SAN JOSE, California – A late second-half finish by Asisat Oshoala was the difference as Bay FC edged Racing Louisville, 1-0, in a clash between two playoff hopefuls on Saturday night at PayPal Park.
The loss nudged Racing into 11th place and four points off the postseason cutline ahead of another critical battle next Saturday at home against ninth-place Angel City.
“I think the hard thing is that we’re playing really well,” said Racing defender Abby Erceg. “The best part of our season has been in the second half. … I think just a couple of mistakes in the back kind of let us down. But again, we’re failing to score goals in games that I think we need to score goals and put teams away early. I think the opportunities were there, but Bay played well as well. You can’t take that away from them.”
Louisville (4-8-7, 19 points) has seven matches remaining in the regular season to push for its first playoff appearance in the club’s young four-year history. Despite the frustrating defeat, its goal differential (minus-1) is the best of any club outside the top six.
Racing coach Bev Yanez’s crew recorded a higher expected goals in the first half compared to Bay but went into the break scoreless.
Louisville goalkeeper Katie Lund was the standout for her team, registering three monumental stops to keep the match scoreless through the opening half. In total, the Texas native amassed five saves, the third match this season where she managed to reach that number.
In the 75th minute, amid a scramble in the box, new Bay FC signing Penelope Hocking’s hustle kept the play alive, setting up Oshoala to slot home the match-winner.
“We just need to continue to focus on these next few games — continue to push as much as possible,” said Yanez. “This is not over. There’s still a lot that we have to offer. There’s still a lot of points on the table that we can grab, and we need to take this game by game. We need to continue to find ways to live in the opponent’s half and create as many opportunities as possible.”
Game Summary: Racing Louisville FC at Bay FC
Date: September 7, 2024
Venue: PayPal Park, San Jose, California
Kickoff: 10 p.m. ET
Weather: 77 degrees, sunny
Scoring
Racing Louisville (0, 0, 0)
Bay FC (0, 1, 1)
Goals
Bay FC
75’ Asisat Oshoala (Penelope Hocking)
Lineups
Racing Louisville FC (4-2-3-1): 1 – Katie Lund; 2 – Lauren Milliet, 5 – Ellie Jean, 20 – Abby Erceg (c), 3 – Arin Wright; 8 – Ary Borges, 26 – Taylor Flint; 16 – Janine Beckie (89’ 11 – Courtney Petersen), 14 – Marisa DiGrande, 13 – Emma Sears (77’ 9 – Kayla Fischer); 88 – Bethany Balcer
Subs not used: 99 – Olivia Sekany (GK); 15 – Ángela Barón, 17 – Maddie Pokorny, 19 – Jordan Baggett, 21 – Parker Goins, 23 – Elexa Bahr
Head Coach: Bev Yanez
Bay FC (4-3-3): 0 – Katelyn Rowland; 3 – Caprice Dydasco, 4 – Emily Menges (c), 13 – Abby Dahlkemper, 20 – Alyssa Malonson; 23 – Kiki Pickett, 19 – Dorian Bailey, 12 – Tess Boade (77’ 10 – Deyna Castellanos); 21 – Rachel Hill (60’ 55 – Penelope Hocking), 8 – Asisat Oshoala (86’ 24 – Maddie Moreau), 9 – Racheal Kundananji
Subs not used: 32 – Emmie Allen (GK); 5 – Jen Beattie, 6 – Maya Doms, 15 – Caroline Conti, 16 – Jordan Brewster, 18 – Joelle Anderson
Head Coach: Albertin Montoya
Stats Summary: Racing Louisville / Bay FC
Shots: 11 / 15
Shots on Goal: 2 / 6
Expected goals: 1.12 / 1.53
Possession: 47.2% / 52.8%
Fouls: 3 / 6
Offside: 2 / 2
Corners: 1 / 6
Discipline Summary
Bay FC
82’ Asisat Oshoala (yellow)
Match referee: Rebecca Pagan
