A fan favorite player is returning to Utica City FC.

The Major Arena Soccer League team announced Monday evening that forward Timmy Goldman has been re-signed to a two-year deal.

It is the first player that the team has announced as being re-signed for the 2022-23 season. Teams typically don’t release terms of contracts.

As of Monday evening, Goldman was one of nine players listed on the team’s roster for the upcoming season. The others are Nate Bourdeau, Domenico Vitale, Cristhian Segura, Ronaldinho Diniz, Andrew Coughlin, Quenton Swift and Juan Alava.

Goldman, a 29-year-old Syracuse native, has played 32 games over the last two seasons in which Utica has played. The team opted out of 2020-21 season due to challenges related with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Goldman had a standout season with Utica over 19 games in 2021-22 when he finished with career-bests in goals (7), assists (6) and points (13).

His season was capped by earning the MASL’s Joseph Cairel Award, which is given to the player with the most heart, a glue guy in the locker room and great in the community. 

Utica, which finished 10-14 overall and missed the playoffs, is set to have a new coach next season. The 42-year-old Hewerton Moreira was named the new coach in May.