in the second half, as Shinomi Koyama added a goal of her own in the 74th minute. Six minutes later, Matsukobo decided she wasn’t happy with just a brace and scored a third goal to complete the hat trick.

Ultimately, Bay FC wouldn’t be able to get any more goals on the board and lost their final home game of the season, 4-1. Closing out a disappointing string of performances to end the season.

There will be one more road game in the Albertin Montoya era, as Bay FC will head to Kentucky to face Racing Louisville on Nov. 2.

NSWL action: Anderson and Lema score big for Bay FC in 2-0 shutout over Louisville

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Thrill of victory as Bay FC wins their home opener against Racing Louisville at Pay Pal Park in San Jose on Sat Mar 22, 2025 (Bay FC X photo)

By William Espy

SAN JOSE–Bay FC hosted their home opener against Racing Louisville on Saturday night in front of a packed crowd at PayPal Park. The Bay Area’s newest soccer team was looking to build on their performance from their inaugural season, when they were knocked out of the playoffs in the first round following an own goal in extra time. Bay impressed big in their home opener match against the Racing with a 2-0 shutout.

Bay FC Starting XI: Silkowitz, Malonson, Dahlkemper, Anderson, Dydasco, Huff, Pickett, Bailey, Kundananji, Conti, Lema

Louisville Starting XI: Lund, Millet, Wright, Hase, Petersen, DeMelo, Borges, Sonis, Flint, Fischer, Sears

Kiki Pickett was shown a yellow card in just the second minute of the match. On the ensuing attack, Louisville had a solid scoring chance but it went just over the crossbar and landed on top of the net. Rachael Kundananji was taken down in a collision at midfield, but after a momentary delay got up and remained in the game.

Moments later, Bay FC got the first corner opportunity of the night, which Taylor Huff took. While nothing came of that chance, that wouldn’t be the case in the 12th minute when Huff stood over the ball for a free kick, the ball found its way to newly converted center back Joelle Anderson, who put the ball past Katie Lund into the back of the netting for a 1-0 Bay lead.

Kayla Fischer had Louisville’s strongest scoring chance to that point of the night in the 26th minute, but once again the shot went too high. In the 34th minute, Dorian Bailey tried to pick a corner on an ambitious shot that nearly went in but was just too high.

There was a long delay a few moments later, as Savannah DeMelo went down and had to be stretchered off the field. She was responsive and shook her teammates’ hands as she exited the field.

Bailey was shown a yellow card in the 45th minute. Late in stoppage time, Karlie Lema and Kundananji found themselves with only a single defender between them and the goal. Despite the easy play of getting the ball up to Kundananji, Lema showed outstanding levels of confidence for a rookie, firing off a rocket of a shot and extending Bay FC’s lead to 2-0. Not long later, Huff and Ary Borges collided, resulting in Huff being shown a yellow card.

At half-time, Bay led 2-0. Head coach Albertin Montoya opted not to make any changes heading into the second half, despite his team having three yellow cards already. Louisville waited until the 61st minute to make any changes, taking off Borges and Janine Sonis for Katie O’Kane and Sarah Weber. In the 63rd minute, Huff and Taylor Flint’s heads collided. Huff was fine, however Flint did get looked at by the trainer before remaining in the game.

Hannah Bebar came in during the 74th minute, making her NWSL debut, alongside Penelope Hocking, taking the place of Caroline Conti and Bailey. In the 90th minute, Huff nearly scored her first career goal as well, hitting the post.

Ultimately time would expire, and Bay FC would walk away with their first win of the season, 2-0.

Asisat Oshoala scores match’s lone goal in Bay FC 1-0 shutout over Racing Louisville at Pay Pal Park

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Bay FC forward Asisat Oshola (8) who scored the match’s only goal is congratulated by defender Caprice Dydasco (3) after Bay FC defeated Racing Louisville at Pay Pal Park in San Jose on Sat Sep 7, 2024 (Bay FC X photo)

By William Espy

SAN JOSE–Bay FC’s inaugural season is starting to wind down, and on Saturday night they played a game that will undoubtedly be crucial for the intense race for the playoffs.

They entered the night sitting in eighth, tied with Angel City for the final playoff spot and took on Racing Louisville FC, the team currently in tenth who would move into sole possession of the final spot if they walked away victorious.

Recently acquired forward Penelope Hocking was starting on the bench for Bay FC, considering the impact Abby Dahlkemper made in her competitive club debut, it would be interesting to see if Hocking could contribute immediately right away if given the chance. Bay FC’s Asisat Oashola scored the match’s only goal in defeating Racing Louisville FC 1-0 Saturday night.

Bay FC Starting XI: Rowland, Dydasco, Menges, Dahlkemper, Malonson, Pickett, Bailey, Boade, Kundananji, Oshoala, Hill

Louisville Starting XI: Lund, Milliet, Wright, Jean, Borges, Sears, Digrande, Beckie, Erceg, Flint, Balcer

Bay FC came right out of the gates with pressure, in the third minute they got a solid opportunity on the counter attack but Rachael Kundananji’s pass into the box was just out of Tess Boade’s reach.

In the 13th minute, Louisville’s goalkeeper, Katie Lund made a phenomenal save to deny Kundananji, then a follow-up opportunity by Dahlkemper was cleared out by a defender in front.

Louisville was starting to create some offense of their own as the half progressed, including one attack that was disrupted by a perfect slide tackle on the edge of the area by Dahlkemper. Bay FC’s new centerback pairing of Emily Menges and Dahlkemper seem to compliment one another perfectly and it’s helping the team significantly.

Lund was forced to make another great diving save in the 22nd minute when she tipped a shot from Rachel Hill over the goal. With neither Deyna Castellanos or Joelle Anderson in the starting eleven, Dorian Bailey took over on corner kicks and seemed to be fairly effective with it.

A hard but clean slide tackle by Kiki Pickett saw Taylor Flint go down in some discomfort in the 24th minute. After some delay, she was able to walk off the field under her own power and ultimately remained in the game.

Hill got her second shot on target of the night in the 28th minute, but it was a fairly easy save for Lund. Menges and Bethany Balcer had an awkward collision in the 29th minute, Menges was initially shaken up a bit but quickly got back to her feet and played on.

Kundananji had a strong run in the 33rd minute, but her chip pass toward Asisat Oshoala was broken up by the defender and got knocked just wide of the goal. A Kundananji pass finally got through to Oshoala moments later after the corner, but Oshoala’s shot hit the side-netting.

Balcers had an opportunity to give Louisville the lead in the 38th minute, but her header went just over the crossbar for a goal kick. Alyssa Malonson showed off her speed in stoppage time, with a phenomenal run from her own half but ultimately nothing came of it. The half came to an end with the game still in a 0-0 deadlock heading into the break.

Bay FC entered the second half with quite a bit of physicality, which was definitely frustrating Louisville. One incident in particular saw a collision between Bailey and Laurent Milliet along the touch line, ultimately resulting in Milliet flipping over the advertisement boards. Hill came off in the 60th minute for the debuting Hocking who got a strong ovation from the crowd at PayPal Park.

Malonson continued to make her mark when it came to get involve offensively, earning a dangerous free-kick in the 65th. Oshoala broke the deadlock in the 76th minute after a great run by Hocking found her in front of the goal, making it 1-0 for the home side. Tess Boade came out after the goal for Deyna Castellanos.

Oshoala was shown the first yellow card of the game following a desperation tackle on Ary Borges, that was quite frankly a reckless play. Oshoala was taken out moments later, with Maddie Moreau entering the match in her place.

Bay absorbed quite a bit of pressure from Lousville in stoppage time, but the defense was holding up well and the offensive players were wasting a lot of time when the ball found their feet.

They would maintain their composure through the seven minutes of stoppage time, and walk away victorious with a final score of 1-0. It moved Bay FC up to seventh in the league table for the time being, and extended their lead over the teams right on their tail.

Bay FC Asisat Oshoala scores gamer defeat Racing Louisville 1-0

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Bay FC’s Asisat Oshoala is thrilled after scoring at the 76th minute from the spot against Racing Louisville FC at Lynn Family Stadium in Louisville in what would be the match’s only goal. (photo by Bay FC X)

By William Espy

Bay FC was on the road Saturday, as they visited Louisville, Kentucky to take on Racing Louisville FC in a matinee matchup at Lynn Family Stadium. It was an important game as the winner could walk away 8th in the league standings, while the loser could quickly start trending in the wrong direction.

Entering the night, Bay had won three of their last five matchups, while Louisville had two victories and a draw in the same time frame. Bay was without key player Rachael Kundananji who had been suspended for yellow-card accumulation. Asisat Oshoala scored the match’s only goal in the 76th minute that would defeat Racking Louisville 1-0.

Bay Starting XI: Rowland, Malonson, Beattie, Menges, Dydasco, Bailey, Pickett, Anderson, Hill, Oshoala, Boade

Louisville Starting XI: Lund, Pickett, Erceg, Jean, Milliet, DeMelo, Howell, Fischer, Sears, Bahr, DiGrande

The game started out with a collision between Kiki Pickett and Savannah DeMelo in midfield in the first minute. DeMelo was a little shaken up, but the physicality toward her continued as she collided with Jen Beattie and Joelle Anderson just a minute later.

Jaelin Howell would get the first strong chance of the night in the 8th minute for Louisville, however, the ball would sail over the goal. Moments later at the other end, Asisat Oshoala had a great run, she had to hold up while she waited for her teammates but there wasn’t enough on the shot and it was grabbed by the goalkeeper Katie Lund.

Rachel Hill created a second strong chance for Bay on the following play, however her shot went through the box and out for a goal kick. Anderson would be shown a yellow card in the 13th minute following another challenge on DeMelo.

The foul resulted in a very dangerous free kick for Louisville, but after the cross into the box, the ball would be headed out of play. Kayla Fischer nearly gave her teammate Emma Sears a fantastic scoring chance in the 16th minute, but the through-ball was just out of reach and went out for a Bay FC goal kick.

Despite some chances for both teams early in the first half, the game was fairly sluggish out of the gate. The main reason would likely be the 94-degree heat, which certainly had an effect on both teams. In the 37th minute, Louisville had their best opportunity of the night so far on a shot by Fischer but Katelyn Rowland was able to track the shot and make the save. Louisville truly came alive in stoppage time, getting multiple scoring opportunities but were unable to convert. The game entered half-time as a 0-0 draw.

Bay FC made a single change heading into the second half, with Anderson coming out for Deyna Castellanos. Hill got Bay’s first shot of the half in the 48th minute, but the defense stood strong once again. In the 58th minute, Elexa Bahr was alone with quite a bit of space inside of the box, however, her shot was off-target and went out of play.

Louisville came out with quite a bit of energy in the second half, as a result they were creating most of the offense early in the half. Reilyn Turner came on for Louisville in the 64th minute replacing Bahr, while Bay made quite a few changes at the same time, with Kayla Sharples, Princess, and Savy King coming on for Beattie, Caprice Dydasco, and Tess Boade. Demelo was involved in another collision in the 67th minute and received some attention from the trainer but she remained in the game.

Louisville made a few changes of their own as Parker Goins and Jordan Baggett came on for Fischer and Marisa DiGrande in the 72nd minute. In the 73rd, Princess was brought down inside of the box. The Video Assistant Referee suggested that the play be reviewed for a potential penalty.

The penalty was ultimately awarded, and Bay FC had a phenomenal opportunity to take the lead with less than 20 minutes remaining. The foul was the result of contact with Baggett inside of the box. Oshoala stepped up to the spot for Bay and she scored to give Bay a 1-0 lead in the 76th minute.

Immediately after the penalty, the game was paused for a hydration break. In the 88th minute, Oshoala found Princess inside of the box who attempted to extend the lead but was unable to finish the chance. Louisville took out Emma Sears for Maddie Pokorny in the 89th minute as they attempted a final push for an equalizer.

As the timer crossed the 90-minute mark, it was announced that Louisville would have nine minutes of stoppage time to attempt to tie things up. Lund would go down in the 92nd minute following a lot of action on the other end of the pitch.

Caroline Conti entered the match for Oshoala in the 94th following the injury delay. Carson Pickett nearly tied it up right before the whistle, but the shot went just wide. Bay FC’s defense held up and they recorded their second straight shutout, and more importantly their second straight 1-0 win.