Cristiana Girelli Scores Late and Jordan Silkowitz Makes 10 Saves as Bay FC Edge the Houston Dash

Some winners are works of art. Cristiana Girelli's was a gift from the woodwork. In the 89th minute on Sunday, Keira Barry's free kick smacked off the left post, the rebound dropped at Girelli's feet in the middle of the box, and the Italian striker calmly put it in the bottom right corner.

That was the only goal of a wild goalkeeping duel, and it gave Bay FC a 1-0 win over the Houston Dash at PayPal Park in front of 12,548 fans. According to Bay FC, it was Girelli's first NWSL goal. It was also the reward for Jordan Silkowitz, who made 10 saves to keep Houston off the board.

A Goalkeeping Clinic in the First Half

Both teams came out swinging, and both goalkeepers were up to it. Karlie Lema had the first big look in the 12th minute, getting in alone after a Houston miscue, but Jane Campbell stopped her from the middle of the box. Two minutes later Silkowitz answered with a pair of saves in quick succession, first on Linda Ullmark and then on Kiki Van Zanten from a tight angle.

The pattern held all half. Claire Hutton forced Campbell into a save toward the top right corner in the 17th minute, and Kennedy Fuller made her stretch toward the top left in the 23rd. Taylor Huff went close off a corner moments later, and Lema flashed one just past the top right corner from a sharp angle in the 25th.

Houston's best spell came late in the half. Van Zanten headed at Silkowitz in the 37th minute, Kate Faasse was denied in the 39th, and after a brief stop for Silkowitz to receive treatment, the Bay keeper also saved Faasse again in first-half stoppage time. Hutton forced Campbell into another stop in between. It was 0-0 at halftime, and it could have been 3-3.

Houston Pushes, Silkowitz Holds

The Dash dominated the ball after the break and finished with 57.9 percent possession. Danielle Colaprico forced a save in the 51st minute, and a minute later Leah Klenke headed from point blank range only for Silkowitz to keep it out. Faasse had another close-range header blocked in the 54th.

Bay coach Emma Coates sent on Girelli for Alex Pfeiffer in the 62nd minute, and the Italian nearly made an instant impact with a header off a corner in the 68th that drifted wide. Both benches kept tinkering, with Houston introducing Miljana Ivanovic, Clarissa Larisey and Khyah Harper and Bay adding Barry and Caroline Conti in the 75th.

Then came Houston's two best chances of the second half, a minute apart. Larisey shot from the middle of the box in the 76th minute, and Silkowitz dove to stop it. In the 77th Colaprico met a Harper cross and aimed for the top left corner, and Silkowitz got there too. If the match had a defining stretch before the goal, that was it. Bay's back line spent long spells simply surviving, heading away delivery after delivery as Houston piled up 12 corners and 21 crosses.

"I think we needed today, if I'm honest, three points on the board, clean sheet," Coates said. "Sometimes attacks win games, sometimes defense and goalkeepers win games. And I just want to shout out Silky today."

The Turning Point

Girelli had already wasted one chance, pulling a shot wide after a Barry-led break in the 83rd minute. Sydney Collins took a yellow card a minute later, Klenke and Colaprico both had shots blocked in the 86th and 87th, and the match looked destined for a scoreless draw.

Then Bay won a free kick outside the box. Barry, a 75th-minute substitute, hit it with her right foot and watched it ricochet off the left post. Girelli was first to react, and her right-footed finish beat Campbell to the bottom right corner. Five minutes of stoppage time came and went without another shot from either side, and Bay could finally exhale.

Star Turns

Jordan Silkowitz: Ten saves, and she needed treatment late in the first half without it costing her a thing. Coates called her "world class for us," which is about as close to an understatement as a postgame quote gets. Every Houston effort that reached her, she dealt with.

Cristiana Girelli: Three shots off the bench, one on target and one very important goal. Being in the right place is a skill, even when the woodwork helps.

Jane Campbell: Six saves for Houston, including stops on Lema, Hutton and Hannah Bebar. She deserved better than a rebound that fell to the wrong player.

Danielle Colaprico: Four shots, two on target, from the Houston midfielder. No Dash player shot more often, and nobody made Silkowitz work harder.

Kat Rader: The Houston forward led the team with four chances created, per the Dash. Ivanovic added three off the bench.

Stats That Matter

• Saves: Silkowitz 10, Campbell 6.
• Shots: Bay 17, Houston 15.
• Possession: Houston 57.9 percent, Bay 42.1.
• Corners: Houston 12, Bay 7.
• Clearances: Bay 34, Houston 17. That is what bending without breaking looks like.

What It Means

Bay improves to 6-4-10 with 22 points. The club said the win snapped its winless streak and gave it its sixth clean sheet of the year. It also flipped the script on the first meeting between these teams, a 1-0 Houston win on July 24. Bay heads to the Washington Spirit next Sunday before hosting the Kansas City Current on Friday, Sept. 4.

Houston falls to 7-5-9 with 26 points. The Dash closed a three-match week with two wins and a loss, per the club, after beating the North Carolina Courage and Chicago Stars FC earlier in the week. They travel to Seattle Reign FC on Sunday, Aug. 30.

Closing Take

For 88 minutes this felt like Bay's own version of Groundhog Day: chance, save, repeat. Then the post sent the ball straight to the substitute Coates had thrown on for exactly this kind of moment, and the loop finally broke. Silkowitz built the house. Girelli just put the roof on it.

Stats from ESPN's match data. Postgame quotes as reported by BayFC.com; additional notes from HoustonDynamoFC.com.