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WSC Stuns Table Leader Omaha, Earns First Road Points of The Season: Sergio Ors Navarro’s second goal of the match in the 80th minute found the net behind keeper Luca Marinelli, as table leader Union Omaha came from behind for a 2-2 draw at home against WSC Saturday night, the first road point for WSC this season. Daniel Bouman’s goal in the 34th minute knotted the score at 1-1 at the break after Ors Navarro’s early score had given the homestanding Owls a 1-0 lead just nine minutes in, but it was Dean Guezan’s shot that gave WSC the second half lead in the 52nd minute at 2-1.
The visitors held the lead until Navarro’s equalizer, despite being outshot 21-8 in the match.
Home Cooking: WSC’s home results are the opposite of the road, as they enter tonight going 4-2-2 so far, losing 1-0 vs. Bosie on July 5 and 3-2 to defending champion One Knoxville on opening night, March 7. S WSC has outscored its league opponents at home 22-9. The four goal margin of victory matched vs. Portland on June was WSC’s widest gap to date, while the five goals tied their all-time high, Corpus Christi on April 4. Combined with their 4-0 win over Greenville on June 14th, WSC wrapped the homestand with a combined 9-1 margin, making WSC the fifth club in league history to score four or more goals in a pair of games.
Tonight is only the second home match in a current six match run for the club.
First Meeting: While this is the first USL League One meeting between the clubs, they did meet in Prinx Tires USL Cup play in Mt. Vernon on May 15.
Westchester controlled much of the first half, holding most of the possession in a tightly contested match where clear chances were limited on both sides. WSC goalkeeper Luca Marinelli kept his team in it early, coming up with a couple of key saves to deny dangerous Cosmos opportunities. The Cosmos eventually broke through late in the first half. In the 43rd minute, Sebastián Guenzatti finished a pass from Philip Spengler and slid it past Marinelli to give New York a 1-0 lead at halftime. Westchester came out strong in the second half and quickly found the equalizer. Noah Powder delivered a great cross into the box, where Koen Blommestijn got on the end of it after a few bounces and headed it home to make it 1-1, scoring his first goal for Westchester Soccer Club in the process. After about 20 minutes of back-and-forth, physical, and at times chippy play, WSC found their moment through Ermin Mackic with a clutch finish that could be a goal-of-the-year contender. In the 70th minute, Jonathan Jimenez picked up the ball on the left side and quickly played it into Mackic near the top of the box. With a sharp first touch and a quick cut, Ermin created just enough space and curled a finish into the top right corner to put Westchester ahead and complete a big momentum swing. Unfortunately for George Gjokaj’s squad, that lead wouldn’t last. Just about 10 minutes later, Nicholas Mendonca made a strong run down the right side, beating a couple defenders before finishing to bring the match level again. But the drama wasn’t over yet. After the fourth official signaled five minutes of added time, it felt like something was bound to happen given how the game had gone—just no one knew what or who it would come from. Then, right before the final whistle that would have sent the match to penalties for a place in the USL Cup next round, Christian Koffi picked up a loose ball around midfield. He drove forward, beat multiple defenders, and finished past Marinelli to win it for his team, both in the moment and on the scoreboard for the last-second 3-2 Cosmos win.
Rivalry Games: The addition of the Cosmos to USL League One brings WSC its first in-league geographic rivalry to build on. In year one, their closest opponent was Portland (284 miles away). Outside of League play, WSC has hosted local clubs in US Open Cup play, this season defeating NY Renegades 2-0 on March 19 and losing to NYCFC 5-2 on April 14 as well as the narrow 3-2 loss to Cosmos in Prinx Tires USL League Cup play on May 16.
Against the Newbies: WSC enters the match with a 2-3 mark against first-year USL League One clubs thus far, with home wins over Corpus Christi (5-1) and Sarasota (2-0), a 4-0 loss at Boise and a 1-0 loss to Bosie at home, and a 1-0 loss at Ft. Wayne.
Streak Finds A Stop: The draw continued WSC’s road winless streak at 17 games (0-13-4), but was their first point after seven straight road losses to start the season in USL League One play.
WSC’s last road win came at Forward Madison, 2-1, last June 10, and they have been outscored on the road 15-3 this season. WSC’s three other draws in that streak were at Knoxville (1-1) last July 19, Naples (2-2) Aug. 30 and Portland (2-2) on Oct. 18. They have recorded one road win out of league play in 2026, a 4-3 win in penalties in US Open Cup play on April 1 at Vermont Green, a match which was scoreless after play was completed. The draw Saturday also was just the second time this season (and 4th time in their two years) WSC had scored more than one goal in a road match. They have scored their road high of two goals on four occasions.
Feast or Famine: WSC’s streaky season continued in their recent USL League One play. They had scored once in their past three games prior to Saturday, (and had been shutout in their last two), after going 2-0-1 and scoring ten goals in a three match stretch in just nine days June 10-19. That was preceded by three consecutive 1-0 League losses in May.
Tight Margins: The 1-0 loss to Boise on July 5 dropped WSC to 0-7 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.
Jiménez Accolades: Westchester SC forward Jonathan Jiménez is coming off a series of strong performances, and was voted Player of the Week presented by Konami eFootball after scoring two goals in Westchester’s 5-1 win against Portland Hearts of Pine on June 19. Jiménez was at the center of it, tallying six shots – the most of any Westchester player in a single game this season – and found the back of the net twice. The Mexican national’s accolades followed his first USL League One Team of the Week selection the previous week. Jimenez 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.
Marinelli The Stopper: 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 went 2-1-1 in his four home starts, allowing three goals in the four.
McGlynn, Guezen Steady Play: 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, one of two WSC players to start every league game this season (Kyle Evans is the other) landed on the Team of the Week June 23 after scoring in three consecutive games to give him a team high (and career high) eight goals in league play, tied for second overall in the league in scoring. His pair at home vs Corpus Christi was his first two goal game, with his second brace coming June 19 vs. Portland.
Guezen is second on the team in scoring with five goals including the second goal on Saturday, and 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.
Maximus Effort: The club has also been buoyed by the improved play of Maximus Jennings. Jennings recorded a goal contribution in four of the last seven League One games (1G, 3A) as well as scoring the club’s only goal at Hartford to close out USL Cup play.
WSC Becomes a MAAC home: The addition of the two 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. Hammersley’s 11 saves in a loss at Greenville on March 29 were the most in club history and one shy of the League record for saves in a game. 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), 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 joined in mid June WSC after a standout collegiate career at Elon and St. John’s. 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 visits AV Alta on July 25 and Forward Madison on August 1.
