UTICA CITY FALLS SHORT IN KANSAS CITY, 4-3
Independence, MO - Off of the back of a disappointing 9-8 loss last night against St. Louis, UCFC was back in action tonight in the Cable Dahmer Arena to face off against the Kansas City Comets. A comeback bid for UCFC fell short, as the Comets took an early lead and scored a game winner early in the 4th to win 4-3.
It didn’t take too long for Kansas City to grab the early lead. Leonardo Acosta found Zach Reget at the four minute mark to give the Comets a 1-0 advantage. After a period of Utica pressure, Kansas City made it two seven minutes later. Reget forced a turnover at the back and finished off the one-on-one to double the lead. Reget then completed his first quarter hattrick exactly two minutes later with a powerful effort into the roof of the net. The strong start from Kansas City was enough to finish the first period with a 3-0 lead.
The second quarter started differently than the first. Vini Dantas got things going at the 3:05 mark in the second with a tap in following a great run by Keaton Woods, cutting the deficit down to two. Reget was really feeling it tonight, with his acrobatic effort hitting the crossbar with the score still 3-1. It was a balanced rest of the quarter. Both teams finished the first half with 19 goals apiece. The score remained unchanged the rest of the way and the halftime score read 3-1 in favor of Kansas City.
The second half continued the run for the City. Nilton De Andrade fired home a bullet from long range just 32 seconds in to cut the score down to 3-2. UCFC continued their run six minutes later. Junior Pinal showed great composure, cutting inside and calmly tucking the ball in past goalkeeper Phillip Ejimadu. Then following a challenge by coach Stefan Stokic, Kansas City was awarded a penalty. With a golden opportunity to get his 4th goal of the game, Reget was unable to convert from the spot. The Comets were also unable to convert on the two minute power play. Both teams traded blows without any end result as the scoreboard read 3-3 going into the final period of play.
An early goal just 17 seconds into the frame for Daniel Malhue off of a feed from Reget put KC up 4-3 with the entire quarter left to go. After that, a Toy Tavares holding call led to a shootout attempt for Nacho Flores, which Coughlin saw out. UCFC killed off the penalty, and the two sides were locked into a defensive battle the rest of the way. Even with an extra attacker, UCFC could not find a goal in the final frame of action as the game finished 4-3 in favor of the home side.
UCFC returns to action on Sunday, March 9th with an away matchup against the Harrisburg Heat. The boys in blue return to the Adirondack Bank Center one week later to host the Heat on Sunday, March 16th. Tickets for the St. Patrick’s Day game can be found at uticacityfc.com/tickets.