March 14, 2024

ROCHESTER, N.Y. - The unbeaten Rochester Lancers aren't taking anything for granted in the upcoming Major Arena Soccer League 2 playoffs.

They have convinced former standard forward Andrew Hoxie to come out of retirement and play for the East Division champions in the postseason next month in Wichita, Kansas.

"My whole goal is to help win this team a championship," he said.

"The Lancers did all the hard work in the regular season. They made the playoffs, and in the playoffs. That's kind of my time because it's much easier to motivate myself. I've had experiences winning championships and championships now with the [Baltimore] Blast. We won three straight. You win a championship; you remember that for the rest of your life. You remain friends with all your boys and something you can talk about forever."

Rochester (9-0-0), which has captured the East Division title, will visit Baltimore Arsenal on Saturday at 2 p.m. Hoxie won't be playing.

"I'm just happy to have the chance to do that with the Lancers," he told Soccer is a Kick in the Grass radio show on Monday night. "That was the first team I signed with, playing for the Rochester Rhinos and then transitioned back and forth the Lancers. There's always been a soft spot in my heart for SoccerSam [Fantauzzo, club owner], I love the guy.  It would be an honor to win a championship with these guys and create those lasting memories. That's the goal."

The 6-4, 205-lb presence of Hoxie will give the Lancers a target player that they have been lacking for this season.

Hoxie last played with the Lancers during the 2014-15 MASL season, connecting for 19 goals and 18 assists in 19 matches. He also competed with the Rhinos in what is now the USL Championship from 2010-2014.

The 37-year-old forward performed for five seasons with the Baltimore Blast, winning three consecutive MASL titles. Hoxie also has competed for Utica City FC, Florida Tropics and most recently with the Harrisburg Heat last season.

In 202 games over 11 seasons in the Major Indoor Soccer League and MASL, Hoxie has scored 138 goals and assisted on 83 others, more than a point a game pace.

"This was my first year of not playing professional soccer. So, it was a little strange," he said. "I kind of didn't know what to do with myself, but it's been enjoying every day. I got two little girls and then taking care of them, just trying to get used to life outside of soccer."

But a former teammate, Lancers assistant coach Joey Tavernese, convinced Hoxie to return. Tavernese texted Hoxie, who turned him down.

"But I started thinking about it," Hoxie said. "I missed the game a lot. He pestered me enough and then I finally said, 'Alright, I'll do it.' I considered myself retired. I played professional soccer for 11 seasons. Near the end of my career, I found it hard to be motivated. It's just playing against all my buddies. I played for every single team in the Eastern Division and [made] a lot of friends and I'm out here. I love these guys, and I'm supposed to like just beat them every day. It became tough on me. It was just tough to get up for every single game and find that motivation to beat your opponent at all costs."

And there was the physical end.

"I started to feel everything the more to get out of bed in the morning,” Hoxie said. “It just took a toll over time."

Hoxie has started to prep for the playoffs.

"I've running every day. I've been getting fit," he said, adding that he planned to get some training with the team as well. "I had a hip injury for the Heat last season. It's been nice to just rest it. But I have been running every day. I'm starting to do a lot more quickness and agility [training]. But I'll be ready. Don't you guys worry."

In his three seasons with the Lancers, Hoxie totaled 39 goals and 32 assists in 51 matches, according to StatsCrew.com. Numbers, though, don't matter as much to him as something else - a league championship.

At one time, Howie's No. 1 priority was to put his team on his back and score goals. Now, it's whatever it takes to win.

"I'm going to come in and do what I can to help others around me," he said. "That's the ultimate. That's how you win championships. You get guys that are unselfish, that care about the team. They don't care about MVP. I've seen that a lot from a few games I've watched the Lancers play. They're an unselfish team. They've got a solid team."

Hoxie has played with head coach-defender Jake Schindler and Tavernese before.

"These guys have played in the top league for quite some time," he said. "They're all very experienced players. I don't think I'm going have any trouble fitting in. If I had to be a spot player to help the team win and that's what I'll do. I want to be the guy to help the team, I want to be in the game, fighting for every ball."

As a battle-tested playoff veteran, Hoxie is ready to vie for another title. He knows the drill.

"We've got to focus on ourselves. It's really a game of who can make the least amount of mistakes." he said. "That's what the game of indoor is, a game of possession. If you make one little mistake … that gives the other team the ball. That means I've got to go defend, sometimes for two or three minutes, and I'm exhausted. Or, if I concentrate, I keep the ball. We have the ball for two or three minutes. It makes a huge difference on just possession and just focusing and keeping the ball down at their end."

After this weekend, the Lancers will return home to host United Elite Krajisnik FC for two weekend matches, on Friday, March 22 and on Saturday, March 23. Both games kick off at 7:45 p.m.