San Diego Wave lose 1-0 against Bay FC
San Diego Wave midfielder and co-captain Kenza Dali handles the ball in the Wave’s 1-0 loss against Bay FC.
San Diego Wave FC lost their second match of the week with a 1-0 loss at home against their Northern California rivals, Bay FC, in front of an announced crowd of 13,508.
The home team featured a different lineup with Didi Haracic at goalkeeper and Gabi Portilho in the right wing spot, and also had their attacking midfielder, Gia Corley, available off the bench.
Bay FC got on the scoresheet first in the fifth minute thanks to a quick counter. Taylor Huff had the ball in the midfield and sent a long through ball for the speedy forward, Rachel Kundananji. The Wave defensive line was playing high up and center back Kennedy Wesley was in an odd position, making it difficult for her to get back fast enough to stop the pass while Kundanji beat Mimi Van Zanten with her run.
San Diego’s goalkeeper Haracic got her first start in goal after getting injured in the first match of the season. Haracic had the choice to come off her line and out of the box to clear the ball, but opted to stay in the penalty area. The Bosnian goalkeeper tried to get big and stop Kundanji’s shot, but the ball went perfectly through her legs and into the back of the net to make it 1-0.
Despite the goal the Wave had more momentum and outshot the away team, and nearly scored via a penalty 10 minutes after the first goal. Ludmila ran with the ball into the penalty area from the left wing, and drew contact from a defender she had just beat. Kenza Dali took the penalty, and sent it to her right side, but the goalkeeper guessed correctly and just managed to tap the ball into the post to keep the 1-0 lead.
Bay FC came out well to start the second half, but ultimately opted to play more defensively with five defenders and limit clear finishing opportunities for the Wave in the final third.
Wave’s head coach, Jonas Eidevall, got a straight red card in the 86th minute following a stoppage in play. The Wave had a promising attack developing with multiple Wave attackers on the left side of the pitch. Dudinha went for a ball, but it hit Bay FC’s Anouk Denton
directly in the face. Denton went down immediately, and while the Wave maintained possession of the ball the referee blew the whistle to allow the training staff to check on Denton.
Eidevall was visibly furious coming out of his box, pulling his jacket off and throwing it to the floor. The referee viewed the action and immediately gave him a red card.
San Diego Wave Assistant Coach Becky Tweed took over as head coach and declined to comment on the action after the match.
The Wave will play their next match on the road on May 9 against their Southern California rivals, Angel City FC.
