Soccer on the Sound: Stars get home sweep of Utica

Tacoma Stars 7-6 Utica City FC (OT); Tacoma Stars 8-6 Utica City FC

Photo: Yuriy Tsupruk

KENT, WA–Tacoma Stars netted a weekend sweep of bottom side Utica City this past weekend at the ShoWare Center in Kent. The first match on Saturday Tacoma winning 7-6 in overtime. Utica jumped out to a 3-1 lead before the Stars got four unanswered goals–including two from Logan Jones–to make it 5-3. However, Utica responded with three straight goals of their own to make it 6-5 for the visitors before Douglas Lima scored with 1:55 left in regulation to send the match into overtime. Adrian Cortes would get the winning strike at the 7:02 mark to give the Stars the win.

Photo: Yuriy Tsupruk

On Sunday, the Stars had eight different players score in an 8-6 win over Utica. The Stars had an 8-2 lead just 17 seconds into the fourth quarter, but were made to preserve the lead as Utica responded with four goals in the final quarter to make it close. All four of those goals came with the sixth attacker, though the last one was with one second left and not enough to change the outcome.

Tacoma now sit fourth in the table on 19 points–just one ahead of St. Louis, while Utica remain rooted to the bottom on just nine points and five points behind the next team up in Baltimore. The Stars had to St. Louis to ake on the Ambush on Saturday at 4pm PT.

Photos by Yuriy Tsupruk:

Game 1

Game 2