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It’s not often you can give up the four fastest goals in a half (and almost win) and in the next game set the record for the five fastest goals, not just in USL League One, but almost in all of professional soccer in a first half.
That’s what Westchester Soccer Club (7-14-5) did in a five DAY span this week, as they head to Paterson to play the Cosmos Saturday with a chance to finally snap their record road winless streak.
Scoring Barrage Nets A Home Win: Maybe there is something with WSC’s home kits, or maybe Coach George Gjokaj’s preach for consistency is finally paying off, but the homestanding club turned in a record-tying first half on Wednesday night en route to a 5-2 win.
WSC found the back of the next five times in the first 45, and then held off two very quick second half scores to secure the three points. Tim Timchenko’s continued solid play got WSC on the board 13 minutes in, and then Conor McGlynn nailed a shot two minutes later and followed it up with a penalty at the 34 minute mark to break the match open. Then it was Jonathan Jimenez brace time, as he followed with goals just two minutes apart…at the 37 and 39 marks. To match the first half record and tie the club’s record for overall amount of goals scored in a match. Richmond was not to be stopped though, as Nils Seufert and Tarik Pannholzer scored just three minutes apart (at the 48 and 51 minute marks) to cut the lead to 5-2, and Pannholzer had another shot to score that keeper Luca Marinelli thwarted just minutes later to stabilize the second half.
The win snapped a two match home losing streak for WSC, and moved them to 7-4-2 at home. They have scored three or more goals in 6 of their 13 home matches, and the five goals matched their total in their 5-1 win vs. Corpus Christi on April 5.
Fast Five In 25: The five goals from kickoff matched the USL League One mark for goals in a half (originally set by Greenville in the first half against South Georgia Tormenta FC on 7/13/22) and were the fastest five from kickoff in USL League One history at 25 minutes, and the second-fastest five in USL history, behind Reno 1868 FC who scored five goals in 20 minutes in the USL Championship between the 28th and 48th minutes in the USL Championship against Tacoma Defiance on May 20, 2017.
By comparison, the fastest five goals in MLS history were The Seattle Sounders, who scored 5 goals against the San Jose Earthquakes on September 10, 2020. The fastest five goals from kickoff in Premier League history were Manchester City who set the mark against Watford in 18 minutes in 2019.
Jonathan Jiménez brace two minutes apart also tied the USL League One mark for fastest pair.
McGlynn In The Record Books: McGlynn now has 13 goals on the season, four short of J.C. Obregon’s club mark of 17, and tied with Rafael Mentzingen for holding the single-season mark of most goals by a midfielder in League One history. He had 13 for North Carolina FC in the 2023 season. Wednesday was his third brace of the season, and second in the same half. His pair at home vs Corpus Christi was his first two goal game, with his second brace coming June 19 vs. Portland. He is also one of two WSC players to start every league game this season (Kyle Evans is the other). His 13 goals lead the league going into Saturday.
Road Woes: WSC enters Saturday going 22nd straight matches on the road without a win (0-16-6).
History Maker Part Deaux: The nine goals in two games are the most in back-to-back USL League One play (4 vs. Charlotte, 5 vs. Richmond) and the 9 combined Saturday vs. Charlotte were tied for the second-most in a League One contest, trailing only a 5-5 draw between South Georgia Tormenta FC and Greenville Triumph SC on July 13, 2022. It was the third nine-goal game in League One.
Tight Margins: Last Saturday’s 5-4 loss at Charlotte dropped WSC to 1-10 in one goal decisions this season.
Series History: Saturday is the third meeting between the clubs, the first in New Jersey. Cosmos won the USL Cup matchup on May 15 3-2. The Cosmos opened the scoring via Sebastián Guenzatti, but WSC responded to lead 2-1. The Cosmos equalized in the 81st minute before Christian Koffi scored a dramatic game-winner in stoppage time (90’+4). The intense emotions spilled into the stands, sparking physical altercations between opposing fans. WSC’s revenge came on July 22, 2026 in a 3-0 clean-sheet victory. 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.
Rising Against The Bottom: WSC enters Saturday with a 7-5-2 mark against teams not in a playoff position.
Braces Fit: McGlynn, Jonathan Jiménez and forward Koen Blommestijn have now had two goals in a half in the past two matches. Jiménez first half scores were just three minutes apart on Wednesday, while Blommestijn had two goals nine minutes apart (at 68’ and 77’) Saturday at Charlotte, his first two tallies of the season. McGlynn has now twice had a brace in the same half this season, after Wednesday’s first half scores.
Guezen Leading The Way: WSC’s growth has been fueled by its young players, as both midfielders Conor McGlynn (Middle Village, NY) and Dean Guezen (Amsterdam, Netherlands) continue to emerge as the leaders on the young WSC squad. Guezen is second on the team in scoring with seven 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.
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. His five assists lead the club.
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 24 goals with 54 saves in his 19 starts in league play. In 14 of his 19 league starts WSC has scored one or fewer goals, including 5 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.
Tim Time: Tim Temchenko, the 23-year-old defender from Russia and Iona University added to his onfield growth with his first career goal at Corpus Christi Aug. 22 and his second to open scoring Wednesday. He was 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.
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.
Road Draws, Shutouts Other Notes: 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. They have been shutout in two or more consecutive games four times this season.
Charlotte’s four goals in the first half last Saturday marked the 10th time a team has recorded four goals in a first half in League One. The Charlotte Independence lost 5-4 to Greenville Triumph SC on August 9, 2025 and the Richmond Kickers lost 5-4 to Central Valley Fuego FC on October 13, 2023 in the two prior instances of a team scoring four goals and losing in League One history, while the four road goals for WSC tied their road high water mark, which was a 4-4 tie at Richmond last season. It was also the fastest sequence of four goals in a first half in USL League One history with Charlotte’s 4 goals in 14 minutes vs. Westchester SC, 9/12/26, besting No. Colorado Hailstorm FC –vs Cent. Valley Fuego FC 4 goals in 22 minutes on 5/27/23.
WSC Metro and Big East Friendly: The addition of former UCONN captain Jack Loura 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. On Wednesday the club brought up 18 year old WSC Academy prospect Marko Vislocky, a product of Tottenville HS on Staten Island. Vislocky. He was selected to represent the Slovakia U18 National Team, joining them for international duty. He is the second-youngest player to debut for WSC, following Sam Greenburg, who was 17 years, 5 months, and 7 days old when he made his professional debut for Westchester SC on July 2, 2025. 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 18 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. 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 travels to One Knoxville on September 27.
