UTICA CITY FC FALLS IN KELVIN'S RETURN

The long-awaited return of Kelvin Oliveira delivered spark and energy to Utica City but it ended in heartbreak as the Milwaukee Wave stormed back for a 6-5 overtime victory on Friday night.

Utica City FC wasted no time announcing Oliveira’s return in the opening quarter. At 6:37 of the first, Oliveira struck in spectacular fashion, blasting a shot from the yellow line on the right side of the field and wiring it bar down into the top left corner to give UCFC a 1-0 lead. The goal, assisted by Willie Spurr, set the tone early. Just minutes later at 11:31, Oliveira doubled the advantage. After Kyle Gehnrich fired from the right side of the box and a deflection sent the ball popping high into the air, Oliveira stayed alert, gathered the rebound off the bounce and slipped it past the goalkeeper on the right side of the net to make it 2-0. Utica controlled the opening 15 minutes and carried a 2-0 lead into the end of the first quarter.

Milwaukee answered in the second quarter, cutting into the deficit at 4:37 when Oscar Flores finished off a feed from Lucas Nesthus to make it 2-1. But the night continued to belong to Oliveira. On a power play at 12:37, Sergio Pinal controlled the ball at the top of the arch and slid a pass to Oliveira on the right side of the box. With one fluid motion, Oliveira ripped a one-timer that slipped past the goalkeeper — despite getting a touch — completing his hat trick and restoring Utica’s two-goal cushion at 3-1. That score held through halftime, with UCFC firmly in control.

Utica appeared to put the game out of reach in the third quarter. At 5:48, Juan Salazar drove hard up the right side and buried a shot to the left side of the net off a feed from Spurr to make it 4-1. Just 1:25 later at 7:13, Oliveira struck again. After receiving the ball from Salazar with a defender tight on his back, Oliveira spun free and rifled another shot into the top left corner for his fourth goal of the night, pushing the lead to 5-1. Utica dominated the third and took a commanding four-goal advantage into the final quarter.

But the fourth quarter flipped the script. Milwaukee pulled its goalkeeper and began pressing with six attackers, and the momentum shifted quickly. Ricardo Carvalho capitalized at 1:17 to make it 5-2. Ian Bennett struck at 6:54 to cut the lead to 5-3, then added another with the extra attacker at 8:33 off a Carvalho assist to bring the Wave within one at 5-4. The pressure continued to mount, and at 9:25, Max Ludwig finished a feed from Max Ferdinand — again with six attackers — to tie the match at 5-5. Despite leading for nearly the entire night, Utica saw its advantage erased as the game headed to overtime even at five goals apiece.

The Wave kept the extra attacker on in overtime, and just 52 seconds into the extra session, Carvalho found the back of the net to complete the comeback and hand Milwaukee a 6-5 victory.

Oliveira’s four-goal performance electrified the crowd and marked a triumphant individual return, but the late surge by Milwaukee overshadowed an otherwise dominant effort from Utica City FC.