UTICA CITY GETS REVENGE AT HOME AGAINST CHIHUAHUA

Utica, NY – After the Chihuahua Savage dominated on Saturday night at the Adirondack Bank Center, Sunday’s rematch proved to be a much closer battle. In a tightly contested matchup, Utica City FC never trailed, securing a 10-6 victory over the league leaders.

Despite both teams combining for 25 goals in their previous matchup, the scoring started slower in this one. Gordy Gurson opened the scoring at the 8:41 mark, finishing off his own rebound. The Savage responded quickly, as Jorge Rios tucked away an overlapping run for his 26th goal of the season. Less than two minutes later, Utica reclaimed the lead with some brilliant team play. Keaton Woods forced a turnover, played a one-two with Gurson, and slotted home City’s second goal. With just over a minute left in the first quarter, Utica extended its lead to two when top scorer Kelvin Oliveira fired one in at the near post, making it 3-1. That scoreline held as the game moved into the second period.

Utica struck quickly in the second quarter, with Oliveira netting his 29th goal of the season—leading the MASL. However, Chihuahua responded with two quick goals from Jose Gilberto Lopez and Jaime Alejandro Romero, cutting the deficit to 4-3. The two teams battled for another 10 minutes before the Savage found an equalizer at 12:44, as Hugo Puentes scored with a well-placed header to make it 4-4. Just before halftime, Vini Dantas set up Geo Alves for a stunning backheel goal with 1.5 seconds left, giving UCFC a 5-4 lead at the break.

The second half started with a bang for Utica. Dantas notched his first goal just 31 seconds into the third quarter. Two minutes later, Junior Pinal added another tally off a Meny Silva assist. Midway through the period, a deflected ball found Jayce Berger, who smashed an incredible volley to extend the lead to 8-4. At the 9:19 mark, Dantas struck again, making it five unanswered goals for UCFC and pushing the score to 9-4. Chihuahua pulled one back through Romero’s second of the night, ending the third quarter with a 9-5 scoreline. Both teams saw penalties late in the period—Jorge Leal for Chihuahua and, 30 seconds later, Pinal for a boarding call—leading to 4-on-4 play to start the fourth quarter.

As the penalties expired, the Savage took advantage of a brief power play, with Carlos Hernandez squeezing a shot past Brian Wilkin, who was making his season debut in goal for UCFC. After a Utica goal was disallowed due to a handball, Toy Tavares sealed the win with a composed tap-in, set up by Pinal. The final seven minutes saw UCFC defending against an extra attacker, with Wilkin making key saves to preserve the 10-6 victory.

A total of 10 Utica players made the scoresheet, with seven recording multiple points. Dantas led the way with two goals and an assist.

UCFC returns to action on Friday, February 28, in St. Louis to kick off a four-game road trip before returning home to face the Harrisburg Heat on Sunday, March 16. Tickets for home matches are available at uticacityfc.com/tickets.