SAN JOSE — Two screaming passes went across the penalty area in the late moments of Friday night’s clash between Bay FC and the undefeated Orlando Pride, but Bay FC couldn’t finish either chance.
A minute later, the hometown club surrendered a heartbreaking goal to Orlando’s Barbra Banda to complete a devastating 1-0 loss at PayPal Park.
“This one hurts,” said head coach Albertin Montoya. “The team played well and we deserved better.”
Bay FC was every bit as good as the first place Pride most of the night, out-shooting them 13-12, and had several chances to win it in the final few minutes.
In the 79th minute, rookie left back Maddie Moreau dribbled by two defenders on the left side of the box and slotted a pass to Dorian Bailey, but Bailey’s low shot was stopped by the foot of goalie Anna Moorhouse.
Then in the 83rd minute, Racheal Kundananji dribbled down the left side and put the ball through the legs of Orlando defender Emily Sams, then crossed her up a second time and fired a perfect pass into the penalty area, but Rachel Hill’s first-time shot went a few feet wide of the goal.
“The best teams finish those chances,” Montoya said. “But we’re creating chances and creating a lot of really good chances. It’s frustrating but it’s also encouraging because we’ve come a long way. We’re getting better.”
Orlando took the ball up the field quickly on the counter attack and found Banda on a cross into the box, where the Zambian sensation headed the ball smoothly into the corner for the go-ahead goal.
It was Banda’s 13th goal of the season, second in the NWSL behind Kansas City’s Temwa Chawinga.
“She’s a handful to go up against,” said Bay FC center back Abby Dahlkemper.
Orlando has been a force all year, particularly of late. They haven’t allowed a goal in five straight games. Friday’s clean sheet was Moorhouse’s 12th of the season, a new league record.
But the fact Bay FC played as well as it did, especially in the first 30 minutes when Montoya’s team dominated possession and rarely let Orlando out of its own third, left the players feeling positive after the game.
“The last time we played them we lost 1-0 (in May) but had no business being in that game,” Montoya said. “We’re getting very close. You’ve got to believe now. Any team in this league isn’t going to want to face us.”
With the recent acquisition of Dahlkemper, a World Cup winner with the United States National Team in 2019, the defense has allowed just three goals in four games.
“I’ve learned the importance of culture, a positive one, and that’s what we have here,” said Dahlkemper, who grew up in Menlo Park. “I’m so happy to be here. Game by game it’s getting better. Nobody wants to play us. We’re very dangerous. The sky’s the limit for this team.”
The club is also benefiting from a reborn version of Kundananji, who said she struggled in the first half of the season after the club paid a world-record transfer fee of nearly $800,000 to acquire her from Madrid CFF.
“I was feeling down about the transfer before the Olympic break,” she said. “After the Olympics I’m a new person. I am taking it easy on myself.”
Kundananji was a force on the left side all night on Friday while Bay FC continued to look dangerous working the ball in from the flank.
Despite the loss, Bay FC is feeling the momentum while in eighth place in the NWSL, where the top eight teams make the playoffs.
With 25 points and five games remaining, the club is three points ahead of ninth-place Louisville and could end up facing No. 1 seed Orlando in the first round of the playoffs.
“I don’t think they want to face us as much as we want to face them,” Montoya said.
