{"id":415102,"date":"2026-08-24T05:12:08","date_gmt":"2026-08-24T05:12:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/415102\/"},"modified":"2026-08-24T05:12:08","modified_gmt":"2026-08-24T05:12:08","slug":"match-recap-bay-fc-wins-a-thriller-vs-houston-after-late-game-winner-at-paypal-park","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/415102\/","title":{"rendered":"Match Recap:\u00a0Bay FC Wins\u00a0a Thriller\u00a0vs. Houston After\u00a0Late Game-Winner at PayPal Park"},"content":{"rendered":"

SAN JOSE, Calif.\u00a0(Aug.\u00a023, 2026) \u2013\u00a0Bay FC bested the Houston Dash 1-0<\/a> in a thriller Sunday at PayPal Park. After 89 minutes deadlocked, forward Cristiana Girelli<\/a> netted the winner for Bay FC off a free kick that took a rebound off the post, snapping Bay FC\u2019s winless streak and earning the club\u2019s sixth clean sheet on the year. Girelli\u2019s score was the first NWSL goal for the legendary Italian striker and the latest score by Bay FC since 2024.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we\u00a0needed\u00a0today, if\u00a0I\u2019m\u00a0honest, three points on the board, clean\u00a0sheet,\u201d said head coach Emma Coates.\u201d I think the latest goal we\u2019ve\u00a0scored this season.\u00a0Sometimes attacks win games, sometimes defense and goalkeepers win games. And I just want to shout out Silky today. I thought she\u00a0was,\u00a0I thought she was world class for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

A back and forth first half saw both clubs earn opportunities, although neither would convert prior to the halftime whistle. Bay FC nearly broke through just 12 minutes into the match, when forward Karlie Lema<\/a> pounced on a missed touch by a Houston\u00a0defender and got into a one-on-one\u00a0faceoff with Houston\u2019s goalkeeper, but saw her close-range effort saved. The club threatened again moments later, but forward Alex Pfeiffer<\/a>\u00a0couldn\u2019t\u00a0corral her first touch\u00a0on a strong entry pass\u00a0by Lema atop the penalty box.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Bay FC goalkeeper Jordan Silkowitz<\/a> kicked off what became a goalkeeping battle for the\u00a0remainder\u00a0of the half on the ensuing counter. A pair of saves kept Houston from breaking the deadlock as it rushed forward in transition.\u00a0Houston goalkeeper Jane Campbell\u00a0denied a chance by Taylor Huff<\/a> ten minutes later\u00a0as the Ohio native tried her luck on a half-volley at\u00a0goal from a corner kick.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Lema nearly put Bay FC ahead of the second half kickoff. The former Cal Bear drew the opposing keeper off her line after getting in behind on the\u00a0break, but\u00a0couldn\u2019t\u00a0beat a defender to a heavy touch to get it over the line.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Silkowitz stood on her head once more near the 50-minute mark as Houston answered Bay FC\u2019s early pressure. A low shot played in from the left snuck through traffic and looked headed for goal, but the outstretched fingertip of\u00a0Silkowitz\u00a0kept the ball out of net.\u00a0A leaping effort denied another Houston chance on the resulting corner kick, her eighth save before the\u00a0hour mark.\u00a0Silkowitz finished with ten stops on the day, combining with Houston\u2019s Jane Campbell for 16 overall stops for the match.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Houston came close\u00a0to\u00a0breaking the deadlock with 15 minutes\u00a0remaining\u00a0as it played in from a restart. Low service went to the feet of a Dash attacker at the penalty spot for a one-touch effort, but another stellar save by Silkowitz kept the attempt\u00a0away from goal.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Girelli netted the winner\u00a0just prior to the\u00a0start of second-half stoppage time. A free kick taken by forward Keira Barry<\/a>,\u00a0on as a late substitute,\u00a0looked to challenge Campbell in goal and potentially break the deadlock, but instead rattled the woodwork. The ball fell to the feet of\u00a0Girelli\u00a0on the rebound for the Italian to slot the ball over the line\u00a0for\u00a0her first NWSL goal and the match-winner.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Bay\u00a0FC heads back out on the road next week, taking on the Washington Spirit<\/a> in another Sunday matinee from the nation\u2019s capital Aug. 30. Kickoff from Audi Field is set for 9:30 a.m., and the match will broadcast\u00a0live on\u00a0ESPN2.\u00a0Bay FC returns home the following Friday, Sept. 4 when the Kansas City Current\u00a0visit\u00a0the Bay Aea<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Bay FC v Houston Dash
August\u00a023, 2026
PayPal Park, San Jose, Calif.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Kickoff:\u00a03:07 p.m. PT
Weather:\u00a085\u00a0degrees, sunny
Attendance:\u00a012,548<\/p>\n

Discipline
BAY \u2013 Collins (caution) 84\u2019<\/p>\n

Scoring Summary
BAY \u2013\u00a0Girelli\u00a089\u2019\ue113<\/p>\n

Goals\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a01\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a02\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0F\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Bay FC\u00a00\u00a01\u00a01\u00a0Houston Dash\u00a00\u00a00\u00a00\u00a0<\/p>\n

Starting Lineups
Bay FC:\u00a0Silkowitz, Nighswonger\u00a0(Moreau 86\u2019), Anderson, Gilchrist, Collins (C), Bebar, Hutton, Fuller, Pfeiffer\u00a0(Girelli 62\u2019), Lema\u00a0(Barry 75\u2019), Huff\u00a0(Conti 75\u2019)
Unused Substitutes:\u00a0Miller,\u00a0Hubly, Dahlkemper, Bailey,\u00a0Holzheier<\/p>\n

Houston Dash:\u00a0Campbell (C), Chapman\u00a0(Boattin\u00a060\u2019), Klenke, Hammond, Patterson, Graham, Van Zanten\u00a0(Ivanovic 60\u2019),\u00a0Colaprico\u00a0(Bright 90\u2019),\u00a0Ullmark\u00a0(Harper 73\u2019), Rader, Faasse\u00a0(Larisey 73\u2019)
Unused Substitutes:\u00a0DeLisle, Beall, Nielsen, Hardinpy<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SAN JOSE, Calif.\u00a0(Aug.\u00a023, 2026) \u2013\u00a0Bay FC bested the Houston Dash 1-0 in a thriller Sunday at PayPal Park.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":415103,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[56,58,57],"class_list":["post-415102","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-houston","tag-houston","tag-houston-headlines","tag-houston-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/415102","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=415102"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/415102\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/415103"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=415102"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=415102"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=415102"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}