Now that the Nexus Center is up and operating in Utica, the professional soccer team Utica City FC is now able to practice right in the city they represent.

“It’s a dream come true," UCFC player Issak Somow, a homegrown talent, said. "To represent my home city, to fight for the people I pretty much grew up with, to put the city on a map, help the city grow.”

Somow has played soccer since he was a kid. For the last two years, he has played for the Utica club.

“The Nexus Center was a great addition to the city. It’s growing, so that’s good,” Somow said.

Before the Nexus Center was built, the team practiced in Syracuse and played in the Utica Auditorium.

“It’s great because it’s only a five-minute drive from here, from my house," Somow said. "It’s right next door. It’s great because the cafeteria is there. We have a nice new little locker room.”

Somow is the only player on the team from Utica. In his spare time, he coaches youth. He said he wants to be an inspiration for the next generation.

“We didn’t have somebody at the highest level to help me out, you know? I had to pretty much train myself, play in the streets every day. So, it’s great for the young ones to have somebody to look up to, to develop them and everything,” he said.

Somow said the team's new coach, Heweron Moreira, has been a great asset for the team.

“The coach has been teaching the young guys. They’re learning the game quicker than they’re supposed to because the coach is on them,” Somow said.

“I believe if you have a good and strong system and everybody knows what they’re supposed to do, it makes it easier on everybody,” Moreira said.

Moreira has been with the team for a little over two months. He played professionally and has spent the last seven years coaching. He said being able to utilize the Nexus Center is a great set up for the team.

“In the United States, there is not other teams with a set up that Utica CFC has right now. To be in Nexus practicing on a turf that normally we play, with our own locker room, with our own training room, with my own office,” Moreira said.

He said the facility is providing all the tools they need to be successful.

“It’s a honor for me to be doing what I love," Moreira said. "It’s a privilege for me to do what I love. I know all the players feel the same way, so you know, it’s great.

"My goal is to strive to be the best that I can, every day, better and better and better," Somow said. "Hopefully reach the highest level that I can.”