Westchester Soccer Club (2-3-1) returns to USL League One play Friday night at Richmond, with two new local goalkeepers filling in for their injured pair, while looking to extend some of their home success to the road.
New Keepers Filling In For Injured Pair: With starting keeper Andrew Hammersley going down with an injury in last Saturday’s win and backup Mattias Molina now sidelined with a knee injury, the club announced this week they have added keeper Luca Marinelli and activated goalkeeper coach Giuliano Santucci to the roster. Marinelli, born in Rome and raised in Milford, Ct. starred at Sacred Heart University (where Hammersley also played) and was selected as the 2025 MAAC Golden Glove winner, awarded annually to the league’s best goalie. In his senior year he made 14 starts in net for the MAAC Regular Season champs, logging 1233:13 minutes in goal, while going 8-1-3 overall with five shutouts. He recorded 41 saves (.804 save percentage) allowing just 10 goals (0.73 goals against average). On the MAAC leaderboard, Marinelli ranked first in goals against average, first in shutouts per game, tied for first in total shutouts, second in save percentage, sixth in goalie minutes played, and eighth in total saves. He was the first member of Sacred Heart to capture the top goalkeeper award in the MAAC. Marinelli played two seasons at SHU after transferring from Bryant University, where appeared in 15 matches over two seasons.
He also helped lead AC Connecticut to the 2025 USL Academy Championship as their starting keeper.
Santucci, a Westchester native, played professionally in Colombia after playing collegiately at Marist and then Iona. In his junior year at Iona, he went 8-4-1 with four shutouts, and followed that up with a 10-4 record his senior year, leading Iona to their first ever MAAC Championship.
WSC Overcomes Torrential Rain To Gain First USL Cup Points: Alexi Armas beat keeper Hunter Morse with a drive to the low right side of the net, as WSC prevailed 5-4 in penalties over Portland Hearts of Pine last Saturday night in Mount Vernon, giving WSC its first-ever points in the Prinx Tires USL Cup. Armas’ dramatic clincher followed Andrew Hammersley’s second stop in penalties, as he denied Brecc Evans to give WSC the chance for the clincher. Earlier, Hammersley had stonewalled Tyler Huck to give WSC the edge, but Jonathan Jimenez was stopped by Morse to force the deciding sudden death penalty round. The two clubs entered penalties tied at 2-2, which came about when Portland’s Ollie Wright found the back of the net in the 84th minute, sliding a shot behind Hammersley through the heavy downpour. Daniel Burko’s goal in the 50th minute had given WSC a 2-1 lead, and with conditions deteriorating in the heavy rain, wind and cold, it appeared the lead was insurmountable until Wright found a path through the slippery field and into the back of the net. Portland grabbed an early lead when Esteban Espinosa got open deep in the box and headed in Matteo Kidd’s corner kick in seventh minute. Conor McGlynn tied it with a penalty kick in the 24th minute after Kyle Evans was fouled in the box by Mo Mohamed.
The win was WSC’s second in penalties this season, after they defeated Vermont in the second round of Lamar Hunt US Open Cup play 4-3 on April 1. In their first season of play, WSC went pointless in USL Cup play.
Road Work: Friday will be the third WSC road match of the season, having suffered losses at Greenville (4-2) on March 29 at at Boise (4-0) on April 18. They will play 4 of their next five matches away from Mt. Vernon, with the lone exception being a home match May 15 vs NY Cosmos. WSC finished the ’25 season 2-8-5 on the road, with wins at Madison and Texoma and a 4-4 tie at Richmond, which is the club’s high mark for goals scored on the road. Their last road win was 3-1 at South Georgia on Oct. 3. Since then they are 0-3-1 in league road matches.
Kicking Back The Richmond Series: Richmond won the season series, 1-0-2 in ’25. In the deciding match on Sept. 3, Emilio Terzaghai scored on a bicycle kick just eight minutes into the match, and Landon Johnson added a score off a misplay in stoppage time of the first half in a 2-0 win. On May 25 in Mount Vernon, the clubs tied 2-2, with Prince Saydee and JC Obregon staking WSC to an early 2-0 lead before Darwin Espinal and Matt Bolduc evened the score. Their first matchup on April19th at Richmond produced one of the most exciting USL matches of the season, a 4-4 draw that went back and forth with scores on both sides in stoppage time.
McGlynn, Guezen Burst Through: WSC’s early season growth has been fueled by its young players, as both midfielders Conor McGlynn (Middle Village, NY) and Guezen (Amsterdam, Netherlands) continue to emerge as the leaders on the young WSC squad. Guezen was voted Player of the Week presented by Konami eFootball after recording a pair of goals in his side’s victory against Sarasota Paradise on April 8. The Dutch midfielder recorded his first two-goal game for the club against Sarasota, striking twice in the second half to lead his side to a 2-0 win. Guezen’s goal vs Charlotte earlier in the season just 45 seconds into the match was the fastest in club history. Both now have four goals in league games, which are tied for second on the scoring table in the early going. McGlynn’s pair at home vs Corpus Christi was his first two goal game.
Other Early Season Honors: WSC placed four members on the USL League One Team of the week in week five, the first time in club history, following their 5-1 home win over Corpus Christi, the most goals scored in their short club history. They were: D – Noah Powder, (Edison, NJ) : The Trinidad and Tobago international recorded one assist and recorded 39 of 44 passes while winning 3 of 4 ground duels and making four recoveries, two interceptions and three clearances in Westchester’s victory against Corpus Christi. M – Conor McGlynn, (Middle Village, NY) : The 27-year-old scored a pair of goals and completed 35 of 37 passes while making six clearances, two interceptions and two recoveries in Westchester’s 5-1 victory against Corpus Christi FC. McGlynn now has four goals in league games, which is atop the scoring table in the early going. Saturday was his first two goal game of his career, and M – Jonathan Jiménez, (Jiquilpan, Mexico): The 24-year-old scored once and notched two shots overall while completing 28 of 33 passes, recording one chance created and winning one penalty kick in WSC’s club-record victory against Corpus Christi FC. Additionally George Gjokajwas named Coach of the Week for his first career USL League One win.
Youngest, Fastest and First: The early season has brought WSC some new milestones. Kyle Evans became the youngest goalscorer in club history with his stoppage-time finish against One Knoxville in the opener, notching his first professional goal aged 20 years, 146 days old, surpassing the mark of Ermin Mackic (20 years, 174 days). Andrew Hammersley also notched his first career clean sheet against NY Renegades in US Open Cup play and followed that up with his first in League play against Sarasota on April 8 and Matias Molina had his first career clean sheet at Vermont in Round Two. Rookie Alexi Armas also added to the youth movement, nailing the winning penalty in Saturday’s win over Portland.
Additional League Leaders; Hammersley’s 20 saves are third in the league at this early stage. WSC as a team leads the league in scoring with 12 goals, and are tied in conversion rate at 22%.
Close Shaves Still Cut Deep: The one goal loss in the opener to Knoxville continued a pattern for WSC from their inaugural season, when they went 2-14-7 when they entered the second 45 either tied or behind and were 2-11 in one goal w/l decisions. WSC was 2-14-7 when they entered the second 45 either tied or behind. They were 2-11 in one goal w/l decisions, and were blanked five times, three times time at home. WSC’s longest winless streak (excluding their 3-0 forfeit win over Spokane on July 16) was a 12 match streak which started after a 2-1 win at Forward Madison on June 18 and ended with a 2-1 win over Texoma on Sept. 21. That stretch included six one goal losses and three ties.
New Faces Making Contributions: Westchester Soccer Club has a decidedly young and local look in 2026 as new Head Coach and General Manager George Gjokaj has at least 14 athletes with local roots on the roster. Kyle Evans (Rock Hill, NY/Marist), has started all six matches thus far, while Maximus Jennings (Montclair, NJ/Georgetown) and Tim Timchenko (Kyiv, Ukraine/Iona), have started all five they have played in, with Daniel Burko (Løvenstad, Norway/Hofstra) and Charlie Dickerson (Norwich, England/Providence) starting five of six matches, and Aleksei Armas (Floral Park, NY/Hofstra and Adelphi) has played in all six USL League One matches thus far.
The others: Goalkeeper: Mattias Molina (Rosario, Argentina/Seton Hall), Mo Williams (West Orange, NJ/Notre Dame/Seton Hall), Midfielders: Aiden Borra (Syosset, NY/Sacred Heart and St. John’s), and Miguel Diaz (Brooklyn, NY/St. John’s).
The 10 newcomers join 14 returnees on the WSC preseason roster. Amongst the returning players, Goalkeeper Hammersley (Garden City, NY/Sacred Heart), Defender Noah Powder (Edison, NJ), Midfielder McGlynn (Middle Village, NY/Siena College), and Forwards Mackic (Yonkers NY/SUNY Purchase), and Samory Powder (Edison, NJ) also have ties to the New York area.
Partners for ’26: WSC’s list of partners for the season include: Northwell (Healthcare), Healthfirst (Health Insurance), Leros Transportation Group (Transportation), Meagher & Meagher, Attorneys at Law (Personal Injury Law), Breezemont Day Camp (Summer Camp), RXR (Real Estate Development), MSG Networks (Media & Broadcasting), The Taco Project (Restaurant & Food), Duck Donuts (Restaurant & Food), Score PT (Physical Therapy), Walter’s (Restaurant & Food), Keller Williams (Real Estate), ICE AIR (HVAC), Westchester Smoothie (Restaurant & Food), Saw Mill Stone & Masonry Supply (Masonry/Retail), Floor & Décor Flooring & Home Improvement (Home Improvement/Retail), The Gentleman’s Lab (Men’s Grooming / Barbershop), Agora (Social Group), CPR Foundation (Non-Profit/Foundation), Velvet Llama (Liquor), Rory Dolan’s Restaurant & Bar (Restaurant & Food), and Strategic Security Corp (Security Services).
Up Next: WSC travels to Ft. Wayne on May 9.
