Heartbreak in Mt. Vernon on Friday night as Westchester Soccer Club welcomed the New York Cosmos for Prinx Tires USL Cup play under the Friday night lights in front of a strong home crowd.
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.
Westchester Soccer Club resumes USL League One play next Saturday, May 23rd, on the road against FC Naples at 7:30 PM. They return home in a little under a month, hosting Fort Wayne FC on June 10th at 7 PM at the Stadium at Memorial Field.
