Alex Loera doesn’t like it, but she has a new role for the remainder of Bay FC’s inaugural season.
Loera, the first player in the history of the expansion franchise and a rising NWSL star, announced on social media that she suffered a knee injury during the first half of Bay FC’s loss at Kansas City on Saturday night and will miss the rest of the season.
“I’m so honored to have been a little part of this inaugural season and even (though) my role looks a little different now,” Loera wrote, in part on Sunday night, nothing that she tore her ACL. “I can’t wait to cheer on this team and these girls.”
Loera, 24, wrote that she was “devastated, bummed, confused, but even through it all I know that my God has a greater plan.” She concluded the post by writing, “No rain, no flowers.”
— Alex Loera (@alexisaloera) April 22, 2024
Bay FC is 2-3-0 and in eighth place in the NWSL. The team has 21 regular-season matches remaining, including Saturday night at San Diego Wave FC.
Loera, who was the captain of Santa Clara’s national championship team, was acquired in mid-November for $175,000 in allocation money and protection in the upcoming 2024 NWSL Expansion Draft.
Bay FC general manager Lucy Rushton jumped at the chance to acquire Loera, saying, We could not have found a better player and a better person to become the first player in this franchise’s history. On and off the field, Alex epitomizes what we stand for and what we want with Bay FC.”
Loera was a physical all-around force for Bay FC, playing mostly as a central holding midfielder, and had one goal in four matches. She was named the team captain for the franchise’s first game, but then missed the second game because of what was called “an internal club matter.”
She played in the three subsequent matches and was hurt in the 31st minute of Saturday’s 5-2 loss to league-leading KC Current.
