UTICA RETURNS HOME TO HOST KANSAS CITY

Today’s Game: Utica City returns home to battle the Kansas City Comets. Kickoff is at 2 p.m.

Last Week: Utica City split a weekend series south of the border with the Soles de Sonora, winning 12-11 in overtime Saturday night before falling 14-5 on Sunday. Alencar Ventura Junior led the way with five points, with Moises Gonzalez, Bo Jelovac, Ricardo Diegues, and Cristhian Segura all chipped in with four points split between the two games. 

Head to Head: This is the first and only meeting between the two sides this season. The two teams squared off once last season, with Kansas City winning 9-6 in Missouri.

Scouting the Comets: Kansas City comes in with a record of 9-11 and sits in sixth place in the Eastern Division. They most recently fell to the Rochester Lancers 9-7 last night. Leo Gibson leads the way on offense with 60 points, followed by Kiel Williams with 25 points. Nicolau Neto is the leading goalkeeper with a record of 4-4, a 6.99 goals-against average, and a .598 save percentage. 

Bouncing Back: Utica has played well this season after losing a game. City is 3-0 in games following a loss this season, outscoring opponents 22-12. Including last season, Utica has only lost back-to-back games once. The team is 9-1 all-time in games following a loss, scoring 61 goals in those games while only allowing 44.

Three’s Company: While Utica has gotten offense from all over the lineup this season, few have been as prolific as the trio of Cristhian Segura, Bo Jelovac, and Moises Gonzalez. All three currently boast point streaks of four or more games, with Gonzalez and Jelovac riding seven-game streaks. All three also have 30 or more points and 15 or more goals, led by Segura with 23 goals and 35 points, followed by Gonzalez with 20 goals and 31 points.

Career Year: Nate Bourdeau is on his way to a career season. Bourdeau is five points shy of tying his career best in points and one away from tying his career high in assists. He also sits seven goals back of his career high in goals. The midfielder has 22 points (10-12-22) in 18 games this season.

No Place Like Home: Momo has had a solid rookie season so far and has been even better playing on home turf. Momo is riding a four-game point streak at home this season, picking up six points (4-2-6) in those games, including a three-point night back on February 23 against Rochester. The midfielder has 14 points (11-3-14) in 16 games.

Next Game: Utica City is back in action Wednesday night when they hit the road to take on division-rival Harrisburg Heat. Kickoff at the PA Farm Show Arena is at 7:35 p.m. The game can be viewed on MASL.tv.