Tropics will look to make it two straight over Utica in home matchup Sunday

LAKELAND, Fla – The Florida Tropics will look for a similar result Sunday when they host Utica City FC Sunday at the RP Funding Center in Lakeland. Kickoff is at 3:05 p.m. on the league’s YouTube channel, DirecTV Channel 623 and many worldwide streaming services and cable television systems.

The two teams tangled in Lakeland last Sunday as well, with Florida taking a 10-3 decision behind a four-goal performance by Ricardo Carvalho and the first-ever career win in goal by Plant City’s Jorge Navarette. Utica spent the week in the Sunshine State and will return to upstate New York after the contest to get ready for a visit from Baltimore next Sunday.

Zach Reget continues to lead the Florida offense with six goals and two assists. Moises Gonzalez is pacing Utica’s attack with four goals and three assists. Carvalho moved to second on the goal scoring list for the Tropics this year with five on the season. 

The game is expected to mark the debut of veteran forward Andrew Hoxie, who signed with the Tropics as a free agent in the off-season from the Baltimore Blast. In 169 career MASL games, he has scored 128 goals and added 70 assists.

Team captain Victor Parreiras will also be looking to achieve a significant milestone. His next goal will be his 100th career regular season goal in the MASL. He is the Tropics all-time leader in goals and assists.

The game will be broadcast live on the MASL’s YouTube channel starting at 2:45 p.m. Sunday, with kickoff set for 3:05 p.m. The game will also be broadcast live on the “For the Fans” network available on DirecTV (Channel 623) and many cable and streaming services such as AT&T Uverse, Verizon Fios and Roku TV (channel 228). 

Local fans can score free general admission to all of the team’s home games this winter thanks to its sponsors who are presenting the “Tropics Blitz”.

The “Tropics Blitz” will provide free general admission tickets  as a way of providing a great evening of family entertainment for parents and kids who have had their activities curtailed because of the ongoing pandemic. Vehicles with two or more persons will pay $20 to park, and then be able to take their parking receipt to the RP Funding Center box office for the same number of free tickets to that day’s game as occupants in the vehicle. Single occupant vehicles will pay just $10 for parking. 

For more information, visit www.fltropics.com.