Cosmos B Set To Play For NPSL Title on Saturday

Alecko Eskandarian’s social life may have taken a hit, but no one will ever accuse him of being indolent.

For a couple of years now, Eskandarian has been one of Giovanni Savarese’s assistant coaches with the New York Cosmos. This year, there is an asterisk next to Eskandarian’s name because he has taken on the added role as coach of the club’s B, or reserve team. The collection of players is headed to Tennessee for Saturday’s National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) Championship match against Chattanooga FC before a crowd at Finley Stadium that is expected to surpass 10,000 fans. Not too shabby for a semi-professional league that is considered to be the fourth tier of soccer in the United States.

“If you look around the world, you see that teams need to have a resource for the senior team to develop players for the future,” Eskandarian said. “We see a lot of value in that. I was champing at the bit at the thought of being the coach. I knew it would be a great opportunity. I knew it would be a lot of work, basically two full-time jobs – 16 hours a day. I knew I wouldn’t have much of a social life, but that was worth it to me.”

The NPSL is a national, semi-pro league with more than 60 teams from coast to coast. In addition to the Cosmos B team, three other NASL clubs – Atlanta, Minnesota and Carolina – this year had reserve teams entered in the league.

“We envisioned our participation three ways and we’ve overachieved in all of them,” Cosmos COO Erik Stover said. “It’s an opportunity for reserve players to get minutes; it’s a way for young players, who may not be ready for the first team, to have a chance to develop, like Haji Wright; and it’s a way for us to bring in international players for an extended trial, rather than for a week or so.”

The Cosmos B team opened its NPSL schedule back in May as the second game of a doubleheader that featured the first team at MCU Park in the Coney Island section of Brooklyn. The team raced through its 12-game schedule without a loss and only one tie to blemish its record. The Cosmos B outscored the opposition by 49-7, with Miguel Herlein leading the club with 18 goals.

Perhaps the three best examples of the philosophy behind the Cosmos B team has been the play and development of John Neeskens, Ruben Bover, and Wright.

Neekens, 21, the son of the former Cosmos star Johan Neeskens, was with Colorado in MLS last year before being cut. He signed with the Cosmos, was loaned to the B team and started all 12 matches for the team at center back.

Bover, 22, had an injury-plagued spell before being cut by the New York Red Bulls last year. He was signed by the Cosmos, and loaned to the B team and was able to work his way back to fitness while also making a contribution to the overall success of the team. He has also earned first-team minutes and was on the bench during the Cosmos’ 2-1 victory over visiting Minnesota on Wednesday night.

Wright, the 17-year-old U.S. youth international, was perhaps the team’s most impressive signing this year. There can be so much pressure on a young player who signed and who expects first-team minutes. The Cosmos met with Wright’s family and told them that he would be brought along more slowly, training with the first team and with the reserves, but playing mostly for the B team. He got some first-team minutes in a match against Indy Eleven and is likely to get a lot more time during the balance of the NASL’s Fall Season.

“We have a vision,” Stover said. “We said it would be a success but for it to happen in only a few months is surprising. If we had had a B team last year, we wouldn’t have had as many struggles in the Fall.”

This year, players like Hunter Freeman were able to work their way back to fitness after an injury and Jimmy Mulligan was able to work his way up Savarese’s depth chart by playing well for the B team.

“This all shows that NASL teams are looking at youth development and giving a chance to young players, players who are rehabbing or not getting enough time,” NPSL Chairman Joe Barone said. “For us, this game is a big moment. I think we’re serving part of the game that is not about being a reserve league, but a competitive league where teams are playing for points and a championship. I think we have a great relationship with the NASL and there’s a lot of room for growth.”

For Chattanooga FC, Saturday’s final will be the club’s third trip to the championship game in four years. The club was founded in 2009 and played for a title in 2010, losing to Sacramento; and 2012, losing to FC Sonic. Last year, Chattanooga (17-2-1) again made it to the title game before losing to the New York Red Bulls’ Under-23 squad. Last week, the team played before a league record 9,236 in its 3-0 victory over the Indiana Fire in a national semifinal. As the No. 1 seed, the Cosmos were entitled to host the championship game, but with the prospect of a crowd in excess of 10,000 at 20,000-seat Finley Stadium, the match was moved to Tennessee. According to a local TV station, more than 5,000 tickets had been sold as of Wednesday.

“They reached out to us as the same time as the league did and asked us to consider moving the game,” Stover said. “Knowing their story and how important the game is for the NPSL, it was a pretty easy discussion internally. We fought hard to go undefeated and earned the right to host the game. But the players also understand what a great opportunity this is for soccer and the NPSL. We were able to work things out quickly.

“What Chattanooga has done is something special and it shows the power and growth of soccer in this country. They’ve done an amazing job. In terms of attendance for the game, who knows what happens, there are projections that they’re going to break their own record. I mean a fourth-division final with more than 10,000 people. It’s more validation for the sport.”

Because of the open loan agreement between the NPSL and the NASL teams playing in the league, the Cosmos B team roster for the championship game remains a work in progress. Bover’s status, Eskandarian said, will not be settled until Friday when team officials will decide if he goes to Tennessee or to Florida for the first team’s league match against Fort Lauderdale on Saturday night.

On Wednesday, the league announced its All-NPSL First and Second Teams. The Cosmos placed Neeskens and Bover on the first team, and Herlein on the second team. Chattanooga goalkeeper Gregory Hartley (nine shutouts) repeated as the winner of the Golden Glove Award and Bill Elliott was again named the league’s Coach of the Year.

In early July, the Cosmos B team added former NBA star Steve Nash to the roster. Nash, an unabashed fan of England’s Tottenham Hotspur, has long spent his summers in New York and has been instrumental in establishing an annual celebrity soccer match in Lower Manhattan. Nash, 41, trained with the club but has yet to appear in a match.

With Saturday’s championship match, which will be streamed lived on YouTube, Eskandarian tossed out an interesting tidbit:

“As long as Nash is in the lineup, we’ll be fine!” he said.

Do not hold your breath.