FC Westchester...

 

The club’s coaching staff includes such top coaches as David McCollum, winner of five state cup championships and a former professional player in Germany; Sean Kenny, coach of two FCW youth national championship teams and winner of an NCAA Division 1 championship ring with St. John’s University; Boris Bandov, a 10-year starter with the U.S. National Team and member of the famous New York Cosmos; Chris Gonzalez, who took an FC Westchester U18 team to the inaugural U.S. Soccer Development Academy National Finals in 2008; Jorge Porras, an Olympic Games performer who played with the Colombian National Team, Ricardo Lyon, a former Chilean national team performer who played professionally in Chile; Edgar Quiroga and James Quiroga, winner of multiple state cup championships; Carlos Casas, a long-time successful youth coach who played at Boston College; and Niall Archbold, a former professional player in Ireland who has coached collegiately; and others with extensive playing and college and ODP coaching credentials.

FC Westchester will be one of 36 players U.S. Under-14 Boy’s National Team head coach Manny Schellscheidt will take to to Guadalajara, Mexico, on Jan. 17-24 for the U14 National Team's only international trip of 2010.

Soccer America, the country’s leading soccer publication, has come out with its annual rankings of the top 40 soccer clubs in America and FC Westchester has been ranked the 29th best boys club.

For the article, CLICK HERE.

"This is a pretty big country and for our club to be named 29th best boys club is a testament to our players, coaches and parents," said Lonny Unger, FCW president, who noted the ranking was based on the fact that in 2009 the club’s U16 and U18 U.S. Soccer Development Academy teams both made it to the Academy playoffs, the club’s U12 and U13 teams both made it to the USYSA regional semi-finals and the club has three State Cup finalists (U12s, U13s and U15s).

"We try very, very hard to do everything we can to get it right and its nice to see the club getting some credit for the effort expended by all involved," said David McCollum, the club’s Director of Coaching.

Brian "Cobi" Span, a long-time member of FC Westchester and currently on the FC Westchester U18 U.S. Soccer Development Academy team, has verbally committed to the University of Virginia, one of the top collegiate soccer programs in the country.

Congratulations to both the FC Westchester ’96 Boys and ’97 Boys, who were both Regional semi-finalists at the at the US Youth Soccer Region I National Championship Series held in West Virginia.

The recent success of FC Westchester -- three state cup finalists, two state cup winners and two teams in the U.S. Soccer Development playoffs -- was the topic of a front page sports section story on 6/25/09 in the Journal-News.

For the article, click on this link: CLICK HERE

CHICAGO (June 18, 2009) -- The field for the 2008-09 U.S. Soccer Development Academy Playoffs has been set, as the top 32 teams in both the U-15/16 and U-17/18 age groups have earned their place in Greensboro, N.C., from June 26-29   A total of 46 different clubs will be represented at the Academy playoffs with 18 clubs -- including FC Westchester -- qualifying in both the U15/16 and U17/18 age groups.

Two FC Westchester teams -- the U12 ’97 Boys and the U13 ’96 Boys -- have captured US Youth Soccer Eastern New York Championship Cup titles, with the ’97s topping the Manhattan Kickers in a penalty shootout and the ’96s beating HBC of Long Island 3-2.

The FC Westchester ’96 Boys won the Blue Division of the U13 USYSA Northeast Premier League.

The '96s finished the NERP regular season atop its division with 19 points out of 7 games (6 wins, 1 tie), 5 points clear of the Manhattan Kickers ’95 (4 wins, 1 tie, 2 losses) and BW Gottschee Celeste II (3 wins, 4 ties). The ’96s topped the Kickers Saturday 2-0.
 

In U.S. Soccer Development Academy action Sunday at Purchase College, the FC Westchester U18s topped Red Bull New York 4-2, while FCW's U16s came back to tie Red Bull 2-2.

In the U18 match, FC Westchester opened up a 2-0 lead at halftime off of goals by Stepjan Bandov and Marjan Jurac. After Red Bull pulled a goal back early in the second half, FCW's Thomas McNamara scored two goals within 10 minutes to clinch the game for FC Westchester.

In the U16s, FC Westchester gave up two goals late in the first half, but pulled one back just after the Red Bulls second goal on a bullet fired into the upper 90 by FCW striker Hiroki Kobayashi off a feed from Keegan Carter. Then, midway through the second half, Cesar Ceja took a through ball from Ryan McNamara and hit a outside of the foot shot down low to even the score at 2-2, a score that would last until the end of the match.

The FC Westchester 1994 Boys topped the defending age group national champions NJSA Gunners 2-0 in the semi-finals and then went onto the top New York state rival Bayside 3-2 in overtime in the finals to take home the championship trophy at the 2009 Ultimate Spring Kick Off Cup sponsored by the Dix Hills Soccer Club.

FC Westchester will be one of a dozen premier clubs that will have its U14 and U15 teams take part in the new Northeast Pre-Academy League, a league designed to get players ready to take part in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy. The new league, announced today by US Club Soccer, is set to kick off in February 2009.

Tom McNamara of the FC Westchester U18 U.S. Soccer Development Academy team and Cesar Ceja of the FCW U16 Academy team have been selected to take part in upcoming U.S. Youth National Team camps being held in California.

McNamara will be heading to a 72-player U18 camp in late December.  Earlier in the month, Ceja will be taking part in the U15 National Camp, where 32 players were called in by U15-Boys National Team coach Jim Barlow.  That camp will take place Dec. 7-14 at U.S. Soccer's National Training Center at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. .

At the recent adidas FC Westchester Columbus Day Tournament, the FC Westchester ’96 Boys team held a fundraising event that collected nearly $3,500 to help teammate Lucas Goldbaum, who is suffering from brain stem cancer.  For more information and pictures go to the news section of this website or click on continue...

FC Westchester's success in reaching the National Finals of the U.S. Soccer Development Academy is featured in two segments on U.S. Soccer's Studio 90.

To see segment 1 CLICK HERE

To see segment 2 CLICK HERE

 

The Journal-News on January 30th, 2008 contained a feature article on FC Westchester’s selection by the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) to be a U.S. Soccer Development Academy.

For the full story, CLICK ON CONTINUE...

FC Westchester is featured in a July issue of Soccer America.  To see the article, CLICK HERE

FC Westchester is a premier level soccer club based in Westchester County, NY that provides a unique opportunity for serious, skilled and dedicated soccer players. Designated a U.S. Soccer Development Academy by the United States Soccer Federation (USSF), the Club was formed in 1984 as a non-profit organization by Coach Al Pastore, who went on to be a national Youth Coach of the Year and is now in the Eastern NY Soccer Hall of Fame.

The primary mission of FC Westchester is to provide its players with the opportunity to compete at the highest level of competition throughout the United States. We have U11-U18 boys’ teams and a U12 girls’ team.

On the boys’ side, U16 and U18 teams play in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy League, the highest level of  youth soccer competition in the country.  Our U14 and U15 teams compete in the Northeast Pre-Academy League, while our U12s, U13s and U17s play in premier leagues.  Our youngest teams play in the Westchester Youth Soccer League (WYSL).