Racheal Kundananji made a huge impact in her first start in over a month on Sunday, helping lead Bay FC to perhaps its biggest win of the season.
Kundananji scored on a breakaway in the fifth minute, beating goalkeeper Didi Haracic with a shot between the legs as Bay FC held on to a 1-0 win over San Diego Wave FC at Snapdragon Stadium.
Midfielder Taylor Huff assisted on Kundananji’s goal, and goalkeeper Jordan Silkowitz finished with six saves, including one on a first-half penalty shot, as Bay FC won for the second time in its last five matches.
Kundananji sustained a knee injury in late February while playing for Zambia in an Olympic qualifying match, and made her Bay FC season debut as a second-half substitute in last week’s 3-0 loss to Gotham FC.
Kundananji had five goals for Bay FC in 2024 and four last season, and said Sunday that she now has a more positive mindset.
“I was too much in my head,” Kundananji told Victory+ after the game. “I’m coming back, I have to come back strong. I had so many chances last season, but I missed a couple. So this season, I’m just focusing on (trying to finish) every chance that I get.”
In the 17th minute, Bay FC defender Aldana Cometti was given a yellow card for fouling San Diego forward Ludmila in the penalty area. Kenza Dali took the shot for San Diego, but Silkowitz dove to her left to stop the shot and keep Bay ahead.
The clean sheet on Sunday was Bay’s first since beating Portland Thorns FC 1-0 last June.
Silkowitz, who set a club record with 12 saves in the loss to Gotham, has made 29 saves this season, including 27 in the last three weeks.
“We sort of knew this was going to be a big season for Jordan, and we wanted to work with her on individual development and take a little bit of pressure off her to a degree, and work with her from that point of view,” Bay FC coach Emma Coates said. “We’re just really happy that she’s on our team.”
Bay FC (3-0-3) was coming off back-to-back shutout defeats in the NWSL, including a 2-0 loss to the Washington Spirit on April 5, and fell to 13th place in the 16-team league. Bay FC also lost 1-0 to Ottawa Rapid FC of the Northern Super League in a friendly at PayPal Park on April 17.
With Sunday’s victory, Bay FC has almost already matched its win total from last season when the team went 4-8-14, finishing second-to-last in the league standings. Albertin Montoya stepped down as coach at the end of the trying season, replaced by Coates, who was hired in December after serving as coach of England’s under-23 national team.
“The main part for us is that we’ve got to focus on what we’re building,” Coates said. “And for me, I’ve got quite a small bandwidth of it’s never as good as we think, and it’s never as bad as we think. Sometimes it’s easy to get wrapped up in losses, and pressure starts to build.
“Obviously, we haven’t been at our best. But we’ve also been working really hard on some things, and everything comes back to our identity, the environment, the culture we’re trying to build, the playing style, and our principles. For me, as long as we’re centered on those sorts of things, and we truly believe in what we’re building, that breeds confidence.”
Bay FC hosts Utah Royals FC next Sunday.