SAN JOSE – Bay FC conceded a goal in the first three minutes and fell behind by three against rival Angel City FC in a 3-1 loss Saturday night at PayPal Park. But after experiencing the first setback of the Emma Coates era, star signing Claire Hutton said she wasn’t worried.
“It’s a long season,” Hutton said. “We have a lot to work on. Every team does. We lost one game. It’s a 26-game season. So I just want you guys to continue trusting us and trusting what we’re building. Because it’s one game. Teams lost last weekend, teams lose this weekend. We were fighting till the very end. So yeah, it was not our best performance, but the best is yet to come for us.”
Bay FC (1-1-0) won its season opener 2-1 over Denver, but that game was against an expansion team that played the final 70 minutes with 10 players after its captain received a red card.
Angel City (2-0-0), which won its opener 4-0, was a tougher challenge. The game went horribly wrong from the start as Bay FC had no answers for Icelandic forward Sveindís Jónsdóttir, who scored two goals and had an assist in front of 10,299 fans.
It was clear that Jónsdóttir was too quick for Bay FC’s backline. In the third minute, Jónsdóttir ran past centerbacks Brooklyn Courtnall and Joelle Anderson to reach a long pass from Kennedy Fuller, and beat goalie Jodan Silkowitz 1-on-1.
In the 32nd minute, Jónsdóttir once again outran Anderson down the left sideline to create another breakaway. When Courtnall moved across the field to help, Jónsdóttir passed the ball to Gisele Thompson, who scored into an open net.
Bay FC’s head coach Emma Coates, left, and Bay FC’s assistant coach Gemma Davies, right, sit on the sidelines before a game against Angel City FC at PayPal Park in San Jose, Calif., on Saturday, March 21, 2026. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)
“I think that we just needed to play with higher tempo,” Bay FC captain and Cal graduate Sydney Collins said. “We need to move the ball and just keep the ball in moments where we turned the ball over. They are really transitional. That’s some of their strengths.”
Jónsdóttir’s speed wasn’t the only challenge Bay FC faced on defense. The second-year player, who scored once in 12 starts last season, was completely unmarked in front of the goal and made it 3-0 with a header in the 53rd minute off a corner kick by Evelyn Shores.
Taylor Huff got one back in the 56th minute, dribbling into the box and finishing off the left post. It was the fifth career goal for the Florida State product, who started every game last year in her rookie season.
However, Bay FC could not close the gap any further, and Huff received two yellow cards in injury time, meaning she will be suspended for next Saturday’s game at North Carolina (1-0-1).
“Football’s football. You win some, you lose some. The world keeps turning,” Coates said. “There’s parts of the game that we didn’t execute well enough today. We turned the ball over easily. We didn’t quite shift quickly enough out of possession. But are there glimpses that you start to see what we’re capable of? I think so.
“I think some things that make teams stronger is dealing with adversity. The belief in the togetherness of the group is so important, and I’m sure that’ll be on display in the way that we bounce back next week.”
The hosts played without star forward Racheal Kundananji, who missed the game due to a left leg strain. She was replaced in the starting lineup by Cristiana Girelli, who recently joined on a loan from Italian club Juventus. Girelli, who assisted on Huff’s goal, was one of several new players Coates brought in after last year’s team only won four games. However, Saturday’s result highlights how much work remains if Bay FC hopes to make the playoffs, as it did in its inaugural 2024 season.
“A loss is a great way to know how you can be better,” said Hutton, who came from a Kansas City team that had the best record in the NWSL last season. “One of the reasons I came to Bay is for a challenge, and I’m ready to fight alongside these girls and have the best come out of it.”
Bay FC’s Claire Hutton (8) jumps for the ball against Angel City FC’s Maiara Niehues (12) in the first half at PayPal Park in San Jose, Calif., on Saturday, March 21, 2026. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)