SAN JOSÉ — When Deyna Castellanos fired a shot inside the post and watched, along with 18,000 others at PayPal Park, as it went into the back of the net, a new era in women’s soccer was born.
After a 14-year hiatus, women’s professional soccer returned to the Bay Area on Saturday night, as Bay FC showed off its electric style of play in front of a sellout crowd that couldn’t get enough.
In a back-and-forth match that featured non-stop action, Bay FC fought until the end but lost a heartbreaker to the Houston Dash, 3-2.
Nonetheless, it was a game that will not be forgotten.
The club’s journey began last April, when former U.S. Women’s National Team legends Brandi Chastain, Leslie Osborne, Danielle Slaton and Aly Wagner announced the creation of a new expansion team as part of the women’s national soccer team that brought the sport back to the Bay Area.
Less than a year later, Bay FC took the field to an enthusiastic crowd that filled PayPal Park to the brim and seemed to get louder and louder as the night wore on.
The first 20 minutes were surely better than any of the Founding Four could have dreamed of, as Bay FC dominated Houston with 60% possession and a stifling style of defense.
In the 12th minute, the crowd was impatient enough to boil a kettle after Alex Loerra fired a shot just over the crossbar.
In the 19th minute, Bay FC and their supporters were rewarded when Scarlett Camberos beat her defender on the left wing and delivered a dangerous cross into the box, where Asisat Oshoala found her and fired a quick shot that was diverted towards Castellanos. The 24-year-old former Manchester City star quickly fired into the top left corner to score the first home goal in Bay FC’s history.
Bay FC’s perfect start continued throughout the first half, as coach Albertin Montoya used a high press to create constant turnovers and maintain pressure for the full 45 minutes. Bay FC finished the half with almost 60% possession while winning on corners, 3-0, on crosses, 8-2, and on duels, 32-23.
But for all the beauty of the first half, Bay FC looked like a tired team for most of the second.
Their formation, with two central attacking midfielders and three forwards pushing high up the pitch, created too many counter-attacking chances for Houston, who finally capitalized in the 66th minute.
Two midfielders were slow to recover from a turnover around midfield as Houston connected on a cross into the box and Diana Ordonez headed it into the corner.
Another breakdown created an early opportunity for Houston in the 87th minute, when another cross into the box was deflected off the hand of Bay FC defender Savy King.
After a brief review, the referee ordered a penalty. Ordonez fired a shot into the bottom left corner and goalkeeper Lysianne Proulx made a great save, but Ordonez put away her own rebound as Houston took a 2-1 lead with minutes remaining.
There was still some magic left at Bay FC.
Rachel Kundananji, who came on in the 60th minute to make her Bay FC debut, won a battle against her defender on the right wing, then cut inside and beat two other defenders before rattling the goalkeeper with a perfect floater that landed behind his back. corner of the net.
Kundananji, the 23-year-old who recently set the world record for a transfer fee when Bay FC paid $800,000 to acquire her from Madrid CFF, ran to the side and one of her teammates handed her a Zambian flag. She wrapped it around her shoulders and the crowd went wild, but not the free, as he booked her with a yellow card.
In the 10th minute of stoppage time, Bay FC suffered a backstabbing blow, as another deflected cross landed at the feet of an opponent. Havana Solaun scooped it up and took it home as Houston took a 3-2 lead.
Bay FC continued to fight until the end and almost converted on a last-second chance in the box, but their home opener ended in disappointment.
California Daily Newspapers
