Match Preview Notes Are Presented by Our Partner Healthfirst
WSC Continues Defending Their Turf: Westchester SC continued their home field success last Sunday night, as four players found the back of the net and Luca Marinelli recorded his first-ever USL clean sheet on the way to a 4-0 win over Greenville Triumph SC at The Stadium at Memorial Field in USL League One play.
The first 10 minutes were fairly quiet, though Greenville earned several early corner kicks. Westchester handled the pressure well, and once they settled in, the momentum began to swing in their favor. WSC started to create more dangerous chances and eventually broke through in the 15th minute. Miguel Diaz controlled the ball in the box and blasted a shot into the left-side netting to give Westchester the lead, scoring his first professional goal in the process. Westchester continued to generate quality chances, but Greenville held firm for a stretch. In the 32nd minute, Aleksei Armas found space down the right sideline and delivered a perfect cross to Max Jennings at the back post, where he rose to head the ball into the top-left corner to double Westchester’s lead. The eventful first half, however, was far from over. Right after the fourth official indicated just two minutes of stoppage time, Armas swung a corner into the box. Bobby Pierre and Greenville goalkeeper Amal Knight battled for position when Knight struck Pierre in the head and then tripped him as he tried to get back up. The referee immediately issued a straight red card to Knight and awarded Westchester a penalty. Conor McGlynn stepped up and buried it into the bottom-right corner, beating Greenville’s backup goalkeeper to extend the lead.
Even down a man, the Triumph refused to quit and created a few solid opportunities, including in the 57th minute when striker Azaad Liadi broke through the defensive line for a one-on-one chance with Marinelli. Marinelli stayed composed as he had all night, came off his line near the top of the box, and made a crucial save to preserve the clean sheet. Five minutes later, Daniel Burko made a few nice moves inside the box and drew another penalty for Westchester. Burko stepped up to take it himself, but Greenville’s backup goalkeeper Seth Torman guessed correctly and saved the shot in the bottom-right corner.
Westchester continued to push forward, and once the match entered second-half stoppage time, Burko made amends for his earlier miss. He broke through on a one-on-one opportunity, made a sharp move to beat Torman, and calmly finished into the net to cap off an impressive 4-0 Westchester Soccer Club win — a result they controlled from start to finish.
The win avenged a 4-2 loss at Greenville on March 29.
Home Is Where We Start: Friday caps a three match, nine day home stretch, WSC’s most condensed of the season. WSC enters the match with a five match unbeaten streak at home and a 3-1-2 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 17-7, which includes the club’s two year high mark for goals in a single game, 5 vs. Corpus Christi on April 4 and Sunday’s 4-0 win.
Marinelli Gets The Shutout: Keeper Luca Marinelli continues to impress in his brief time with the club, subbing for injured starter Andrew Hamersley. WSC had been shoutout 1-0 in his first three league starts on the road, but he is now 1-0-1 in his two home starts, allowing one goal in the pair while WSC has found the net five times in the two.
Jiménez Named to Team of The Week: Full back Jonathan Jiménez helped Westchester earn four points from two outings as he completed 34 of 41 passes and notched five chances created while winning 10 of 16 duels and 3 of 4 tackles in a draw against Fort Wayne FC and victory against Greenville Triumph SC and was named to USL League One Team of the Week.
McGlynn, Guezen Leading The Surge: 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. McGlynn has now scored in consecutive games to give him a team high six goals in league play (two more than he had all of last season with WSC and besting his previous season high of 5 with Hartford Athletic) tied for second overall in the league in scoring. Guezen is econd on the team in scoring with four goals, and is tied for 10th in shots with 21. McGlynn’s pair at home vs Corpus Christi was his first two goal game. 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.
Matchups vs. Portland: Aleksei 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 April 25 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.
Last Season vs. Portland: Portland went 1-0-1 vs. WSC in ’25. JC Obergon’s direct kick in the 90th minute gave WSC a 2-2 tie at the Portland Hearts of Pine on October 18. In their first matchup, WSC drew first blood at Memorial Stadium on August 24, with Ermin Mackic beating keeper Hunter Morse just 16 minutes into the match to give the home standers the early lead. Portland countered just ten minutes later when Titus Washinton beat Andrew Hammersley off a scramble in the front of the net, and Portland grabbed the lead ten minutes later on a Oliver Ephraim Wright shot in the 36th minute. They extended the lead to 3-1 eight minutes later on a Nathan Igor Messer shot, but WSC countered when play came back, with Prince Saydee scoring on a 35 yard strike in the 45th minute, his fourth goal of the season, cutting the deficit to 3-2 at the break. WSC played the last 19 minutes of the match down a man, and could not find the equalizer.
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.
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. 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.
Colin Veltri joins WSC after a standout collegiate career at Elon and St. John’s. 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
The others: 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 hits the road for matches at Spokane (June 24) and Chattanooga (July 1) before returning home to face Boise on July 5.
