WAVE START STRONG BUT FALL SHORT SATURDAY NIGHT IN UTICA.

The 7-time champion Milwaukee Wave were carrying a 4-game winning streak going into Saturday night’s contest against Utica City FC, rebranded the Utica Riggies for the weekend. What’s a riggie? It’s a Utica thing, an Italian-American pasta dish made with rigatoni, chicken, and a spicy cream sauce; It may have been the thing that propelled Utica over Milwaukee in the second half.  

“It's obviously a tale of two halves tonight; very frustrating,” said Milwaukee Wave Head Coach Giuliano Oliiviero. “I thought we were fantastic in the first half but Utica came out like a desperate team in the second half. Full credit to them; they brought it. But at the same time it feels like we lost the game to one player in Kelvin Oliveira. We have to find a way to slow him down on Sunday.”  

First half was a back and forth battle. Wave came out strong with a pair of goals from #20 Tony Walls (#26 Ian Bennett) and #8 Breno Oliveira (#29 Salvador Nunez). Utica answered back with a couple of goals of their own from #9 Kelvin Oliveira and #33 Sergio Pinal. 5-3 Wave going into Halftime.  

Second half was all Utica. #9 Kelvin Oliveira scored 5 minutes into the 3rd quarter and then again 13 seconds later. #30 Juan Alava scored 5 minutes later and #23 Logan Roberts scored a goal 30 seconds after that. #10 Nilton de Andrade and #9 Gordy Gurson added to the tally before #26 Ian Bennett (#7 Ricardo Carvalho) would close out the night for the Wave with a 6th-attacker goal.  

Final Score: Milwaukee Wave 6, Utica City FC / Riggies 10.

BOXSCORE | GAMESHEET | WATCH  

“The good thing about this is we don’t have to wait a week to get the sour taste out of our mouth,” stated Oliviero. “We have an opportunity tomorrow to go and make it right and hopefully the guys are up to the challenge.”

Sunday, January 26, 2:05pm CT – MKE Wave @ Utica City FC @ Adirondack Bank Center.

WATCH

After Utica, 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 ChihuahuaSavage. 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. ###