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Westchester Soccer Club Blanks Cosmos, Continues Solid Home Play: Maybe it was the unveiling of the new creme colored kits, or the first appearance at a home game of ‘Hutch” the new mascot, or even a little post World Cup bounce against a club whose name has been known with greatness in past iterations, or maybe that Coach George Gjokaj’s club is starting to gel in the summer heat. But on a beautiful Wednesday night in Mount Vernon, Westchester Soccer Club earned a 3-0 victory over the New York Cosmos. WSC wasted no time getting on the scoreboard, finding the opening goal early in the match. Dean Guezen found himself near the right side of the six-yard box and cleverly backheeled the ball to Kyle Evans. Evans then delivered a low cross across the face of goal, where Bobby Pierre slid in and finished with the bottom of his foot to give Westchester a 1-0 advantage. WSC continued to create chances throughout the first half but could not find another goal, taking the one-goal lead into halftime. The majority of the second half remained relatively calm until tensions began to rise in the 67th minute. Both teams were shown a card from there on out, but there was a strong possibility that more could have been handed out. Just over 10 minutes later, Jonathan Jimenez played a short through ball into the box for Evans, who calmly finished into the bottom right corner to double Westchester’s lead. Later in the 83rd minute, Max Jennings made a nice play to keep the ball in bounds and found Guezen near the penalty spot. Guezen finished the chance just as Evans did earlier, slotting the ball into the bottom right corner to extend Westchester’s lead. The win gave Westchester Soccer Club revenge against the Cosmos after their heartbreaking 3-2 USL Cup loss on May 15.
It was the fourth time in nine home matches they have scored three or more goals this season.
Last Season: AV Alta swept the series 2-0, winning 2-0 in Lancaster on April 5 and 5-2 in Mt. Vernon on June 15. The five goals remain the most WSC has allowed in a match in their two seasons of play.
Streak Finds A Stop: The draw last Saturday at then table leader Union Omaha continued WSC’s road winless streak at 17 games (0-13-4), but was the club’s 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 have been outscored on the road 15-3 this season. WSC’s three other draws in the 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 have recorded five goals in the last two games, after scoring once in their previous three (including being been shutout in two straight), 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.
Evans Excelling: Kyle Evans continues to impress, and was named this week to the USL League One Team of the Week presented by SiteOne . 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 another goal in Wednesday’s win. 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).
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 second clean sheet on Wednesday, and has allowed just 12 goals with 32 saves in his 11 starts in league play. In 9 of his 11 league starts WSC has scored one or fewer goals, including 4 1-0 losses.
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.
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 eight 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 visits Forward Madison on August 1.
