UTICA CITY DOMINATES ST. PADDYS GAME

In front of an electric St. Patrick’s Day crowd at the Adirondack Bank Center, Utica City FC delivered a dominant performance, defeating the Tacoma Stars 8–4 while also celebrating a special hometown moment as Utica native Jorge Lozada made his MASL debut.

Utica struck first midway through the opening quarter and it began with the hometown rookie. At 6:57, Lozada used the boards to play a clever pass forward that sprung Cole Stephens near midfield. Stephens carried the ball down the left side past the yellow line and fired a shot that found the back of the net to give Utica a 1–0 lead. Just over a minute later, the City doubled their advantage. At 8:01, Sergio Pinal launched a long pass downfield that Geo Alves controlled with his body on the left side of the goal before finishing to make it 2–0. The early offensive burst energized the packed St. Patrick’s Day crowd, and Utica carried the 2–0 lead into the end of the first quarter.

Utica continued to press the attack in the second quarter and wasted little time adding to their lead. Just 59 seconds into the period, Pinal battled for possession along the right side boards, worked his way past a defender, and from above the yellow line rifled a shot into the left side of the net to extend the lead to 3–0. At 5:21, Jose Tavares carried the ball through midfield before slipping a pass to Francesco Pagano on the right side, where Pagano finished with a one-touch strike for a 4–0 advantage. Pagano struck again later in the quarter. At 11:36, after a free kick near Utica’s goal, Pagano pushed the ball forward to Joey Tavernese near the top of the box. Tavernese held it briefly before laying it back to Pagano on the left side, who blasted a one-touch left-footed shot past the goalkeeper to make it 5–0. Utica City FC controlled the match through the half and led 5–0 at the end of the second quarter.

The offensive momentum continued in the third quarter. At 9:08, Tavares battled along the right boards against two Tacoma defenders before sending the ball ahead to Pagano. Pagano carried it to the top of the box, drawing the goalkeeper out before sliding a pass across to Gordy Gurson on the right side, who calmly finished to extend the lead to 6–0. Tacoma finally got on the board at 11:54 when Micheal Ramos finished a play assisted by Chase Hanson to cut the deficit to 6–1. Utica responded quickly. At 14:08, Tavares won possession in the defensive zone and launched a long ball downfield. Juan Alava sprinted in a race with Tacoma’s goalkeeper and reached it first, poking it past the keeper and into the net to restore the six-goal cushion at 7–1. Utica entered the fourth quarter firmly in control with a 7–1 lead.

Tacoma made a late push in the final quarter. At 1:16, Franck Tayou scored off a pass from Tyler John to make it 7–2. Tayou struck again at 11:30, finishing a chance assisted by Nani Mendoza to cut the lead to 7–3. But Utica answered just under a minute later. At 12:28, Sergio Pinal carried the ball from the yellow line past midfield, beat the Tacoma goalkeeper with a move, and slipped a pass to Meny Silva. With a defender closing in, Silva pulled the ball back, faked multiple shots, and lifted a composed finish into the net to push the lead to 8–3. Tacoma added one more at 13:50 when Tyler John found the net, but the comeback effort came too late as Utica City FC secured an emphatic 8–4 victory to cap a festive night in Utica.

The win featured multi-point performances across the lineup, including a four-point night for Sergio Pinal and a three-point effort from Francesco Pagano, while hometown debutant Jorge Lozada recorded an assist in his first MASL appearance in front of the Utica crowd.