Baltimore Bests Utica City 9-5 Friday Night

UTICA CITY BESTED IN BALTIMORE, FALLS 9-5

UTICA NY - Utica City FC fell behind early and could not recover Friday night, dropping a 9–5 decision to the Baltimore Blast.

Baltimore struck almost immediately to open the match. Just 15 seconds into the first quarter, at 0:15, Patrick Thompson finished a quick attack to give the Blast a 1–0 lead. Baltimore doubled its advantage at 4:00 when Juan Pereira found the net to make it 2–0. Utica responded at 6:28 as Sergio Pinal capitalized on a loose ball that bounced around in front of goal, poking it home off a feed from Willie Spurr to cut the deficit to 2–1. The Blast regained a two-goal cushion late in the frame when Eber Ospina scored at 14:37, assisted by Oumar Sylla. Baltimore led 3–1 at the end of the first quarter.

Utica gained momentum early in the second quarter. At 3:38, Geo Alves finished a fast break with a shot ripped into the far corner off an assist from Sergio Pinal to bring Utica within one at 3–2. The response from Baltimore came quickly, as Kevaughn Frater restored the two-goal lead just 40 seconds later at 4:18 to make it 4–2. The Blast added another late in the half when Nico Williams converted at 14:59 off a pass from Juan Pereira. Baltimore carried a 5–2 advantage into halftime.

The Blast widened the gap in the third quarter with two quick goals. Frater scored his second of the night at 10:11, finishing a pass from Jonatas Melo to make it 6–2. Just 21 seconds later, at 10:32, Nico Williams struck again off a feed from Emmanuel Belliard to push the score to 7–2. Utica answered shortly after with a well-executed set play. At 11:40, Juan Alava delivered a sharp pass from the corner that found Joey Tavernese in front, and Tavernese buried the chance to trim the score to 7–3. That remained the score at the end of the third quarter.

Utica attempted a late rally in the fourth. At 4:24, Gordy Gurson set up a corner play that found Juan Salazar at the top of the box, and Salazar fired home to bring the score to 7–4. The Blast answered again when Frater completed his hat trick at 6:22 with a goal assisted by Jake Schindler, pushing the lead to 8–4. With Utica pressing forward using six attackers, Pereira added another for Baltimore at 12:47, scoring into the open net off a pass from Thompson to make it 9–4. Utica added one final goal with the extra attacker at 14:16 when Gurson finished a pass from Pinal to close the scoring at 9–5.

Utica City will be home Next Sunday the 15th for the St. Patrick’s Day game. Tickets are available now at ucfctickets.com