Former USYNT star Alex Loera misses Bay FC's defeat to Washington Spirit due to 'internal matter' - one week after being named captain of NWSL club

Loera was announced as Bay FC's captain last week but a new twist saw her left out of the squad altogether for the club's defeat to Washington Spirit. Loera, per Mercury News, missed the game due to an "internal club matter" and coach Albertin Montoya refused to elaborate further.

Loera, who was previously a United States Under-23 international, made her feelings known about moving to Bay in October, claiming that she did not know she would be traded from KC Current, and revealing that the move was "incredibly disheartening", as she had made it clear she wanted to stay. She actually became Bay FC's first-ever player, as they paid $175,000 for her.

Montoya said after the defeat: “It’s just unfortunate. That’s another thing teams always have to work on. We’re a little bit new and we have to work on final moments and game management so we can see (the game) out. A point in Washington would’ve been a great result.

“But we played a very good game today, as far as the brand of football we want to play. That’s a huge positive for us.”

Bay FC play Houston Dash next Sunday. It remains to be seen if Loera will be involved, but her team will be eager to get back to winning ways after dropping to sixth in the NWSL table.