Wave Hold Off Late Surge, Defeat Utica City FC 7–6 on the Road
- Jonathan Turner
- Feb 3
- 3 min read
Wave Hold Off Late Surge, Defeat Utica City FC 7–6 on the Road
UTICA, N.Y. — The seven-time champion Milwaukee Wave took care of business on the road Sunday night, surviving a late Utica City FC push to secure a 7–6 victory in a tightly contested Major Arena Soccer League showdown.
The opening half featured two very different storylines. Milwaukee struck first when Shawn “Squid” Azcueta opened the scoring off an assist from Andre Hayne. Utica responded quickly, as Juan Alava found the equalizer to set the tone for an entertaining battle.
The Wave capitalized on a breakdown in Utica’s build-up play soon after, with Oscar Flores pouncing on the loose ball and finishing amid chaos in the defensive third. Milwaukee extended the lead to 3–1 when Max Ludwig used the boards to perfection, setting up Flores for his second straight goal. From there, the Wave’s defensive organization took over, keeping Utica off the scoreboard for the remainder of the first half and all of the second quarter.
“In the second half, Utica came with a lot of pressure. They changed their style of play,” said Milwaukee head coach Marcio Leite.
Utica City FC came out aggressively after halftime, pushing numbers forward and taking more risks offensively. The approach paid dividends, as the hosts rattled off three unanswered goals to grab a 4–3 lead with under five minutes remaining in the third quarter.
Milwaukee answered almost immediately. Alex Sanchez blasted an equalizer into the top corner at the far post, swinging momentum back toward the visitors. Moments later, Alex Steinwasher jump-started a transition opportunity, combining with Stuart Grable before finding Max Ferdinand at the back post for a lightning-quick finish and a 5–4 Wave advantage.
“Today, I felt the special teams moments were huge,” Leite said.
Those moments proved decisive late in the third quarter. With Mario Alvarez serving a yellow-card penalty and Flores joining him shortly after with a blue card, Milwaukee faced a difficult defensive power play. Instead of sitting back, the Wave stayed aggressive. Steinwasher read a pass perfectly, intercepted it, and buried a short-handed goal to extend the lead to 6–4.
“Willie B made huge saves, huge moments, and that’s what we need from him,” Leite added.
Utica once again leaned into its late-game comeback identity in the fourth quarter, increasing tempo and sending numbers forward. Steinwasher added another goal for Milwaukee, but the Wave spent much of the final period in a defensive posture. Goalkeeper William Banahene was up to the task, stopping six shots in the fourth quarter and finishing with 17 saves on the night.
Utica City FC continued to apply pressure using Geo Alves as a sixth attacker. Alves and Sergio Pinal both found the net, cutting the deficit to one, but with just 34 seconds remaining, the comeback fell short as Milwaukee closed out the win.
“We’re happy about the victory, but I think we can manage the game a little bit better when we have the lead,” Leite said, maintaining the high standard he’s set throughout the season.
The Wave now return home with momentum and an opportunity in front of them. Milwaukee will host the Kansas City Comets on Tuesday, February 10 at UW–Milwaukee Panther Arena. Sitting just three points behind the league-leading Comets with two games in hand, the Wave have a real chance to push for the top spot in the MASL standings.
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