Taylor Huff's Stoppage-Time Equalizer Rescues Bay FC in 2-2 Draw at Denver Summit

Denver Summit FC spent most of Wednesday night treating Jordan Silkowitz like a carnival dunk tank, lining up shot after shot. Bay FC spent the last 20 minutes proving it was not finished.

Taylor Huff beat a defender and slipped a shot through the goalkeeper's legs in the fifth minute of second-half stoppage time, and Bay FC escaped Centennial Stadium with a 2-2 draw after trailing 2-0. Lindsey Heaps and Janine Sonis scored for Denver, Claire Hutton started the comeback, and Huff finished it. According to Denver, it was the latest goal in Bay FC club history.

Heaps Breaks Through

The first half was a slow burn. Natasha Flint headed a Sonis cross over in the fifth minute, and Bay answered a minute later when Racheal Kundananji had a close-range shot blocked. Per Bay FC, Karlie Lema's follow-up ricocheted off the crossbar, and she was flagged offside anyway.

Bay also had Aldana Cometti to thank just before the 20-minute mark. The club said Heaps had broken into space with only the keeper to beat before Cometti's tackle, which VAR confirmed as clean, snuffed out the chance.

Denver's breakthrough came in the 42nd minute. A through ball sent Natalie Means into space, her low cross rolled through traffic, and Heaps tapped it in from very close range. Denver said it was Heaps' second goal in as many matches, and her first two in a Summit uniform. It was also Means' first career assist. Silkowitz kept it at 1-0 with a save on Kaleigh Kurtz right before the break, and Abby Smith answered with a stop on a Lema header in stoppage time.

Silkowitz Under Siege

The second half opened with Denver on the front foot. In the 48th minute, Melissa Kössler went one-on-one with Silkowitz, who made the save, and Heaps' follow-up was blocked, with Bay saying Cometti cleared it off the line. Silkowitz needed treatment after the stop, per the club, but stayed in the match. Kössler tested her again in the 54th.

Three minutes later, Denver doubled the lead. Yazmeen Ryan supplied the ball and Sonis finished with her left foot from very close range. Denver said it was Sonis' 11th goal of the season and eighth at home, moving her into fifth in the Golden Boot race, while Ryan's assist was her fifth of the season, the most on the team.

Then came a stretch that should have ended the night. Silkowitz saved from Ryan in the 59th minute, and in the 60th, Denver had three shots in a matter of seconds: Megan Reid was blocked, Kössler was blocked, and Reid's second attempt from point-blank range was saved low to the bottom left. Devin Lynch sent the follow-up corner over. Silkowitz stopped Ryan again in the 71st.

The Turning Point

The 73rd minute. Bay had made a triple change around the hour, sending on Keira Barry, Kelli Hubly and Caroline Conti, and Huff was starting to find space. She combined with Hutton, and Hutton finished from the right side of the six-yard box into the bottom right corner. Bay said it was Hutton's second goal of the season.

Suddenly, Denver's 2-0 cushion looked a lot like a 2-1 problem. The Summit made changes of their own, bringing on Delanie Sheehan and Yuzuki Yamamoto in the 78th minute, and Ryan forced Silkowitz into one more save in the 84th. Smith saved from Huff in the 86th, and Barry just missed the top right corner from distance two minutes into stoppage time.

With seven minutes added, Bay got one more look. Huff beat her defender in the middle of the box and put a right-footed shot through the keeper's legs into the center of the goal in the 95th minute. Barry picked up a yellow card two minutes later, and that was that.

Huff, Silkowitz and the Summit Attack

Huff was the best player on the field in the final half hour: a goal, an assist and three shots, two on target. She also picked up a yellow card in the 79th minute, which, given how the night ended, she will happily accept.

Silkowitz made seven saves. Bay FC said it lifted her season total to 98, two shy of becoming only the sixth goalkeeper in league history to make 100 saves in a season.

For Denver, Ryan was everywhere with an assist and three shots, all on target, while Heaps scored on one of her two attempts. Denver said its 17 shots inside the box and 10 shots on target tied club season highs. That is the frustrating part for the hosts: they did nearly everything right except finish.

Stats That Matter

• Shots: Denver 18, Bay 12. On target: Denver 10, Bay 5.
• Saves: Silkowitz 7, Smith 3.
• Possession: Denver 50.7 percent, Bay 49.3 percent.
• Tackles: Bay 16, Denver 5.
• Crosses: Bay attempted nine and completed none, and still scored twice.

What It Means

Denver moved to 8-8-8 with 32 points. The draw kept the Summit unbeaten in four straight home matches, according to the club, and left them 3-1-3 over their last seven overall by its count. After back-to-back draws with Angel City and Bay, Denver hosts Seattle Reign FC on Saturday, Sept. 19.

Bay FC moved to 6-5-13 with 23 points and stopped a three-match losing streak that included defeats to the Washington Spirit, Kansas City Current and Seattle. The clubs had met once before this season, a 2-1 Bay win in March. Bay returns home to host Racing Louisville FC on Sunday, Sept. 20.

Closing Take

Denver will look back at the 60th minute, when three shots in a matter of seconds somehow produced nothing, and wonder how it walked away with only one point. Bay will look at Huff and wonder why it ever doubted. It was a bit like the final act of every Fast and Furious movie: the plan looked dead, the clock was running out, and somebody hit the nitro anyway. Bay had been 35 matches without a win after conceding first, per Denver. It still does not have one, but on Wednesday it got the next best thing.

Stats from ESPN's match data. Match notes from Denver Summit FC and Bay FC; neither club's recap included postgame quotes.