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Streak Continues Even If Playoff Hopes End: Koen Blommestijn scored a brace and Kyle Evans recorded two assists as Westchester SC earned a 3-2 win over Forward Madison FC at the Stadium at Memorial Field last Saturday night, as the club continued its late season push and extended its record undefeated streak to five matches (four wins and a draw). Joshua Bolma and Hakim Karamoko scored for the visitors in the second half, the second one late in extended time after the match was pretty much decided.
The honors for Westchester Soccer Club off their recent run continued this week, as both midfielder Evans and forward Blommestijn were named to USL League One’s Team of the Week.
Home Cooking: The win also moved the club to 9-4-2 at home (a marked improvement from 3-8-4 in Mt. Vernon in their inaugural season) and was also their third straight one goal win after going 1-10 in their first 11 one goal decisions. They have scored three or more goals in 7 of their 15 home matches and recorded their first win of the season against a club near the top of the table (1-9-4).
Three times they have also scored three or more 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 a 3-2 win over FC Naples and a record fast five vs. Richmond on Sept. 16. They enter Saturday with the third-most goals at home in a USL League One season (37, averaging 2.47 gpg), trailing only table leader Charlotte Independence (2026) – 45 goals in 16 games (2.81gpg) and Union Omaha (2023) – 38 goals in 16 games (2.38gpg).
Half Braces Fit: Blommestijn’s pair in the first half last Saturday was the second time this season he had a brace in a half, the first being nine minutes apart (at 68’ and 77’) Sept. 12 at Charlotte, his first two tallies of the season. Jonathan Jiménez’s first half scores were just three minutes apart vs. Richmond while, Conor McGlynn has also tallied a brace in a half this season.
McGlynn In The Record Books: Conor McGlynn now has 15 goals on the season, tied for the League’s Golden Boot race, and breaking the league mark for goals for a midfielder, which he had shared with Rafael Mentzingen, who had 13 for North Carolina FC in the 2023 season. He is also now two short of the club mark for goals in a season, set last year by J.C. Obregon with 17. McGlynn’s total of 19 in just under two seasons also makes him WSC’s all-time leading scorer in their two year history.
September 16 vs. Richmond 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 the only WSC player to start every league game this season.
Evans Excelling: Kyle Evans continues to impress in his rookie year. He has started all but one match this season, and his eight assists gives him the second-most assists in a season by a player aged 20 or younger in League One history, trailing only current Sacramento Republic FC attacking midfielder Arturo Rodriguez, who notched 10 assists for North Texas SC in 2019. 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, he 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). He 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.
Series History: Union Omaha holds a 2-0-1 lead in the series thus far. Their last encounter at Morrison Stadium ended in a thrilling 2–2 draw. Sergio Ors Navarro scored a brace for Union Omaha, while Daniel Bouman and Dean Guezen found the net for Westchester SC. Omaha took the meeting last season in Mt. Vernon 2-1 on September 13.
Guezen Leading The Way: Dean Guezen (Amsterdam, Netherlands) 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. He added a career high three assists, all in the first half, in the record-setting win vs. Richmond as well, the ninth time in USL League One history a player had a trio of assists in a game.
Marinelli The Stopper: Keeper Luca Marinelli continues his solid play in net in his first season as well. He has four clean sheets and has allowed 29 goals with 65 saves in his 23 starts in league play. In 15 of his 23 league starts WSC has scored one or fewer goals, including 5 1-0 losses and two scoreless draws. 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 vs. Richmond Sept. 16. 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 and Sept. 22. 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.
The nine goals in two games at Charlotte on Sept. 12 and at home vs. Richmond Sept. 16 are the most in back-to-back USL League One play (4 vs. Charlotte, 5 vs. Richmond) and the 9 in the 5-4 loss at Charlotte combined are 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.
The five goals from kickoff on Sept. 16 vs. Richmond in Mt. Vernon 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), 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.
The scoreless draw at Knoxville on Sept. 27 was just the second-ever scoreless tie for WSC (the other was at AV Alta on July 25). The draw moved WSC to 1-3-4 in their last eight road matches.
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. The club brought up 18 year old WSC Academy prospect Marko Vislocky, a product of Tottenville HS on Staten Island in September. Vislocky 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. 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.
The Jonathan Jiménez brace two minutes apart Sept. 16 vs. Richmond also tied the USL League One mark for fastest pair.
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 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 16 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: After this match, WSC ends the campaign at Sarasota on Oct. 24
