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WSC Almost Breaks The Streak: It looked for a good while that Westchester SC’s long road winless streak was going to end last Saturday night, but they had to settle for their third road draw in their last four games away from Mt. Vernon, a 2-2 tie at Corpus Christi FC.
Tim Timchenko continued his solid play with his first pro goal at the 23 minute mark, and Dean Guezen followed that up with a score in the 37th minute, and WSC took a 2-0 lead into the break. However, Jake Keegan beat Luca Marinelli eight minutes into the second half to cut the lead in half and it stayed that way until the final minute of regulation, when Jack Keaney found the back of the net to knot the score and keep WSC out of the win column again on the road. Corpus Christi outshot WSC 24-9 in the match, who avenged a 5-1 loss in Mt. Vernon earlier in the season.
With the draw, the winless road streak reaches 20 games (0-14-6), but they have draws in three of their last four games away from home.
Looking To Extend at Home: Maybe it’s the popular new kits, maybe it’s an extra motivation and support of playing at home, but Westchester Soccer Club continues to impress in their Mt. Vernon matches. They are 6-2-2 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 Boise on July 5, and have scored three or more goals in 5 of their 10 home matches. Twice they have also scored three goals in a half (most in club history), with the first time being in the initial 45 of their 5-1 vs. Corpus Christi on April 5 before netting three in the first half of their last match, a 3-2 win over FC Naples.
Winning A Close One: The 3-2 win over Naples on August 15 was WSC’S first this season by a one goal margin, after going 0-7 in their previous one goal decisions. 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 last season.
Series History: The series history between Westchester SC (WSC) and Spokane has gone in the visitors favor, with Spokane holding a 4-1 series lead, including a 2-1 win in Spokane on June 25. WSC’s lone “win” being the result of a forfeit last season. The match was a 3-2 win for Spokane on the field in Mt. Vernon, but WSC was awarded a 3-0 win due to an ineligible Spokane player.
Tim Time: Tim Temchenko, the 23-year-old defender from Russia and Iona University added to his onfield growth with his first career goal last Saturday, following being named to USL League One Team of the Week on August 19 after he had an assist, eight clearances and a passing accuracy rate of 90% in Westchester’s 3-2 win over FC Naples. His three assists are third on the club.
McGlynn, Guezen Key Improved 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 again August 19 th after scoring his 10th goal of the season vs. FC Naples. In reaching double-digit goals, McGlynn is the sixth player categorized as a midfielder to record at least 10 goals in a USL League One season, with Rafael Mentzingen holding the single-season mark with 13 for North Carolina FC in the 2023 season.
He now has a team high (and career high) 10 goals in league play, tied for second overall in the league in scoring. The 10 goals make him the second player for WSC to reach double digits in their young history, with the other being J.C. Obregon Jr., whose 17 last season set the one season mark for USL League One. McGlynn’s 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 six 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.
Marinelli The Stopper: Keeper Luca Marinelli continues to impress as he has ascended to the starting spot after replacing injured starter Andrew Hamersley. He has allowed just 18 goals with 44 saves in his 15 starts in league play. In 11 of his 15 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.
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 as well as being named to the USL bench on August 18. 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. 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). His five assists lead the club as well.
Jiménez Accolades: Westchester SC forward Jonathan Jiménez continues his series of strong performances, and was voted to the USL Bench for August 19. He was 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 six of the last 11 League One games (1G, 4A) as well as scoring the club’s only goal at Hartford to close out USL Cup play. The four assists are second-most on the club.
Road Draws, Shutouts Other Notes: Saturday is the third home match during a four match string for WSC. 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 been shutout in two or more consecutive games four times this season.
WSC Now Metro and Big East Friendly: The addition of former UCONN captain Jack Loura last week now gives WSC seven BIG EAST alums and seven Metro (formerly Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) alums on the roster. 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.
More Local Flavor: Westchester Soccer Club has a decidedly young and local look in 2026 as Head Coach and General Manager George Gjokaj has at least 17 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 and in mid August the club added Queens native Piero Elias to the roster via a 25 day contract. The 22 year old central midfielder comes to Westchester from Sporting JAX in the USL Championship. After attending and playing for Forest Hills High School in Queens, N.Y., Elias transitioned into becoming a member of the NYCFC academy system instead of stepping into a collegiate career. While playing for NYCFC II, he played over 5,600 minutes, tallied 11 goals, 11 assists, and started 63 of 77 games.
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 14 newcomers join 14 returnees on the WSC 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 hosts Chattanooga on September 2.
