February 18, 2024 – Major Arena Soccer League (MASL) – Utica City FC News Release
UTICA, NY – Just 24 hours after Utica City FC fell to Baltimore, the boys in blue were back in action with an important tilt against the Milwaukee Wave.
The first breakthrough of the game came for the home side at the 4:49 mark, as Franck Tayou passed a ball along the boards that Logan Roberts turned home for the wallascora. Thirty seconds later, Steven Fernandez finished off a similar play-Gordy Gurson playing off of the corner board, but this time Geo Alves got another touch on the ball before Fernandez finished for a 2-0 lead. Andrew Coughlin returned to the Utica net, making four consecutive saves to keep the Wave out of the net in the middle of the first. Then, with five minutes left to go in the first, things started to get intense between the two sides. After a challenge in the Utica defensive half, yellow cards were shown to UCFC’s Dylan Hundelt and Milwaukee’s Salvador Nunez and Marcio Leite, as well as a blue card shown to Nunez. Wave goalkeeper William Banahene made a few stops of his own, keeping the score 2-0 heading into the second period.
The second quarter started in a flash-Ronaldinho Diniz played a ball to himself off of the end boards and the scoring chance trickled through the hands of Banahene. Milwaukee found a goal at the 5:40 mark in the second with Nunez, putting the away side on the board with a 3-1 scoreline. Defenses and goalkeepers continued to step forward until the final minute of play in the second, where Dylan Hundelt found himself free with only Banhene to head the ball over. Although Hundelt took the worst of the collision, his header found the back of the net to make the score 4-1 at the 14:29 mark of the second. The score would hold, and Utica would take a 3 goal lead going into the second half.
Coming out of the break, Milwaukee took advantage of a poor back pass from the Utica defense, as 99 seconds into the frame Nunez prodded a ball into the top corner. It took until the 8:31 mark for another goal to be scored, and it was the Wave who got even closer to the Utica score. Leite lasered a ball into the top corner, and the score was 4-3 Utica. UCFC found a response two minutes later, as Tayou thundered a ball home to push the Utica lead to 5-3. The score would hold until the third quarter horn sounded, and UCFC went into the final 15 minutes with a 2 goal lead.
The Wave began the fourth quarter just like the third, scoring immediately…