Kelvin Scores in Final Minute to Beat Harrisburg
December 21, 2024 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Utica Comets News Release
Harrisburg, PA - Utica City FC emerged victorious in a nail-biting 7-6 matchup against the Harrisburg Heat at the Equine Arena at The Farm Show Complex. The game featured a back-and-forth battle with standout performances and last-minute heroics. Kelvin Oliveira was the hero with 30 seconds left to win the game. He scored his 9th goal of the year, leading the MASL.
Utica City FC wasted no time establishing control. Less than a minute into the game (00:53), Jayce Berger opened the scoring, burying a perfect feed from Vinicius Dantas to put Utica up 1-0. At 6:49, Ronaldinho Diniz doubled the lead. A ball popped up at the top of the box, and Sergio Pinal deftly one-touched it to Diniz, who capitalized. Utica led 2-0 at the end of the first quarter.
Sergio Pinal extended Utica's advantage at 5:36, scoring his first MASL career goal on the back post after a long ball through the middle from Keaton Woods. Just seven seconds later, Harrisburg's Joey Tavernese cut into the lead, assisted by Jake Dengler (5:43). Tavernese struck again at 5:58, finishing a pass from Noe Favila to make it 3-2. Kelvin Oliveira restored Utica's two-goal cushion at 10:49, rifling a set-piece goal past the Harrisburg keeper. Utica led 4-2 at halftime.
Harrisburg opened the scoring in the third quarter at 2:09, as Riley Urie converted a pass from Mike Da-Silva to bring the Heat within one. Tavernese completed his hat trick at 10:05, tying the game at 4-4. Utica regained the lead at 13:09 when Dantas sprinted down the left side and fired a perfect shot, assisted by goalkeeper Andrew Coughlin. However, Harrisburg's Anthony Wright quickly equalized at 13:35 off a pass from Tavernese. The quarter ended with the teams locked at 5-5.
Harrisburg seized the lead for the first time at 2:51, as Favila, assisted by Da-Silva, made it 6-5. Utica responded swiftly at 3:21 when Oliveira faked out the entire Harrisburg defense and scored to tie the game at 6-6. With just 30 seconds left (14:31), Oliveira completed his hat trick, firing a shot from the left side off a deflection to secure the 7-6 win for Utica. This marked Oliveira's third consecutive hat trick, and he now leads the MASL with nine goals this season.
Utica City FC will face Harrisburg again on Sunday, December 29, in their highly anticipated home opener at 3:00 PM. Tickets are available at ucfctickets.com. Don't miss the action as the team looks to continue its strong start to the season.
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