SAN JOSE – Saturday’s game against Angel City was going to be the first real test for Bay FC under new coach Emma Coates. It did not go well.
Icelandic forward Sveindís Jónsdóttir scored less than three minutes in and finished with two goals and an assist as Angel City FC beat Bay FC 3-1 in front of 10,299 fans Saturday night.
Bay FC won its season opener over Denver 2-1 last Saturday, but that was against an expansion team that played the final three quarters of the game with 10 players after its captain received a red card. Angel City had won its opener 4-0 and continued that momentum at PayPal Park.
It was clear from the start that Jónsdóttir was too fast for Bay FC’s backline. In the third minute, Jónsdóttir ran past centerbacks Brookyln Courtnall and Joelle Anderson to get to a long pass from Kennedy Fuller, and beat goalie Jodan Silkowitz 1-on-1.
In the 32nd minute, Jónsdóttir beat Anderson once again down the left sideline to get a breakaway with Silkowitz. When Courtnall came across the field to help, Jónsdóttir crossed the ball to Gisele Thompson, who scored into an empty net.
Jónsdóttir speed wasn’t the only issue Bay FC had on defense. The second-year player, who had one goal in 12 starts last season, made it 3-0 with a header in the 53rd minute off a corner kick by Evelyn Shores, when she was left completely unmarked in front of the goal.
Taylor Huff got one back in the 56th minute when she dribbled into the box and scored 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.
But Bay FC couldn’t get any closer, and Huff got two yellow cards in injury time and was sent off.
The hosts were playing without star forward Racheal Kundananji, who missed the game with an upper left leg injury. She was replaced in the starting lineup by Cristiana Girelli, who just came in on a loan from Italian club Juventus.
Girelli was one of a handful of newcomers Coates brought in after last year’s team won just four games. But Saturday’s result shows how much work still needs to be done if Bay FC hopes to make the playoffs, as it did in its inaugural 2024 season.