MILWAUKEE WAVE SCORE 17 GOALS IN THRASHING VERSUS UCFC; MORE WAVE ACTION ON SUNDAY.

By Henry Amini.

MILWAUKEE, WI - The 7-Time Champion Milwaukee Wave win by an astounding 15 point difference at home against Utica City FC.

Final Score: Milwaukee Wave 17, Utica City FC 2.
BOXSCORE | GAMESHEET | REPLAY

Friday night saw what was a spectacular turnaround for the Milwaukee Wave. Following their uncharacteristically deflated showing against the Empire Strykers on Sunday, Marcio Leite’s team geared up and scored more goals in a single game than any other team in the Major Arena Soccer League (MASL) this season. 

“I was very hard on the guys throughout the week,” Leite said, echoing the high standards he has shown in his first season as the Milwaukee Wave’s head coach. With the Ron Newman Cup Playoffs inching nearer, every point is relevant and their loss to the Empire Strykers on home turf meant that a response was imminent. 

Scoring began early for the home team when Hungarian newcomer Richárd Rábold scored in transition from Cesar Correa’s assist. The newcomers shared more of the spotlight when Ricardo Carvalho assisted Oscar Flores, who remains one of the top candidates for the MASL’s Newcomer of The Year award. Correa again was the playmaker, assisting Stuart Grable’s finish. Two time MASL MVP Ian Bennett and the towering target forward Andre Hayne have a lot of experience together and their names first appeared on the scoresheet when Hayne assisted Bennett’s first goal of the game. The first quarter barrage came to an end when Mario Alvarez played the ball to Alex Steinwasher who extended the lead to a staggering 5-0 throughout just one period. 

“We looked like a hungry team, regardless of the score, and we were doing all the right things,” Leite said. The Milwaukee Wave play style looked invigorated and full of life from start to finish, the second quarter showed more of the same offensive dominance. Carvalho scored first in the period thanks to the assist from Alex “Saucy” Sanchez. The newcomers continued to show face and the 22 year old Tanner Hodgson found Flores for his second goal before Rábold scored again to close out the first half. 

With an eight goal advantage, the comeback opportunities were far and few between for Utica City FC and the Wave continued to pour on goals in front of an electric home crowd. It was the MASL’s most talented offensive pair who connected for the first goal of the second half when Bennett found Sanchez for his first of the game. Hayne’s spectacular performance continued when he scored two goals in the third quarter, accompanied by goals from Bennett, Flores, and Steinwasher for what was a six goal period for the home team. The seemingly endless supply of scoring was interrupted by Jose Tavares before the home team promptly returned to dominance. 

“They responded, great, and that's the standard that we’ve got to keep,” Leite said. From a loss at home to a season best 17 goal showing, their response on Friday set the tone for what Milwaukee Wave fans hope to be a successful trip to the playoffs. Aside from Gurson’s one-off goal, the final quarter was all in favor of the Milwaukee Wave. Steinwasher, Hayne, and Sanchez all found the back of the net in what turned out to be a 17-2 scorcher. 

“If they want to win a championship, we have to play like this all the time… That's where we want to go,” Leite said, reiterating his expectations with sights set on the Ron Newman Cup trophy. With two games left, the Milwaukee Wave are second in the MASL, though they’ve played one more game than the first and third place team. The historic franchise has an opportunity ahead of them with more soccer left to play this weekend.  

“Less than half of the job is done for the weekend,” Leite said. He implored his team to remain focused as they will take on the first place Baltimore Blast on Sunday with high stakes on the line. The Blast are seated one point ahead of the Wave with one game in hand. They will play against the fourth place Kansas City Comets on Saturday before arriving in Milwaukee the following day to face the best offense in the MASL. 

The Milwaukee Wave will challenge the Baltimore Blast on at UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on Sunday, December 22 at 3:05pm.

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