Match preview notes are presented by our partner Healthfirst
Draw Starts Homestand: Westchester Soccer Club hosted Fort Wayne FC on Wednesday night under the lights at The Stadium at Memorial Field. The match started as a competitive back-and-forth battle, with both teams creating opportunities and looking for an early breakthrough. After 27 minutes of play, Westchester found its moment when the Captain Conor McGlynn scored a remarkable goal, giving the home side a lead and energizing the crowd. McGlynn, Miguel Diaz, and Maximus Jennings worked the ball between them with some quick passing to open up the Fort Wayne defense. Jennings then got free down the right side and played a perfect cross into the box, where the Captain finished with an incredible bicycle kick and leave all of Fort Wayne stunned. The second half started much like the first, with both teams sharing possession and searching for openings. That changed in the 74th minute when Taig Healy reacted to a loose cross in the box and finished into the bottom right corner to level the match. The goal shifted the momentum and changed the tone of the game moving forward. From that point on, the game got more physical, with yellow cards being shown regularly as the intensity increased. In total, five cards were issued, including one to Westchester head coach George Gjokaj.
Home Cooking: Sunday is the second of a three match, nine day home stretch, WSC’s most condensed of the season. In USL League One home play thus far, WSC enters the match with a four match unbeaten streak and a 2-1-2 mark with the only loss being a tight 3-2 loss to defending champion One Knoxville on opening night, March 7. Since then WSC has outscored its league opponents at home 13-7, which includes the club’s two year high mark for goals in a single game, 5 vs. Corpus Christi on April 4.
First Meeting: Zaad Liadi had two goals and an assist and Greenville Triumph built a 4-0 lead and held on for a 4-2 win March 29 in Greenville, SC. Liadi’s first goal of the match 22 minutes in was followed by another by Rodrigo Robles at the 33 minute mark and then former WSC midfielder DeShane Beckford beat keeper Andrew Hammersley just before the half to send WSC into the break down 3-0. Liadi’s second tally pushed the score to 4-0 before Ermin Mackic and Connor McGlynn scored just five minutes apart midway through the second half to cut the deficit in half, but that’s as close as the visitors would get. The four goals matched the most WSC has allowed in a match in their brief history, and it could have been more had Hammersley not recorded 11 saves, the highest total in WSC history and just one short of the USL League One mark of 12. Greenville outshot WSC 21-15 in the match, and defeated WSC for the second time in three contests in their history.
Close Shaves Still Cut Deep: The one goal loss to Naples was WSC’s fourth straight in USL League One play, and dropped WSC to 0-5 in one goal decisions this season, continuing 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 Becomes a MAAC home: The addition of the two new keepers (Luca Marinelli- Sacred Heart and Giuliano Santucci-Iona) gives WSC seven players who called the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference home during their collegiate days, a pretty unique stat for a mid-major conference. That includes three players from Sacred Heart and two from Iona, as well as one from Siena and Marist.
McGlynn, Guezen Still Rising: WSC’s 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. McGlynn’s five goals now leads the club, one ahead of Guezen.
Youngest, Fastest and First: The 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 over Portland in USL Cup play.
New Faces Making Contributions: Westchester Soccer Club has a decidedly young and local look in 2026 as Head Coach and General Manager George Gjokaj has at least 16 athletes with local roots on the roster. The latest addition is Colin Veltri who joins WSC after a standout collegiate career at Elon and St. John’s. He earned All-CAA Second Team honors as a junior at Elon and helped lead The Phoenix to the NCAA Tournament in ’25. Prior to Elon, he was a member of the St. John’s men’s soccer program (2022-23), appearing in 23 career games for St. John’s with two assists. He joins Goalkeepers: Marinelli, Santucci, and 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).Kyle Evans (Rock Hill, NY/Marist), has started all eight matches thus far, while Maximus Jennings (Montclair, NJ/Georgetown), Tim Timchenko (Kyiv, Ukraine/Iona), Daniel Burko (Løvenstad, Norway/Hofstra) , Charlie Dickerson (Norwich, England/Providence) and Aleksei Armas (Floral Park, NY/Hofstra and Adelphi) have had substantial playing time across the board. Goalkeepers: Marinelli, Santucci, and 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 12 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 hosts Portland on June 19
