Bay FC suffers major blow as former Santa Clara goalkeeper Melissa Lowder endures season-ending injury 

Melissa Lowder joined Bay FC because she wanted to come back to the Bay Area, where she made 60 starts as the goalie for Santa Clara University from 2015-18.

Unfortunately, she’ll be watching Bay FC’s inaugural season from the sidelines.

It was announced on Monday that Lowder tore her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and will miss the entire season while recovering from surgery.

The 27-year-old was the club’s starting goalie during their most recent preseason match against Angel City as she competed against 29-year-old Katelyn Rowland, who started the team’s first preseason match.

Without Lowder, the club could turn to Rowland, a seasoned veteran and four-time NWSL champion who was selected from the North Carolina Courage in the expansion draft. They also have Lysianne Proulx, a 24-year-old keeper who was on Canada’s roster during the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia.

Lowder had spent the 2023 season playing professionally in Iceland. She previously spent time in the NWSL. At Santa Clara, she posted a 1.02 goals-against average with 18 shutouts in 60 starts.

She was signed to a one-year deal with a mutual option for the 2025 season, leaving her future with Bay FC up in the air.

During an interview in late February, she said it felt like she had come “full circle” by joining Bay FC and she was hoping to provide inspiration to younger soccer players in the area.

“It’s really special because I was once in that college environment,” she said. “I didn’t have a clear vision for a professional career. Now that there’s a women’s professional team in the Bay Area, all the schools around here, the women’s soccer programs, can see that much more clearly than I got to. I want to pay that forward to the girls who have a vision and want to keep playing, they can really see that with this team.”

Bay FC is also awaiting word on another injured player, star striker Racheal Kundananji, who hurt her knee playing for her native Zambia during international play, but she’s not expected to miss significant time.

The club opens its inaugural season Sunday at 4:30 p.m. PT in Los Angeles against Angel City. The game will be streamable for free on NWSL-plus.