UTICA CITY SHINES IN DRAMATIC VICTORY OVER METROSTARS

UTICA, N.Y. – Utica City FC scored two goals 27 seconds apart in the final minute of the game to claw out A 5-4 win over the Mississauga MetroStars at the Paramount Fine Foods Centre.

It was a cautious opening quarter, where the first goal was tough to come by. Mississauga earned the breakthrough tally through Jonathan Osorio's inch-perfect pass for Josip Keran's goal. Ubiparipovic had the best chance for Utica City FC in the opening quarter when he played through on goal, but his effort drifted just over the crossbar.

Utica City leveled the game early in the second quarter. Liam Callahan deflected a wayward pass into the net for his seventh goal of the season. Mississauga regained the lead on the power play through Osorio's first of the year.

With 1.7 seconds left in the half, City equalized in dramatic fashion. Lucio Gonzaga's right-footed strike sent both teams into the locker room even at two goals apiece. City outshot the MetroStars 15-13 in the first half.

The second half opened with an immediate City goal. Callahan expertly set up Vittorio Petrera for his first of the year. The score stayed at 3-2 until midway through the final quarter when the MetroStars evened the game at three through a Joshua Paredes strike.

With under a minute to play in the regulation a right-footed curler from Halburto Harris flew into the top corner past Andrew Coughlin to give Mississauga a 4-3 lead. Slavisa Ubiparipovic responded seven seconds later with a long-distance bomb to level the game at four. Joey Tavernese poked home a pass from Stephen DeRoux to pull City ahead with 13 seconds to play.

Utica City returns to the Adirondack Bank Center on Sunday, January 13 to take on the Harrisburg Heat. Kick-off against Harrisburg is at 2 p.m. Tickets are still available at www.empirestatetix.com.

Scoring Summary