Building a Home, Not Just a Club: Inside the Vision for USL Long Island
Updated: Oct 4
October 2, 2026 Uniondale, New York
On August 19, 2026, the United Soccer League (USL) officially announced the expansion franchise USL Long Island. The club is slated to begin competitive play in March 2028 as part of USL League One (the third tier of professional soccer in the United States). It will host its home matches at the 13,000-seat James M. Shuart Stadium on the campus of Hofstra University in Hempstead, NY.
We sat down with the leaders of this project, two prominent figures with deep local roots:
• Glenn Schneider (Principal Owner & Co-Founder): A Dix Hills native and the founder/CEO of SUSA FC, Long Island’s largest youth soccer academy. He previously served as corporate chief executive of US Nutrition at Nature’s Bounty.
• Dr. Sara Whalen Hess (President & Co-Founder): A Greenlawn native who famously won the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup and an Olympic silver medal with the USWNT. She is also a licensed clinical psychologist tasked with shaping the team's operational strategy, community outreach, and culture. She also served as the Head of Player Development and Mental Performance Coach for Westchester Soccer Club (Westchester SC) before departing the club in November 2025.
Sara and Glenn come across as two dedicated individuals who are committed to doing everything possible to ensure the success of this project in Long Island, as they strive to continue contributing to the community.
The Birth of USL Long Island:
We discussed how the project to bring professional soccer at the USL League One level to Long Island came about and how Sara and Glenn came together on this.
Sara:
"I worked in Westchester for Westchester Soccer Club for the last season. Then I parted ways with them in November and immediately called the USL just to see what they would have available in terms of franchises, because I could tell that USL League One, specifically, has a huge opportunity to do good for communities through these soccer clubs. They were excited about the idea of me taking on this project. Step one of that is finding a principal owner, and step two is locking down a stadium facility, so they connected me to Glenn primarily because Glenn owns the biggest youth club on Long Island, and they thought that would be a good networking opportunity. Also, since my plan was to come to Long Island to meet with somebody who might have interest in the pro club insofar as he owns a youth club. It was not the plan to engage Glenn on being the principal owner of this project until after we had a meeting at the SUSA offices."
"I obviously didn't know Glenn, but then once I got to know him, I identified him as somebody who'd be the absolute perfect principal owner for a project like this for 100 different reasons, two being his obvious success in business. For a club like this, you need somebody who's adept at building businesses and someone who can sort of target and create business models that are going to be successful in the long term. And two, his goal, his sort of value set aligns perfectly with mine, which is we want to give back to Long Island. We view this as an opportunity to create a hub where everyone on Long Island can come and feel included and feel a part of this. This is a soccer club, but it's not about soccer per se. And so it's important to have an owner who sees that vision rather than just see a team on the field and gets too hyper-focused on a soccer team. And so, Glenn and I had conversations about it, and I don't know why, but he decided he wanted to be a part of it, and, obviously, we work very well together, and we've already started that process, but, for me, he's the perfect owner for this club, and I can already see it playing out in exactly the way that I thought it would."
Glenn, you've been involved with SUSA since 2014. How did you get involved in soccer?
Glenn:
"So, prior to soccer, I spent 25 years with Nature's Bounty in the corporate world. We sold the company in 2014, and after that, I needed something to do. My kids played soccer, and I became very friendly with their coach. He always talked to me throughout the years and said, if you ever want to do anything in soccer, I'd really like you to be a part of it. This is my partner, Moussa, at SUSA Soccer. So, in 2014, I thought, okay, well, I think it's the right time for me. I spent a lot of years on the sideline just getting consumer research as a parent, knowing what parents will do and spend, and what they want for their kids. I saw that it was definitely a very fragmented industry, and it was a place and a time for me to jump in. So, I called Moussa and said, I think this is the right time. Fast forward to today, we have 30 acres in Central Islip Long Island, five turf fields, and a 96,000 square foot indoor bubble. We train over 5,000 kids annually."
"I've been approached to get involved in professional soccer by many different people, and, you know, my answer is always no. I haven't seen too much success in it, and I didn't want to do it until I met Sara. It was her vision and the way she mentioned a team for the community, built from the ground up, that intrigued me. Doing something for Long Island, where I grew up and have been my whole life, all that really inspired me to back her. I would have never done it if it wasn't with Sara and her vision."
Sara, you also have some playing experience in the area. You played with the Long Island Lady Riders and New York Power. At that time, when you were playing, did you ever envision yourself working in men's soccer and potentially with a professional soccer team on the men's side?
Sara:
"No, never. But I didn't envision myself, you know, getting hurt and going to get my doctorate. I didn't envision any of that. I think I'm a person who, whatever they're doing, will do it to the 110th percentile of that thing. And so I think at that time I was giving everything I had into that moment, which was playing professionally and growing my team, whether it be the Lady Riders or New York Power or national team or whatever. When that went away, my next team was my education, and taking that to the very, very pinnacle of how high, how good I could get at it, how successful, and again that goal for me was to be working with people, and to be helping people, and that's not altruistic, that's selfish. It feels good to me to do that. So, this now, finding a way to sort of get back into soccer, but also blend the clinical psychology and the helping people aspect, that's why this is gonna work. That's why this is gonna work. Like, you do have to have that vision."
What led you to get back into soccer, with Westchester SC? How did that move come about?
Sara:
"They asked me. I've always had a complicated relationship with soccer since I got hurt. It's just been difficult, and we all experience this when we love something and that thing gets taken away. It's complicated, like do we want to still be involved in it, or do we want to absolutely ignore it and put it on a shelf? My coping skill at that time was to put it on a shelf, so I wasn't planning on getting back into soccer. It was a very complicated decision for me to do that, but with Westchester, it felt like I could dip my toe back in, see how it felt, and for better or for worse, when I got involved in it, it made me sort of realize what I'd been missing for the last 15 years, which was that there's a part of my identity that is soccer, and it feels really good to have that sort of unlocked a bit. I also didn't know that. And Glenn's a hockey guy. I didn't really know that if you're someone who played sports, when you were done playing, you could work in sports and feel very fulfilled. So, I didn't really know that was an option. Had I known, maybe I would have pursued it, but who knows?"
Up until the Westchester move, were you involved with youth coaching or anything?
"Yeah, I have 3 kids, and up in Westchester, every kid plays soccer, obviously, so I did coach their teams, and I did do a lot of clinics, or free clinics. I was still physically in the game a little bit, with the coaching and with being on the field, and that was incredibly fulfilling, until your kids get a little older and they need a real coach. It's like, that's not my strength; I wasn't about to go get my coaching license, so that helped me get a little bit involved, but also could keep it at arm's length. When I joined Westchester, that was not arm's length. That was, once I'm in something, I'm in it all the way. So I really put my heart and soul into trying to help Westchester. Unfortunately, we had a misalignment with leadership, but it sort of made it, when I left, that I had to stay in soccer at that point, you know, once I sort of saw how that could go."
And so now, with the team scheduled to start in March of 2028, what initiatives are you working on to try to get the community involved and see what type of club you are looking to bring in?
Sara:
"Well, our first hires, if it tells you anything, were community hires. We brought on two people to really spearhead that initiative because we believe that it's not instantly gratifying financially, but it will pay off later down the road. However, it is instantly gratifying right now, being in the community. We've already set up at different parades on Long Island. We have our staff reaching out to all of the local high schools and community-driven soccer clubs to give free clinics and sort of get out there whenever we can."
"We partner with some of Glenn's SUSA partners, like Island Harvest being one of them, to do some really nice collaborative work. So, we are doing two things right now. We are trying to educate the community about what USL is, what USL1 is, what it can be, and what we are going to be, because not everybody is super well-versed with all the different soccer leagues and divisions. The other one is to engage the community in helping us brand. So over the next three or four months, we're building a brand, right? We're USL Long Island, but that's not our brand. So we're trying; we started an initiative this week to get feedback from Long Island about how we can best represent them, how we can best make them proud of us, what colors they like, what logo ideas they might have, how they view themselves, and what their values are."
"So those are the two sort of immediate initiatives that we have going on right now. Then then starting obviously in 27, we'll be able to start working ticketing and community sponsorship, and that will be a little bit of a different setup, but we are in the community every day right now, we're at games, we're at clubs, we're in meetings, we're talking to mayors, we are engaged. We're out there, we're doing it."
Glenn, with the SUSA Academy, is that something you are looking into as a feeder program for the team so you can develop some local Long Island kids to eventually make the first team?
Glenn:
"Yeah, but not just SUSA. SUSA will be one of them, and we will be club-neutral to everybody, whether it's East Coast, East Meadow, any of the clubs on Long Island, or anywhere else that wants to come. They could be a feeder system for us. But SUSA will be one of them, and we will be club-agnostic."
Are you working with other clubs for partnerships or looking into opportunities with other local clubs?
Sara:
"Yeah, we're open to everybody, so the clubs that want or need support… this is strategic. We're going out and saying, how can we help? What do you need? It doesn't matter what club or division or who you align with, necessarily. It's how can we help, and what do you need? So, in that regard, we are not partnering, but collaborating, for sure, because the interest is to help kids. So, if there are ongoing projects within clubs, Sand City is one club that's reached out, and we're going to be supporting a bit. But all of it is just in the interest of helping the community; we all rise together, right? Partnering? I don't really know. Collaborating? Yes."
Glenn:
"One of the things that was interesting because I was speaking with a couple of the Hofstra coaches, obviously, we have a relationship with Hofstra, and we'll be playing our games there, and they are so excited. For them, it's like a recruiting tool that there'll be a USL team, a professional men's team on campus playing their games, and it helps them when they go out and they have a recruit and say right here, look, here's a pathway for you."
Playing at Hofstra:
Playing at James M. Shuart Stadium, they have had experience with a professional team in the past, the Cosmos. How is the relationship with the school?
Sara:
"The relationship's been great. Again, the most important thing in a club like this, at least for me, is alignment, and Hofstra, Glenn, and I are in complete alignment. We are working really hard for each other to be successful because we know that makes us successful, so for us, Hofstra has been fantastic. They've been a great support."
"We've shown up to support them at some of their games. We're going to another game next week, the Hofstra-Princeton game, where we'll be able to bring a USL Long Island presence, and we'll be able to support them and bring some people. So this is all very collaborative."
Local Competition:
We discussed the competition for fans and talked about The Island FC, which will officially kick off its inaugural professional season in July 2027 in MLS Next Pro.
The Island FC is joining MLS Next Pro and will be playing at the Mitchell Athletic Complex, located right next to your venue. How do you plan to establish yourselves as the area's club?
Glenn:
"One thing for sure, related to the vision that Sara originally mentioned, is that we're truly a community-based club. We're reaching out to the community and working very hard with them to make it their team, which is a slightly different strategy than before. Soccer is only growing on Long Island, in the state, and in the country. I think there will be plenty of soccer and plenty of people to attend whichever game they'd like. But for us, the differentiation really is about the community and what Sara mentioned with her vision, which no one has ever done before."
Club Identity:
With USL Long Island looking to establish a clear and undeniable identity in the area, we discussed where the club stands with constructing its image.
What stage are you guys in with regards to picking a name, the colors, and the badge? How's that going right now?
Sara:
"So fun. It's so fun. I mean, this is the point of all of this. We started, like I said, a social media initiative where we put out a survey, which I would love everyone to go and click on and fill out to give us that feedback. We anticipate having a brand probably by January of '27. I think that's reasonable, but we're not rushing it. This isn't a sprint. It's a really important stage to understand what people want and what they want the look and feel to be. It's important, but I think it's a blast. You know, everybody and their mother wants blue, but now when we ask, "What colors do you see?" sometimes I'll be like, "But not blue, pick a different color just for fun, right?" Let's just think outside the box."
"So this survey is like, it's not like we give them options and say, pick one. I mean, this is really more about how you feel, what Long Island means to you, and things like that. And from there, we have creative people who will pull certain pieces out of it to start creating."
It might be early in the process as far as the technical staff and looking at the team side of things, but do you envision a particular style of play or type of coach?
Glenn:
"Well, because they're in season right now, we really can't talk about specifics, but we've definitely narrowed it down to a couple of people that we'd like to bring here. That news should be out by the end of this year."
Sara:
"And by the way, the reason we're laughing is that it's a running joke in the club that Glenn's going to dictate the style of play on the field. Like, no, of course not. I am not an expert in how to do… that's not my thing. But it's just kind of a running joke. It's just kind of a funny conversation, but we'll find people smarter than us to do that."
So you'll have a staff in place by year-end who will be able to evaluate players and those sorts of things?
Sara:
"Yes, you know, I think we should get a technical or sporting director sooner, because there's more to be done than just building the team for that role. It's obviously about implementing an academy structure and all that good stuff, housing and everything."
As for the academy, would SUSA then join the USL Academy League? Would you look to put a team in that league?
Glenn:
"We really have not discussed, SUSA's role in this. I just happen to be the owner of both. They're mutually exclusive, and it's very important for it to remain that way, because we don't want people getting some kind of idea that SUSa is part of it, and it's really just about SUSA. SUSA is just one of the many clubs, and if we have an academy, there could be people that try out for the academy from all over Long Island."
Sara, given your playing background, do you plan to engage in the sporting aspect, or will you focus solely on the executive side?
Sara:
"Not so much. I think anybody who watches and cares about something is going to have an opinion. I think it's going to take a lot of control for us all not to share our opinions. At Westchester, it was really enjoyable because I was involved in the day-to-day of the technical team, being on the performance staff, so to speak. And I really liked that. But I want to do what's best for this club, and I think that's probably not a great use of my time. But you know, you never know. Maybe I'll be the assistant coach. Maybe I'll pop down there and just start running things. I don't know. We'll see."
Glenn:
"If Sara gets to pick players, then I get to pick players. I'll tell you that."
Sara:
"That's fine, that's fine. I'll pick two, you pick two."
With your experience in psychology, is that something that you're going to incorporate into the clubs structure?
Sara:
"All the time, every day, yeah. I think insofar as… I think my experience in psychology has really helped me be able to put this vision together, and also identify people who will be able to really lock into this vision, rather than just say it. Like, identifying Glenn was, I think, the best thing I've done so far. And I think my psychology background has really helped with that. I will be going out… I do still work with people, I still work with clients and patients and teams. I think I would like to be able to do that in a larger capacity, or maybe I can do something on social media that can be helpful to people, but I do want to still be going out to teams. I met with some teams over the past few months, and just do, like, short performance sessions. There's clinical work to be done, and I would definitely want to still do that, but that, for me, is a little bit separate from this."
Promotion/Relegation in USL:
As far as the league (USL) is concerned, the talk of promotion and relegation, is that something that excites you and that you think could take the league to the next level, given that it's not something we're used to in the United States?
Glenn:
"Yeah, everyone that I speak to that I'm involved with, I tell them about that, and they're so excited. They feel that's really going to differentiate this league. I was in my first board meeting with the USL, and they had just voted to push it through to the next part, so we could get this launched for 2028. But I think they have to work out some kinks, obviously, because I don't think anyone does it in any sport in this country. In fact, I know they don't."
"It's gonna be really exciting. I mean, it changes the whole dynamic of every game."
It seems like that's what the US is lacking. With every game mattering, the players will have something to focus on, and it'll just make them better.
Glenn:
"That's really what the USL is doing to differentiate themselves from all the other leagues. I mean, it's a game changer."
Project Sustainability:
As far as sustainability, what things have you looked at to make sure that this is a sustainable project?
Sara:
"I think what we're doing now is why we will be sustainable. I think the work we're putting in on the front end here on this sort of year-and-a-half ramp that we've had will create that sustainability for us. I think having a smart business plan, thoughtful hiring and spending, slowing the roll on those kinds of things, and just really thinking through every single penny matters. But more than that, the teams that are proving sustainability in this league are the ones who are enmeshed in their communities, and the community is bought in. They're not the ones necessarily at the top of the table. So you can look at the mistakes, I think, that I've seen be made are people hyper-focusing on the performance of the team on the field, and I think we have to focus on the performance of the team off the field for a long time before that happens."
If you look at certain places like Boise or Fort Wayne, communities like that, you know, that's the only team they have in town, and it's become a community thing. While in New York, in a lot of places, it seems it's harder to get the fans.
Sara:
"I don't buy it. I don't buy that. I don't buy it. I think there are teams that are putting the work in and then there are teams that aren't. And I think it's a cop-out when people say, you're going to put another team on Long Island. Look, we already have the Red Bulls and we already have New York City FC, this team failed. Well, they failed because they didn't do the work. Right? They failed because they just hosted watch parties for a few months, and they didn't actually go into the community and get the community to trust and love them. So I understand that we are not the only team on Long Island or in New York. That is not a problem. There are 3 million people on this island. We don't need them all to attend the game."
"I understand that narrative, I get it, but I also think it simplifies something that's much more nuanced and it lets teams off the hook for not putting the work in."
To help promote the club, you'll be involved with youth initiatives, including youth soccer in the area.
Sara:
"Yeah, but more than that, it's not just soccer. It's hunger drives. It's disability populations. It's anything and anyone that we can help, we are going to help. I mean, our asset right now is people. So we can do that work."
Do you see this project expanding in the long term, from men's soccer team to eventually a women's soccer team or other types of initiatives?
Sara:
"I think we have to nail it first. I would think if Long Island wants either a League 2 or W League team, or if they want a Super League team, I would want to do that. I certainly want to give them what they need; that is the whole point. We have to prove that we are sustainable and we're going to do it well first. I think sometimes clubs do it too quickly, and then both men and women struggle as a result. So I think just being really thoughtful and doing it in alignment with your community is going to be our driving force."
Hiring Staff:
We discussed where the club is with regards to putting the right pieces in place to guarantee the success of the project.
How's it going with developing a staff? Have you started to hire individuals for different roles?
Glenn:
"We brought in a vice president of marketing. We have a social media content manager, and we just send out, actually, he accepted a role as our Director of Ticketing. So, we're slow, as Sara said, we're being very careful on who we bring in and when. We have a whole budget laid out on when we bring them in, when the money hits the P&L, down to every single person. Now, it's very important to me, that we have that discipline, especially in the first few years when we're just kicking off."
As far as I know, you haven't hired anyone on the technical side, but have you discussed a player recruitment strategy, the type of players that you're focusing on or that you would be focusing on for the future?
Glenn:
"Like I said, we've been speaking to a couple of sporting directors that we want to bring over. He or she certainly knows what kind of strategy they want to implement, but we'll have a lot more information by the end of the year."
May I ask if these individuals are working in USL League One?
Sara:
"Yep. I think there are positions within these clubs that really benefit from having someone experienced in this league specifically, because this league is very, very different from an MLS league or another kind of European league. So some of these staff picks, it does help to have people who are experienced in USL."
Community Feedback:
We discussed how the local community has rallied around the project.
What has been the reaction of the community so far with your initiatives?
Sara:
"No surprise, they love it. They're so excited. They are as undereducated as we were when we started this, and that's why we're going to start the education initiative. We already have, I want to say, between 12 and 20 reach-outs from clubs, community events, or community drivers that are so excited to collaborate. My God, we just started. You know, we just started, so the people we're speaking to typically already align with our values of giving back. It makes it really enjoyable and simple to work with them and create projects and events. However, I think the harder part is just making sure that the people we are collaborating with—the groups, the clubs, the events—fit within our framework and alignment, and that we're driven by the same goals."
Sponsorships:
As far as sponsorships, have you started to reach out to sponsors and how's that process going?
Glenn:
"I have a lot of relationships being here on Long Island, and I've reached out to some people already and have been speaking to them about it. Obviously, everyone's very excited. Everyone wants to be involved with sports now. I mean, it's huge. I've been speaking to groups like Orlin and Cohen, Northwell Health, people with whom I already have relationships."
USL expansion:
With the ongoing announcements of new clubs entering the American soccer scene, either in the USL or MLS Next Pro, alongside the closure of many other clubs, we explored the dynamics of this situation.
Do you think the growth in adding soccer clubs is too fast, or do you think it's the way it should be?
Sara:
"Well, as many are joining, as many are dropping, so we're just sort of backfilling. I don't know, I mean, forget the numbers. The clubs that are joining are now finally following a framework that the USL is putting out there that's doing it correctly. The more, the merrier. If you're gonna do a club, you gotta do it well, and then, yes, I'm all here for it. But if you just wanna own a new toy, um, then probably not, you know?"
Glenn:
"I will tell you firsthand, you know, going through this as a new owner. They are very diligent about who they're bringing in now. It was a lot of work."
Sara, with your experience with Westchester SC in USL League One, you see the good and the bad, so do you think that's something you can bring to the table so you won't repeat the mistakes you saw?
"Yes, I think any new owner benefits from having somebody who's been in the USL, and that makes me a little bit unique. It also benefits to have somebody who's gotten to the top of their game in soccer, which also makes me unique. Having had the experience in Westchester, I learned a lot about what not to do, but that also taught me how to do things well and right, and yeah, absolutely, I'm bringing that here. I think that's why I was attractive to the USL when I called them to say, hey, I want to do this, I learned how to do this because, as Glenn will tell you, before coming into the USL, you kind of think you know what it's about, and you don't. It's so different from what you think. It's so different from an MLS, if you think you know that. So, the nuances of the USL are a grind, and unless you're willing to grind, it's probably not for you."
What fans can expect:
With a lot of competition for supporters with so many teams in the local area, we discussed what USL Long Island can do to attract supporters.
What message would you convey to the fans who have numerous sports options, about what your team offers that other local teams don't?
Sara:
"Well, I don't know what other teams can or will provide, right? The way I grew up in sports and going to sports is I learned the players. I got a connection with a group. I fell in love with a person or a staff member or something. Like I belong there and that was my club. So reverse that. That's what we're trying to do here. That's what I want to give people because it's not often, and I'm from Long Island, right? People are busy and their time is valuable and important. They're not often just going to go watch Division III soccer randomly when they have a thousand choices, but they might if they feel connected to the people on the field or in the stadium, and they feel like they belong there. So I think that's why we're working so hard in the community right now. I met tons of people at our last community event, and the one thing I have to work on is not spending so much time with each individual person, right? But I like that, because I want to see those people in the stands, and I want them to come up and say hello to me, and give me a hug, and say, oh my god, remember a year and a half ago we hung out at that Cal Harbor Day event, because I'll remember, right? Because they're building it with us, so… and if other clubs are doing that, great! I just want people to feel valued and like they matter, and so that's what we're going to be providing. If other teams are, that's fine, you know? But I know that that's what we'll be providing, and I know that's why we'll be successful."
Glenn, what do you expect in the first year? If you could envision March 2028, what do you see happening on opening day?
Glenn:
"I envision family, friends, I envision fun, everyone at the game, and having a great time. I mean, that's what I envision. I could see it. I see game day, the first game."
Sara, Glenn, I appreciate the conversation, and maybe we could catch up in a few months to see how the process is going.
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