UTICA CITY CLINCHES PLAYOFF SPOT WITH WIN OVER HARRISBURG

Utica, NY – In a game that seemingly had everything from free kicks to long-range goals, Nilton De Andrade and Mershad Ahmadi stepped up for Utica. The City used multiple goals from their own half to come out victorious, 11-6, over the Heat.

Both teams opened the first quarter firing. Harrisburg struck first, just under two minutes into the game, through Maldini Goncalves, marking his first goal of the season. Utica responded soon after, with Vini Dantas evening the score at the 3:12 mark, but the City couldn’t keep the tie for long. Mike Da-Silva restored the lead for the Heat with a well-placed finish. Nilton De Andrade equalized at the 10:39 mark with a powerful shot that proved too much for goalie Hugo Silva. The tie was broken by Thiago Freitas, who finished off a fast counterattack. That goal would be the last of the first quarter, leaving the score at 3-2 in favor of Harrisburg.

Utica didn’t take long to level things again. Emmanuel Belliard fired a ball to the back post, where Gordy Gurson was left unmarked to tap in the game-tying goal. The City kept the momentum going with a clever free-kick routine—Geo Alves played a smart pass to Meny Silva, whose shot found the back of the net. The lead was then doubled at the 10:57 mark. Babaro Shelier drove down the field and set up Mershad Ahmadi with a wonderful ball across goal, giving the City a 5-3 lead. Utica paired their strong offensive play with solid defense, keeping the Heat from scoring for the rest of the period. The first half ended with Utica holding a 5-3 lead over Harrisburg.

The second half brought more of the same. Utica got going just 41 seconds in, with De Andrade capitalizing on a defensive mistake and finishing a one-on-one chance. Ahmadi extended the lead to 7-3 with high pressing that paid off. However, the third period wasn’t all smooth sailing for Utica. The Heat responded with a free-kick routine finished off by Ozzy Annang, who notched his fifth goal in the last six games. Harrisburg kept pushing and cut the lead to two at the 14:44 mark. Following a long ball over the top, Annang unselfishly laid it off to Roshawn Panton, who slotted it home. The third quarter ended with Utica holding onto a 7-5 lead.

All the headlines belonged to De Andrade, who restored Utica’s three-goal cushion in spectacular fashion. The Cape Verde native secured his fourth goal of the game with a stunning effort from inside his own half, lofting the ball over Silva. Ahmadi then scored Utica’s second free-kick goal of the game at the 10:09 mark, making it 9-5. Harrisburg refused to go down without a fight, as Brady Kerstetter calmly finished off a counterattack following a great pass from Da-Silva. But Utica sealed the game with two more long-range goals! Belliard bagged his second of the night after Silva rushed out of his net, and De Andrade capped off his dominant performance with another goal from behind the center circle, making it 11-6. The score remained unchanged as the final buzzer sounded.

Utica travels to Baltimore tomorrow before returning home next Friday, the 28th, to host the Kansas City Comets. Kickoff is set for 7:05 PM EDT—tickets can be purchased at uticacityfc.com/tickets.--