The Fall Season has begun, for the North American Soccer League that is, and with that, it means it is the home-stretch for the New York Cosmos and the rest of the teams that are in the hunt for the Soccer Bowl Trophy. The NASL splits the regular season into a “Spring” season and a “Fall” season with the two season winners and the best two runner-ups competing in the playoffs to crown the Soccer Bowl Champion. As of right now, Minnesota United FC are in the playoffs since they won the “Spring” season, however, the Cosmos are right in the thick of the race with a total of nineteen points going into their next match with the Carolina RailHawks.
The “Fall” season is entering the fourth week and after three matches, the Cosmos are sitting tied for fifth place with the Atlanta Silverbacks and only a point behind the San Antonio Scorpions who are currently sitting in fourth place. The Cosmos enter this match with a fall record of 1-1-1; however, after the fall season opener in which they lost, the Cosmos have rebounded with a victory the following week and a draw last week.
The future for the defending Soccer Bowl Champions made a turn for the best this past week as they made headlines across the Big Apple by acquiring New York Red Bulls defender Conner Lade on loan for the rest of the season. Lade is well known across the Tri-State area as he was born in Morristown, New Jersey and in 2007, joined the Red Bull Academy. Conner played college soccer locally for the Red Storm of St. John’s University along with fellow Cosmos midfielder Jimmy Mulligan. Cosmos Head Coach Giovanni Savarese is very excited to have Lade join the team as he feels Conner would be able to grow as a player while contributing to the goal of reaching the Soccer Bowl Playoffs.
In only their second season in the NASL, the Cosmos have already made a splash by capturing the Soccer Bowl Trophy in their inaugural season and by making an impressive run in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup this year only to lose to the Philadelphia Union of Major League Soccer on a controversial call towards the end of the match.
As most die-hard soccer enthusiasts know, the New York Cosmos name carries a legacy that defines what American Soccer was and possibly, where it could go in the future. During the late 1970’s and early 1980’s, the Cosmos were winning Soccer Bowl Trophies and shattering attendance records by filling football stadiums and attracting Hollywood stars and rock stars to their matches while gaining trust with New York Sports Reporters who looked at soccer as a European Sport and would never gain in popularity in America. Well, along with the NASL, the Cosmos are back, the league is growing in popularity and with their recent showing in the U.S. Open Cup; teams are competitive and full of young talent ready to make their mark on American Soccer.
In a market that is home to MLS teams such as the New York Red Bulls, the Philadelphia Union, NYCFC and a host of NPSL teams, the Cosmos are on the minds of soccer fans and living up to the reputation that was set by the forefathers of the Cosmos legacy. It looks as though the future is bright in Cosmos Country.
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