UCFC Falls, Preps for Rematch at Home Tomorrow

Utica City FC faced an uphill battle at TU Arena as the Baltimore Blast jumped out to an early lead in a physical, fast-paced matchup that ended in a 12-7 loss. Baltimore opened the scoring at 3:13 of the first quarter on a goal by Jonatas Melo, added tallies at 6:13 and 12:07, and closed the frame with Melo’s second goal at 14:58 to take a 4-0 lead after one.

Utica City responded early in the second quarter when Kyle Gehnrich capitalized on a defensive takeaway and completed a full-field give-and-go at 1:07 to make it 4-1. Baltimore answered with three goals at 3:20, 6:07, and 7:40, with Barbaro Shelier interrupting the run just eight seconds after the Blast’s sixth goal by finishing a perfectly executed kickoff play at 6:15. After a Baltimore power-play goal at 11:21, Utica City closed the half strong as Geo Alves buried a back-post finish off a Juan Alava pass at 12:37, sending the teams to halftime with Baltimore leading 8-3.

The Blast extended the lead early in the third quarter with goals at 0:12 and 0:56, but Utica City continued to push back. Alves scored again at 2:45 off a quick Shelier feed, and Shelier followed with a goal of his own at 5:03 after goalkeeper Brian Wilkin sparked the attack. Wilkin added a highlight-reel assist later in the quarter, launching a full-length throw to Willie Spurr, who finished at 13:44 to make it 10-6 heading into the fourth.

Baltimore added a goal at 6:32 of the final quarter, but Shelier capped his standout night at 7:37 by coming off the bench and sprinting into the box to score his third goal, making it 11-7. With Utica City pushing six attackers late, Baltimore sealed the match with an empty-net goal at 13:29 to secure the 12-7 final.

Utica City FC returns home tomorrow, Monday, January 19th at 3 p.m. Tickets are available at ucfctickets.com.