The Unseen Hours That Built Bay FC’s Starting Goalkeeper, Jordan Silkowitz
In professional women’s soccer, a place in the Starting XI is never freely given; it’s earned. And it’s earned not purely through the minutes accumulated under the stadium lights, but by the unseen hours spent off the clock refining their technique.
Bay FC’s goalkeeper Jordan Silkowitz didn’t attain the first-string position in a mere moment. Instead, she evolved into it. Silkowitz accumulated valuable experience with the NWSL’s top team, Kansas City Current, which prepared her for her current role: donning the gloves as the starting goalkeeper for Bay FC.
In January 2023, Silkowitz made program history by becoming the first player from Iowa State to be selected in the NWSL draft. Her achievement was capped by a second-round selection from the Kansas City Current.
There, she trained alongside decorated professionals, including two-time NWSL Goalkeeper of the Year AD Franch, German Women’s National Team player and UEFA Champion Almuth Schult and NWSL veteran Cassie Miller.
“I was really fortunate to get drafted to such an incredible organization at Kansas City. I got to learn behind some of the best goalkeepers in the world: AD Franch, Almuth Schult and Cassie Miller. I just felt very fortunate to be surrounded by people that have accomplished what I aspire to accomplish in my career,” Silkowitz explained.
As the club’s third-string keeper, Silkowitz didn’t play a single competitive minute during her one and a half seasons with the KC Current, making training her only proving ground. After entering the competitive environment, Silkowitz quickly adopted a “sponge mindset” to absorb everything she could. She understands mastery requires patience and was more than willing to train under Kansas City’s elite goalkeepers.
“The biggest thing I’ve learned is, it’s never going to be easy. Nothing that is worthwhile ever came easy,” she stated.
Silkowitz appreciated every step, even the ones far from the field. At one point, she was watching matches from a suite because she hadn’t yet made Kansas City’s match-day roster.
Every practice put her up against world-class talent, including elite players like NWSL MVP and World Cup standout Debinha, and one of the top strikers globally, Temwa Chawinga. She credits this constant, high-level competition with sharpening her game.
Jordan Silkowitz against Kansas City Current’s Temwa Chawinga. 
Jordan Silkowitz against Washington Spirit’s Trinity Rodman.
In September 2023, Silkowitz traveled to Australia, where she played on loan for Brisbane Roar FC and logged game minutes in goal. Her performance warranted a recall to KC Current in March 2024, but her trajectory soon changed. Just a few months later, in August 2024, Bay FC acquired Silkowitz, redirecting her career to the West Coast.
Silkowitz joined Bay FC midway through the inaugural 2024 season, but her role was familiar: she trained under Bay FC’s first-string goalkeeper, Katelyn Rowland, and remained on the bench for the season. It wasn’t until the 2025 season that she finally earned the starter position and began playing full time for Bay FC.
Her hard-earned playing time was the tangible reward for the philosophy she embraced as a self-proclaimed “underdog.” Silkowitz credits her current success to the unseen work of arriving early, staying late and putting in the extra reps to develop her skills.
As she succinctly put it, “What you do in front of the lights isn’t built there. It’s built in the hours.”
Now, with Bay FC, her match-time minutes translate into professional confidence. Playing consistently provided the final layer of development training alone could not offer.
“With every game, I’ve learned more and gotten more comfortable. It’s one thing to watch, it’s another thing to be in it,” Silkowitz explained. “The game is slowing down a bit for me now, you know, I can see more.”
Silkowitz is rapidly establishing herself as a top goalkeeper in the league. Her strong performance earned a mid-season call-up to the U.S. U-23 WNT roster. She has since been a threat to opposing attacks, earning multiple NWSL Save of the Week honors, and most recently delivering a standout performance with a career-high seven saves against her former club, Kansas City Current, on Sept. 6. For the goalkeeper who once watched matches from a suite, every opportunity to step on the field is still treated as a privilege.
Silkowitz sees her personal progression mirroring the ambition of her new club, whose culture she admires. She praised Bay FC’s vision to be the best in the world and acknowledged that the club’s success comes from an army of committed individuals.
“What they’re doing for women’s sports not only in the Bay Area, but worldwide, is incredible, and it’s something that I feel incredibly special to be a part of,” Silkowitz explained.
For the goalkeeper who knows success is built in the hours, her starting position is the final confirmation that Bay FC’s championship future begins with Silkowitz between the posts. Now, she wants to push Bay FC toward its highest aspirations.
“I want to win championships, I want to bring trophies and that’s where we’re moving toward as a club,” Silkowitz said.
