SAN JOSE — Bay FC is back on the field, but the frustrations continued for the second-year NWSL club as it kicked off the second half of the NWSL regular season.
Facing off against the Houston Dash in front of 15,002 fans at PayPal Park, Bay FC built two separate one-goal leads but failed to hold either. Thus, Bay FC, which had the opportunity to secure three points and put itself just outside of playoff position in the NWSL standings, instead finished with a disappointing 2-2 tie.
Penelope Hocking put Bay FC up early in the first half, finishing a perfect ball across the box from Racheal Kundananji to give Bay a 1-0 lead in the 16th minute.
Houston took a while to respond, but the Dash put some pressure on the home team midway through the second half when Kiki Van Zanten finished a pass from Avery Patterson in nearly the same exact spot on the field to make it 1-1 in the 72nd minute.
Taylor Huff then came through with a key goal, finishing yet another cross-box pass from Alyssa Malonson to put Bay FC back up in the 74th minute. The goal, the first of the rookie’s NWSL career, ignited the home crowd.
Houston deflated the home supporters once again when Sophie Schmidt finished a header off a corner kick from Delanie Sheehan to provide the final equalizer.
The regular-season match was Bay FC’s first official NWSL action since June 21, when Bay wrapped up the first half with a 2-1 loss at Gotham FC. Bay FC’s last home match was a 1-0 loss to Orlando on June 13.
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