The home slate for Westchester Soccer Club, the county’s new professional soccer team, is finally underway.
Nearly a year after its formation was announced, the club owned by Rye native Mitch Baruchowitz played its home opener on April 27 in front of 2,783 fans at Mount Vernon Memorial Field.
WSC lost 4-1 to Rhode Island FC, with Jonathan Bolanos scoring the team’s first home goal in the 84th minute to avert a shutout.
All of the team’s games in its inaugural season had been on the road to this point, but they’ll make up for it over the next month with six straight home games, beginning 4 p.m. Saturday against the Charlotte Independence. It will be the first official USL League One match in Mount Vernon.
The 14-team league is two tiers below Major League Soccer, playing in smaller markets with hopes of attracting county residents who don’t want to spend the time and money traveling south to watch New York City’s pro teams.
Ticket costs for Saturday’s game range from $19 to $49 on WSC’s website. The stadium menu includes traditional hamburgers and hot dogs, plus options from food trucks, like Scotty’s Egg Rolls, which sold steak-and-cheese and sausage-and-pepper egg rolls for $15 with fries at the home opener.
In addition to majority owner Baruchowitz, the team’s ownership group includes New York Jets quarterback Tyrod Taylor and Tyler Adams, a Wappinger native who captained the U.S. men’s national team in the 2022 World Cup and plays for Bournemouth in the English Premier League.
Starting Saturday, the team will play one home game every weekend through June 15.
