The Match Preview is presented by our partners at Healthfirst
Home Cooking: Saturday begins a stretch of three home matches in the next four for WSC. Their home results are the opposite of the road, as they enter Saturday 5-2-2 at home, with their only losses being a tight 3-2 loss to defending champion One Knoxville on opening night, March 7 and a 1-0 loss to Bosie on July 5. They have outscored their opponetents 23-8 at home so far and have allowed one goal or fewer in their last eight home matches. The four goal margin of victory vs. Portland (5-1) on June 19 was WSC’s widest gap to date, while the five goals tied their all-time high, vs. 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. Their 3-0 won over NY Cosmos July was the fourth time in nine home matches they have scored three or more goals this season.
Series History: Westchester SC and FC Naples have played four times in USL League One since 2025, with FC Naples leading the all-time series with two wins, one draw, and one loss. They last met on May 23, and FC Naples secured a 1-0 victory at the Paradise Coast Sports Complex, with William Arevalo scoring the lone goal during a match impacted by a severe weather delay.
Road Draws, Shutouts Other Notes: While the winless streak reached 19 games (0-14-5) with their Aug. 1 2-0 loss at Madison, WSC recently achieved something for the first time in their two year history, earning a road point for the second consecutive match with a scoreless draw at AV Alta on July 26 and a 2-2 draw at Union Omaha on July 18. The draw at AV Alta combined with a 3-0 home win over NY Cosmos on July 22 marked the first time the club had posted back to back clean sheets in their history.
WSC’s streaky season has seen them go through droughts of one goal in their three matches (including being been shutout in two straight) from June 24-July 5, 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. They have now been shutout in two or more consecutive games four times this season, and will look to break the latest back-to-back clean sheets Saturday.
Marinelli The Stopper: Keeper Luca Marinelli continues to impress as he has ascended to the starting spot after replacing injured starter Andrew Hamersley. He earned his third clean sheet, and second consecutive, vs. NY Cosmos, and has allowed just 14 goals with 41 saves in his 13 starts in league play. In 11 of his 13 league starts WSC has scored one or fewer goals, including 4 1-0 losses. The draw at AV Alta combined with a 3-0 home win over NY Cosmos on July 22 marked the first time a keeper had posted back to back clean sheets in club history. He was named to USL League One Team of the Week on July 28 for the first time for his work.
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.
Evans Excelling: Kyle Evans continues to impress, and was named to the USL League One Team of the Week presented by SiteOne for the second consecutive week on July 28. One of only two players to start every match for WSC this season, the 20-year-old assisted on both of Westchester’s goals in its impressive showing on the road at Omaha, as Evans also won a tackle and had seven clearances. It was WSC’s first point on the road this season, and he followed it up with a goal and an assist in Westchester’s win against the Cosmos, then had two interceptions and an 85.7 passing percentage against AV ALTA FC. Evans is the first player to record a goal and assist in the same game for the club this season, and only the fourth overall following Conor McGlynn, Juan Carlos Obregón Jr. and Noah Powder. Earlier this year, 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).
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. He now has a team high (and career high) nine goals in league play, tied for first 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. He also was named to the USL Bench July 28.
Guezen is second on the team in scoring with five goals, 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.
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.
Maximus Effort: The club has also been buoyed by the improved play of Maximus Jennings. Jennings recorded a goal contribution in five of the last ten League One games (1G, 4A) 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 travels Corpus Christi on August 22.
