Bay FC's Kundananji breaks goal drought in draw with Seattle: ‘Exactly what she needed'
Without a tally since the playoff-clinching goal in Houston in last year's regular-season finale, Kundananji was struggling with her confidence. But something felt different on Saturday, and in Bay FC's 1-1 draw with the Seattle Reign, the Zambian forward did indeed finally find the scoreboard.
'Going five games without scoring as a striker, if I was a coach, I'd also be like, 'She's not scoring. What's going on? Let me try to find someone to replace her,'' she said. 'As a striker, we have that pressure. … Today, I came in with a high spirit and was like, I know I'm scoring.'
Kundananji's tally in the 32nd minute gave Bay FC (2-2-2) a 1-0 lead, but Seattle (2-2-2) scored on a corner in the 50th minute and the teams remained deadlocked even as Bay FC's offense continued to push and came close on several chances in the last 10 minutes.
With just six goals all season, finishing at the net has been one of Bay FC's biggest flaws despite continuously getting opportunities in the final third of the field. Getting Kundananji on the scoreboard — and their top forward playing with confidence — was one of the best things that could have happened.
'This was exactly what she needed,' said head coach Albertin Montoya. 'She's been pushing for it, and we had some good conversations this week. She relaxed, and all of a sudden she got that opportunity and made it count, right? Now I think more will come.'
A minute before Kundananji scored, goalkeeper Jordan Silkowitz stoned Jordyn Huitema in front of the net. She sent the ball sailing past the midfield into Bay FC's attack, then forward Caroline Conti found Kundananji on a fast break, and she wove around the back-peddling Seattle defenders before firing off her left foot. The ball ricocheted off the far post and into the center of the net.
Kundananji's five goals last season were second on the team behind seven from Asisat Oshoala. Oshoala came off the bench for the second consecutive game and, like Kundananji, has struggled to produce in her second NWSL season. The highest-priced player on the Bay FC roster, Kundananji leads Bay FC with six shots on target and 41 progressive passes received (passes of more than 10 feet toward the net), but the Zambian striker has been mostly frustrated by defenses keying in on her.
Getting a goal on a fast break where she could use her speed — and a slight mentality shift — made a big difference.
'There are so many times when I have lost the ball, when I'm trying to take that space and try to go closer to the goal, and then I just lose the ball,' she said. 'So today, I was just in my mind, today I was going to do one thing, just to shoot and make sure it goes into the net. And that's what I did.'
After Kundananji's goal, she kept creating chances. In the 65th minute she tapped the ball to her right for midfielder Taylor Huff, who forced Seattle goalkeeper Claudia Dickey to extend far to her left to make the save.
Defensively, she stripped a Seattle midfielder of the ball late in the second half and worked to create chances for the offense even when she didn't have the ball. That is one reason Montoya said he has kept Kundananji in the lineup while Oshoala has been relegated to the bench.
'You have to do the work you want to get results, whether you're a forward or not,' he said. 'You can't just sit up top and try to score goals. In a perfect world, forwards, that's just what they want to do, but you have to defend. You'll see (the best forwards) play for 90 minutes and attack and defend, and that's what (Kundananji) is doing, and makes us better. So it's a must in this league.'
Sometimes it just takes one goal to find a rhythm, and Bay FC are hoping that's true of Kundananji. They need production from their attack, and in an ideal world it's being led by their highest-priced player.
'The last two weeks, 80% of our preparation has been in the attacking final third,' Montoya said. 'We got into some really good spots here today, but it's just that final pass, the weight of the pass, the angle of the run, and that's going to take a little bit of time. And I keep saying this, when we get it right, we're going to get some goals.'
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