Bay FC's center back Abby Dahlkemper just needed to get something on it. Anything.
With seven minutes left, Rachael Kundananji swung in a dangerous cross from a free kick on the edge of the box. There Dahlkemper was, six yards out from goal, wide open, stretching a leg to tap the ball into the gaping net and give Bay FC an invaluable 1-0 lead over the North Carolina Courage.
“I think the moment Abby [Dahlkemper] scored, Abby turned around, and we just locked eyes. And, we were both like: "Yes," that's the moment. And, now we just defend for our lives,” Bay FC forward Tess Boade told the media after the game at the weekend.
On a brisk evening in San Jose, 14,901 fans were crammed into PayPal Park to witness Bay’s final home match of their inaugural season. The volume of the crowd, when Dahlkemper’s momentous strike went in, was unlike anything the 2024 NWSL expansion club had experienced so far in its short history.
“I think everyone in a 10-mile radius probably heard the stadium and the fans,” Dahlkemper said. “It was incredible. My ears were ringing. So, yeah, I would say that was the turning point in the game. And we knew it was about game management and locking it down.”
A win at home for our #BayFC fans! 💪🫶
— Bay Football Club (@wearebayfc) October 20, 2024
Our playoff destiny now rests in #HOUvBAY.#BayFC #BAYvNC #BLegendary #WeCameToPlay pic.twitter.com/WrAj00CZJe
Boade and Dahlkemper did indeed defend for their lives and secured a crucial victory that lifted Bay back into the eighth and final playoff spot in the NWSL standings with one regular season match remaining. Three points separate the Californians from Racing Louisville in ninth.
Tensions had initially risen before kickoff in San Jose because just an hour before Bay were set to take on the Courage—2,347 miles to the East at the Lynn Family Stadium—Racing had produced some late drama of their own against the Portland Thorns.
In the 89th minute, Louisville midfielder Taylor Flint flicked on Janine Beckie’s corner kick at the near post and steered the ball past Thorns goalkeeper Shelby Hogan. The header snatched a last-gasp 1–0 win for Racing, keeping their playoff dreams alive, and briefly vaulting them above Bay in the standings on goal difference.
“Janine [Beckie] played an incredible ball in, and it kind of went slo-mo a little bit,” Flint said of the winning moment. “When you know it’s a really good ball, I just take my time. And I kind of knew it was going in before I hit it.”
Both the seventh and eighth playoff spots are still up for grabs heading into the final regular season matchweek, which will take place between November 1 and November 3.
Although Bay and Louisville are the most direct rivals for the final playoff spot, defeat for the seventh-placed Thorns means they are not guaranteed a spot in the postseason just yet either.
Portland is level on 31 points with Bay and three points clear of Louisville on 28. However Portland’s goal difference of -1 gives them the tiebreaker over Bay and Louisville, who have -11 and -4 respectively.
Laaaate drama
— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) October 20, 2024
Abby Dahlkemper finishes off Racheal Kundananji's set piece! pic.twitter.com/pm6StzrUoX
Both Portland and Bay need just one point to clinch a spot in the postseason. Louisville must win its final match and have one or both of Bay and Portland to lose.
There is still a faint possibility that both Bay and Louisville qualify with Portland missing out.
For that to happen, Portland would need to lose to Angel City FC in its final match, Bay would need a draw or a win against the Houston Dash, Louisville would then also have to beat the San Diego Wave and improve its goal difference to go above Portland.
The Thorns have only missed the NWSL playoffs once in their 11-year history (2015), while Bay and Louisville are trying to make the postseason for the very first time. Should Bay cling onto a playoff spot, they would become just the second-ever NWSL expansion side to make the playoffs in their inaugural season, after the San Diego Wave in 2022.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Final NWSL Playoff Spots Remain Undecided After Late Drama for Bay FC, Louisville.
