As with most expansion franchises, the first season of play is filled with unpredictability, roster fluctuations, building a community from scratch, as well as surprising highs and frustrating lows, and season one for Westchester Soccer Club has fit the bill.
However, as the club heads down its final season stretch with two road matches, there have been several shining lights of stability that the growing number of supporters, the coaching staff, and even media covering the club have been able to brightly follow through the sometimes murky inaugural season.
Perhaps the brightest has been forward Juan Carlos Obregón.
Obregón has not just logged the most minutes and played the most matches in WSC season one, he has been the one most likely to find the back of the net, sometimes early, sometimes late, more often than any player not just on the first year club, but as well as anyone this season in USL League One.
Going into the matches at Portland and Chattanooga, the Honduran national and native New Yorker (he played two collegiate seasons at Siena College near Albany, NY) has a chance to etch his name into the record books as a goal scorer. A second half header on Sunday in the home finale, the 2-0 shutout of FC Naples, snapped a two match scoring dry spell and gave him 15 tallies in league play, one short of the record for most goals scored by a player in an expansion season (the 16 by Ronaldo Damus-NTX/2019), and his 15 heading into the weekend are two more than South Georgia’s Niall Reid-Stephan, who has 13, for the USL League One Golden Boot.
Obregón’s scores have come early…the fastest goal in club history four minutes into the match at FC Naples on August 30…and from almost every part of the pitch; headers, rebounds, penalties and perhaps the most memorable, a launch from over 70 yards away in a May match with Forward Madison that found the back of the net and earned not just national but international acclaim. Still for all his scoring prowess, it is his leadership on and off the pitch that has drawn the praise of his Coach Dave Carton.
“JC is a special player. It’s rare to find a player with such a tenacity and desire to win every day. He has been the heartbeat of our team since Day 1, and has done his very best to lead the team by exampling his determination, commitment and hunger whenever possible,” Carton said this week. “He has been a great help to me, helping to maintain standards at training, pushing the locker room to be better.”
Now scoring is not something foreign to those who have followed the 27 year old’s (he turns 28 at the end of October) career. Obregón scored 15 goals in USL League One play last season with Charlotte Independence, after winning the 2023 USL Championship Players’ Shield with Pittsburgh Riverhounds. Before that, with Hartford Athletic, he tallied 15 goals in 53 matches and was the first player in club history to score in double figures in a single season, while also representing Honduras in the 2021 Olympic Qualifiers and Tokyo Olympics, scoring in both tournaments. Even earlier on, his knack for the net surfaced at Siena (where he was paired with his current teammate Connor McGlynn) scoring five goals in his two seasons there, before joining Liga MX side Necaxa, scoring 6 goals in 24 appearances for their Under-20 side.
Still coming to WSC in their first season of existence required a steady leadership not just in matches but off the field as well, and Obregón has been skilled at both.
“It’s been an honor to be part of this club, so close to a place I know well in New York City, and see how we have grown, built some amazing supporters and been able to become part of the community,” Obregón said earlier this season. “This team has a chance to be something special, and I am lucky to be able to make a contribution in whatever way is needed.”
Those contributions have come not just with his potential record-setting scoring knack, but in the local area as well. He has made inroads into a vital part of WSC’s future success, the Latino community, and has been much more than a willing participant in everything from Make a Wish programs to brand partner activations.
“JC is honest, true to himself, ambitious, loyal, and generous,” Carton added. “He’s the genuine article, who is not afraid to challenge everyone around him. He values his upbringing, and is immensely proud of his family background, while also holding New York very close to his heart. His desire is to lead the way for more kids in New York to achieve their dreams, and with that, he has embraced our club with both arms.”
The embrace is mutual, as WSC’s growing number of supporters in the 914 Infantry have also singled out Obregón for celebrations not just with each goal, but every time he fields a pass from his mates.
“The fan base has been so important to us, and you have seen it grow literally from nothing, it’s exciting to think what this will be in the seasons to come,” Obregón added.
While a potentially record setting season as a scorer is a nice way to cap a campaign, what will be even more enduring going forward is the impact Obregón has made every day he has been part of the club, an impact that goes way beyond wins and losses on the pitch.
No matter where Westchester Soccer Club goes in future seasons, year one has had its share of memorable moments, many delivered by their leading scorer, a rising star whose brightest days still lie ahead, not just as an athlete but as a leader.
A bright, stable light of leadership in a sometimes challenging inaugural season. That’s what J.C. Obregón has provided. All League in every way.
