RIGGIES FALL IN HEARTBREAKING FASHION TO THE WAVE, 6-5

Utica, NY - After scoring 7 unanswered in a 10-6 victory last night, the Utica Riggies donned the white and red once again in the second match of a back-to-back against the Milwaukee Wave. The Riggies battled back but the comeback bid would come up just short, 6-5. 

It was a quiet first 15 minutes of action between the Riggies and the Wave. William Banahene made 5 saves in the first 9 minutes of play, denying Kelvin Oliveira and Vini Dantas numerous times. The lone goal of the frame came for Milwaukee just after the 10-minute mark, scored unassisted by Shawn Azcueta after a shot from Javier Steinwascher was saved by Andrew Coughlin.

After the slow first frame, the second quarter picked up quickly. Two and a half minutes in, Ricardo Carvalho took advantage of a Utica miscue to double the Wave advantage. Then, the Riggies got on the board thanks to a great finish from Dantas, who was wide open in the Milwaukee defensive zone. With 10 minutes left in the first half, the score was 2-1 Milwaukee. The Wave tacked on another goal at the 10:32 mark, with Javier Steinwascher scoring off of a bouncing ball in from Breno Oliveira. The halftime score sat 3-1, with the Wave leading by two goals just like the first game of the weekend series.

The third quarter was instant action between the two teams. Mario Alvarez scored 37 seconds in for the Wave, before Geo Alves tagged one back for Utica 40 seconds later. Now only down by two, Kelvin scored his first of the game at the 4:52 mark, pulling the riggies back within one. Jayce Berger scored his third goal of the season for the Riggies five minutes later, tying the game at 4-4. After killing off a Juan Alava penalty, both teams headed to the fourth quarter locked at 4 each. 

With all to play for in the fourth quarter, it was the Wave who struck first. Carvalho scored 67 seconds into the frame, giving Milwaukee a 5-4 lead. Then, the defenses stepped up, denying shot attempt after shot attempt all the way until the final minutes. Nelson Santana had an effort cleared off of the line by Javier Steinwascher, and Utica went to the extra attacker. With just 45 seconds left in the game, Dantas found a wide open Nilton De Andrade at the back post to tie the game at 5. Then, with just 1.4 seconds left on the clock, Coughlin turned the ball over and Alex Steinwascher scored the winning goal in regulation from deep inside of his own half.

Toni and the Riggie branding will step aside as Utica City FC returns to action next weekend with 2 matches in Texas–one against the Outlaws and another against the Sidekicks. UCFC returns home on Friday, February 7th against the Baltimore Blast. Kickoff against Baltimore is set for 7:05 pm–tickets for the matchup are available at uticacityfc.com/tickets.

Article written by Arnav Pokhrel.