Westchester United Football Club: Women’s Premier Team Let Their Feet Do The Talking

Warren Rosenberg, MetroSports Magazine June 12, 2021

On Saturday June 12th, the Westchester United Football Club’s (WUFC) Women’s Premier semi-pro soccer team scored their first win of the season, in fact the first win of their existence, over a quick and aggressive New York Shockers team. Playing just the third game of their inaugural season in the Women’s Premier Soccer League (WPSL), the Westchester squad put on a dominating performance against their upstate rivals, putting up their best offensive effort of the season and holding their opponents scoreless.

Above: Head Coach Antonio Corrado with some final pre-game instructions for the team

In front of an enthusiastic crowd on their home turf at Tibbetts Brook Park in Yonkers, the team continued the season’s steady progress under the leadership of head coach Antonio Corrado and his staff, improving their standing to 4th place among the WPSL’s Metropolitan Conference’s eight teams.

After falling at home to the Rhode Island Rogues, 1-0, in their first game on May 22nd, the team managed to pull-out a 2-2 tie on the road against the Vermont Fusion in the unfamiliar surroundings of Applejack Stadium in Manchester Center, Vermont. From their first game loss to their second game tie, it was natural that the team would elevate its play to a 3-0 win in their third game. Credit is due to both the strategy of coaching staff and the professionalism, resilience, and athleticism of the players.

While the WUFC’s Women’s Premier team is competing in its first season, the WUFC has been in existence for five year and fields youth teams that compete in the Elite Development Program and the ENYYSA/USYSA National Championship Cups, and a men’s semi-pro team that competes in the United Premier Soccer League (UPSL).

The Women’s Premier Soccer League, in its 23rd season, is the largest women’s soccer league in the world with over 130 clubs participating. The WPSL provides a three-month window from May thru July for elite amateur athletes to showcase their talents. Rosters feature collegiate, post-collegiate, international, standout prep and National Team athletes. The Women’s Premier Soccer League (WPSL) is sanctioned by the United States Adult Soccer Association (USASA), which is an affiliate of the United States Soccer Federation (USSF), the ruling body of soccer in the United States.

Upon being invited to join the WPSL, coach Corrado commented, “We are extremely excited to be the first WPSL based club in Westchester County, NY. We believe that this will provide local female players in high school and at the collegiate level an immense opportunity to play over the late spring/summer months.”

MetroSports Magazine caught up with some of the WUFC Women’s Premier team players after the game. Kelly Brady (#9), playing forward for the team is a uniquely experienced player, currently a Division I athlete at Central Connecticut State University. A graduate of North Rockland H.S., Kelly was selected as the Journal News/LoHud Rockland County Player of the Year in 2019, numerous high school conference and State titles, and is a three time GAA player of the year. She told us that she enjoys playing with the WUFC, appreciates the talent that surrounds her on the field, and looks forward to, perhaps, playing professionally. She’s got some legitimate reason for optimism in this regard having played with the Irish U-19 National Team, at the UEFA European U-19 World Championships in Spain where she scored two goals against Serbia.

Above: Kelly Brady kicking up some dust as she launches the ball

Grace Reyer (#2), plays center midfielder on Emory University’s Division III soccer team. She played at Croton Harmon H.S. and was team captain in her senior year. Here’s how she sums up her experience with the WUFC, “Just being able to play my favorite sport throughout the summer is great. It’s an incredible team, I’m a D-III player and most of the team here is D-I, so I’m just going to have to show up, play hard, and l’m lucky I made the team. I’m looking forward to continuing to play in college and, it’s been a dream since I was little to maybe play pro some day, and this is a first step, playing semi-pro at the top level.”

Above: Grace Reyer muscles the ball away from a NY Shockers opponent

Kasia Zawadzki (#14), a defender was born in Poland and dreams of playing professionally in Europe for her home country. Commenting on the WUFC inaugural season, Kasia told us that “I believe we are one of the hardest working teams out there based on the fact that it is the first season for our WPSL team. To be given the chance to represent Westchester United is the best feeling ever, we are a team that doesn’t give up, we work hard for each other and it shows, we play as if we’ve been here before and that’s what I love. Our game against the Shockers was a test - we knew what we had to do and we did it. The New York Shockers are a very experienced and technical team and we brought our everything and got the result we’ve been waiting for. Having that be our first win as a team, I believe that this is just the start of something bigger coming for us.”

Above: Kasia Zawadzki advances the ball

The team will seek its revenge on June 20th when they head back on the road to once again face the 2nd place Rhode Island Rogues at Roger Williams University.