Mount Vernon, NY February 19, 2026- Westchester Soccer Club will have a decidedly young and local look as the 2026 season comes closer, as new Head Coach and General Manager George Gjokaj will have at least 14 athletes with local roots on the potential opening day roster. Westchester Soccer Club will look to build on their 5-16-9 record in their initial season in USL League One.
They play the first of three straight matches (2 USL League One, 1 US Open Cup) at The Stadium at Memorial Field in Mt. Vernon against One Knoxville on March 7 at 7:00 PM.
Among the new faces are:
Goalkeeper:
Mattias Molina (Rosario, Argentina/Seton Hall)
Starred at Seton Hall, with a school-record 0.80 GAA, 0.752 save percentage and 13 total clean sheets, while leading The Pirates to the 2nd round of the NCAA Tournament.
Defenders:
Aleksei Armas (Florham Park, NY/Hofstra and Adelphi)
Armas joins the club after competing at the Division I level at Hofstra University. Played in 37 games at Hofstra over two seasons with 19 starts, including 14 in his senior season when he drastically improved his playing time. The Florham Park, NY native was a member of the Hofstra Athletic Director Scholars and CAA Commissioner's Academic Honor Rolls in each semester. He began his collegiate career at Adelphi University in Garden City, New York, playing in in 31 games for the Panthers over two seasons and recorded a pair of assists in 2023.
Maximus Jennings (Montclair, NJ/Georgetown)
Jennings joins Westchester SC after playing with Real Monarchs in MLS NEXT Pro, making 24 appearances with 12 starts and 2 goals in 2025. The defender played four seasons at Georgetown, anchoring their defense throughout his career.
Tim Timchenko (Kyiv, Ukraine/Iona)
One of the most accomplished soccer players at tradition rich Iona University, will make his pro debut with WSC. While at Iona, he was named MAAC Defensive Player of the Year as a senior and earned All-MAAC First Team honors both his junior and senior years. A product of Dynamo Moscow Academy he also developed at the youth level with the New York Red Bulls Academy.
Midfielders:
Aiden Borra (Syosset, NY/Sacred Heart and St. John’s)
Joins after playing for USL League Two with RKC Third Coast last summer following a standout career at Sacred Heart and St. John’s. He appeared in 34 games for Sacred Heart University over two seasons, contributing two goals and three assists while earning NEC All-Tournament Team honors. Prior to Sacred Heart, Borra played for BIG EAST perennial power St. John’s University, appearing in 27 games over two seasons.
Kyle Evans (Rock Hill, NY/Marist)
Joins the club after a standout career at Marist University, where he teamed with his brother Liam, and led the team with seven goals and four assists, earning all-MAAC first team honors. A former NY Red Bulls Academy product, Evans is no stranger to the WSC practice facility as well, as his father Ed is the head men’s coach at Pace University.
Forwards:
Daniel Burko (Løvenstad, Norway/Hofstra)
Arrives after an impressive collegiate season at Hofstra, starting all 20 matches and tallying 13 goals and five assists. His 31 points ranked second on the team and the CAA in goals and points and were 11th in the nation, while his 13 goals were 12th. He was a First Team All-Atlantic Region selection and First Team All-CAA selection for The Pride, where he transferred after playing one season as a senior at Syracuse, scoring three goals in 16 matches. Burko also played collegiately at Lincoln Memorial University in 2023 scoring 20 goals in 19 matches and was named South Atlantic Conference Offensive Player of the Year, and at Waldorf University in 2021-2022 where he was selected Second Team Continental Athletic Conference in ‘22.
Miguel Diaz (Brooklyn, NY/St. John’s)
The Peruvian national and Brooklyn native forward joins WSC Westchester Soccer Club from the Westchester Flames in USL 2 where he was on the training roster last summer. A standout at St. John’s University, Diaz made 34 starts in 43 appearances for the Red Storm. He finished his collegiate career with 25 total points and earned BIG EAST Honor roll twice during his three seasons with the Red Storm.
Charlie Dickerson (Norwich, England/Providence)
Joins the club after finishing a standout collegiate career in the BIG EAST, at Providence College, where he started every game and anchored the Friars’ backline with consistency, composure, and physicality. Prior to Providence, he was a second team All Missouri Valley Conference selection during his second of two seasons at Bradley University, where he was also captain for both his years there after transferring from Jefferson College.
The nine newcomers join 14 returnees on the WSC preseason roster. Amongst the returning players, Goalkeeper Andrew Hammersley (Garden City, NY/Sacred Heart), Defender Noah Powder (Edison, NJ), Midfielder Conor McGlynn (Middle Village, NY/Siena College), and Forwards Ermin Mackic (Yonkers NY/SUNY Purchase), and Samory Powder (Edison, NJ) also have ties to the New York area.
