A Night the Weather Tried to Ruin, but Westchester SC Wouldn’t Let It

Westchester SC Grind Through Wind, Rain, and Late Drama to Claim a Gritty Shootout Victory

When you think about going to a soccer match with your friends, your mind almost certainly pictures a bright sunny day, hot dogs, and cold beverages in the buildup, followed by a comfortable night under the lights watching our boys play the beautiful game.

Saturday was none of those things.

Mother Nature wanted no part of a game being played, but this isn’t baseball. We don’t roll out the tarp and try again another day. We soldier on. Players and fans alike.

For the supporters from both the 914th Infantry and the Dirigo Union, it meant a soggy tailgate in the bowels of the parking lot as opposed to our usual rooftop outings followed by a long night of standing in the rain.

For the players, it meant stepping onto a drenched pitch in soaked kits and still trying to put on a performance. To their credit, both sides did.

The Game

Westchester SC earned its first-ever points in the USL Cup with a dramatic 5–4 penalty shootout win over Portland Hearts of Pine after a 2–2 draw in regulation.

The match swung back and forth in brutal conditions. Portland struck early, Westchester responded through Conor McGlynn from the spot, and Daniel Burko gave WSC the lead in the second half. Just when it looked like the points were secured, Portland found a late equalizer in the 84th minute to force penalties.

In the shootout, goalkeeper Andrew Hammersley came up big with multiple saves, setting the stage for Aleksei Armas to bury the winner and send Westchester home with two points.

My Thoughts

"We are Soggy County!"

The night had a “here we go again” feeling when Portland got on the board in just the seventh minute, sending a soggy group of traveling support into a frenzy. It was starting to feel like Boise all over again, but McGlynn’s equalizer less than 20 minutes later settled both the supporters and the team down. From that point on, they looked like a different side, and the better one.

If not for Portland’s extremely awkward-looking equalizer at the death, Westchester looked on their way to a 2–1 win. As it was, my pregame prediction of a sloppy 2–2 draw came true… except for the fact that I forgot how the Cup works.

Similar to regular season hockey, each team gets a point, but the two sides then go straight to penalties for an additional point. So when Aleksei sent us home happy, Westchester walked away with two out of three.

What It Means

In the group, Westchester currently sits in second place ahead of Rhode Island on goals scored, holding a two-goal edge. They trail Brooklyn FC, who took all three points in their opener.

The silver lining is that Brooklyn’s win came against the New Jersey Cosmos, who sit bottom of the group as the only team without a point after Matchweek 1.

The Prinx Cup continues for Westchester SC on May 15th when the New Jersey Cosmos cross the GWB to pay a visit to Memorial Field.

What Comes Next

It’s hard to draw too many conclusions from a sloppy, rain-soaked match like this, but the form looked better. From where I was standing, it was tough to tell whether that was due to the return of Max Jennings or perhaps the debut of Aidan Borra. Frankly, it was hard to see much of anything through the raindrops.

This weekend, we return to USL League One action as the boys in blue and gold hit the road to take on the Richmond Kickers.

You can read more about that in our match preview later this week.