UTICA CITY COMPLETES TRADE WITH FLORIDA, SIGNS TWO NEW PLAYERS

Utica, NY – Utica City FC continues to make major roster changes in the heart of the 2021-22 season. General Manager Tommy Tanner announced today that they completed a trade with the Florida Tropics to acquire Andrew Hoxie and Lucio Gonzaga. Utica City also signed free agents Gabriel Pewu and Sami Mutemwa.

First, Utica City completed the trade with Florida, dealing Ricardo Diegues and Alencar Ventura Junior to the Tropics in exchange for Hoxie and Gonzaga.

Hoxie attended William and Mary University where he earned multiple accolades for the Tribe including a third team All-American selection and the CAA Player of the Year in his senior season. After graduation, he was drafted by the San Jose Earthquakes in the third round of the 2010 MLS Superdraft. From there, he signed with the Rochester Rhinos in Division II of the USSF. Hoxie played for the Rochester Rhinos, Orange County Blues, and Rochester Lancers before signing with the Baltimore Blast in 2015. He played five seasons with the Blast, then signed with Florida in 2021.

Gonzaga rejoins Utica City FC after playing in Utica in the 2018-19 season. That year he tallied 11 goals and 13 assists in 20 games. Gonzaga started his youth career in Brazil and later played professionally in Brazil and Uruguay. He spent five years with the Baltimore Blast, three with the Harrisburg Heat and one with the Ontario Fury before his stint with UCFC. He has scored two goals in three games with Florida this year.

Following the trade, Utica City signed free agents Pewu and Mutemwa who were playing with the Cleveland Crunch (M2). The two of them led Cleveland to an M2 Championship in 2021. A native of Cleveland Heights, OH, Pewu competed for four seasons at Cleveland State University before beginning his professional career. He led the team in points for two seasons and was selected as first team All-Horizon League. He has scored 4 goals in 5 games with the Crunch this season.

Mutemwa has posted 4 goals and 4 assists in 5 games with Cleveland. A Native of Johannesburg, South Africa, he played his collegiate soccer at Lake Erie College. He was named an All-American twice and a first-team All-Ohio and All-Conference selection. To cap it off, Mutemwa earned the male scholar-athlete of the year award in 2016. After college, he has played for the Cleveland Legacy (2017), Cleveland SC and the Akron Vulcans (NFPL).

UCFC’s next game is set for this Saturday, January 5th at Baltimore. Their next home game will be Wednesday, February 23rd at 6:00 P.M. Tickets are available at uticacityfc.com/tickets.