STEINWASCHER BROTHERS BURN UTICA AT BUZZER SUNDAY.

By Scott Fellows.

Utica, New York- After a tough result the night before, Milwaukee earned a hard 6-5 bounce back victory over the Utica “Riggies” who will now revert back to their official name of Utica City FC after late game heroics from Alex Steinwascher.

“After equalizing late, Utica took a chance, and credit to Alex (Steinwascher) for a great shot, but in the end it hurt them.” Said Milwaukee Wave Head Coach Giuliano Oliviero.

Goalkeeper Andrew Coughlin of Utica rushed to midfield with time running out to keep the Utica attack alive. Pressure from Shawn Azcueta forced Coughlin to sole roll the ball past Azcueta, and ultimately losing the ball to Alex Steinwascher whose shot from just in front of his own yellow line, cross the goal line with 1.2 seconds on the Adirondack Bank Center clock.

“Credit to Shawn Azcueta, Tony Walls, Robbie Williamson, and our entire defense for a tremendous effort. Playing in this environment is tough, and we knew this coming in. Holding Kelvin to one goal tonight, he’s just a great player, so all the credit to those guys for their performances.” Said Oliviero.

A stingy Milwaukee defense was able to hold league leading goal scorer Kelvin Oliviera tonight to just one goal. Compared to his 5 goals in the previous game.

Milwaukee would open the scoring, when Riggies defender Juan Alava couldn’t control a rebound in his own box, leading to a full on sprint by defender Shawn Azcueta who fired home past Coughlin, midway through the first frame.

Similar to the story line in yesterdays contest, Milwaukee would jump out to 2-0 lead, when pressure from Ricardo Carvalho, and Troy Morrison lead to a defensive mishap, and eventually credited to Ricardo Carvalho for At the time his 9th goal of the season.

Less than two minutes later, Vinny Dantas would cut the deficit to 1, after beating his defender and finishing low to Willy Banahene’s low right side.

Javi Steinwascher would add his 4th tally of the season, after a flurry of chances couldn’t beat Coughlin until Breno Oliviera’s cross to the center, found Javi who finished high above Coughlin to give Milwaukee the 3-1 advantage going into halftime.

Mario Alvarez would get the first of an exciting third frame at 00:37, when his rocket shot from just in front of Utica’s yellow line hit the frame of the inside of the back post for the 4-1 lead.

A short lived relief for the Wave though, as Geo Alves would finish his first of the season with a give and go from Junior Pinal at 1:17 of the 3rd.

Utica would secure the next 2 goals however, with goals from Kelvin Oliviera, Jayce Berger, bringing both teams level at 4-4 going into the fourth and final frame.

The 4th quarter would see Milwaukee take an early lead just over a minute in, when Ricardo Carvalho assisted by Alex Sanchez, with a 2 v 1 opportunity. Ricardo’s well placed shot beat Coughlin to the far post.

Pulling Coughlin in favor of the 6th attacker, would prove beneficial for the Riggies who equalized at 14:14 at 5-5.

With the possibility of overtime looming, Alex Steinwascher called game, and was the recipient of a midfield dog pile as the Wave bench cleared to celebrate.

Final Score: Milwaukee Wave 6, Utica City FC / Riggies 5.

BOXSCORE | GAMESHEET | WATCH

The Milwaukee Wave return home to UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena bright and early Tuesday, January 28 at 10:35am for the School Day game against two time defending champions, Chihuahua Savage. Tickets are on sale now at MilwaukeeWave.com and all fans are welcome to join in on the fun.

The Wave then face the rival Baltimore Blast a few days later, Saturday, February 1, 6:05pm at UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena for our Margaritaville game where you can take in the tropical vibes.

Learn more at MilwaukeeWave.com or get your tickets in person, one hour prior to first kick at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena Box Office. ###