First reported by The Journal News/LoHud.com, a seventh candidate for entry into USL League One in 2025 appears to be in the works in Mount Vernon, New York.
Westchester Soccer Club is the name of the project, led by Mitch Baruchowitz of nearby Rye, New York. Baruchowitz is a co-founder and managing partner of private equity firm Merida Capital Holdings. The firm’s primary focus is the emerging cannabis industry.
There has been no news out of USL headquarters on the project. Per the report, an official announcement is expected “within weeks.” However, a generic USL Westchester website, along with related social media handles went live in February, confirming involvement from the league.
The team plans to to play at The Stadium at Memorial Field in Mount Vernon. The historic facility re-opened in 2022 after extensive renovations, previously sitting idle for over ten years. The stadium holds 3,900, which is in line with many other USL League One stadium capacities. The facility has synthetic turf, and would be shared with Mount Vernon High School athletics.
The city of Mount Vernon manages the facility, and per the report, contract negotiations between the ownership group and the city are not yet complete.
The team also plans to merge with a youth soccer academy in the Westchester area to facilitate a development pipeline.
Mount Vernon is an inner suburb of New York City, immediately north of The Bronx. The city has a population of about 74,000, in the densely populated southern portion of Westchester County. The county is home to over 1 million.
Westchester Soccer Club would be the second club from the northeastern United States to join in 2025, with the anticipated entry of Portland, Maine’s side. Brooklyn FC was set to join USL League One, but announced it was actually joining USL Championship. Meanwhile, Real Central NJ is reportedly working on an entry to USL League One in 2026 or later. A USL project in New Hampshire now appears to be heading towards MLS Next Pro.
We’ll keep an eye on any developments over the next few weeks. As of right now, most benchmarks are behind the other six new entrants to the 2025 season. But with a stadium ready to go (pending final negotiations with the city), the most difficult part is all but complete.