Schwartz: Cosmos To Play For 8th NASL Soccer Bowl Title Sunday

By Peter Schwartz
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Soccer fans in New York and New Jersey took a big hit this past Sunday when the Red Bulls and NYCFC were ousted from the MLS playoffs in the Eastern Conference semifinals. The dream for many fans of the beautiful game in our area was for a Hudson River showdown in the Eastern Conference final, but neither team kept up its end of the bargain.

So at the end of the day, when it comes to soccer in 2016, New York is neither red nor blue. Like it has been since 1971 -- minus a 29-year hiatus -- New York is green because the Cosmos continue to be the soccer kings of the Big Apple.

This Sunday, the Cosmos will play for their eighth Soccer Bowl title when they host the Indy Eleven in the NASL Championship final at Belson Stadium on the campus of St. John's University (7 p.m., CBS Sports Network). After five championships in the original North American Soccer League, the Cosmos are in search of their third title in four years since their reboot season in 2013.

"Playing for a championship, whether it's the first or third ... we're excited," said Cosmos captain and defender Carlos Mendes. "It's a big challenge ahead of us playing a good team."

The defending champions survived the retirements of legendary players Raul and Marcos Senna to win the fall season championship and finish as the top overall seed in the playoffs. Led by NASL Most Valuable Player Juan Arango, the Cosmos are back in familiar territory with a chance to win another championship.

The Venezuelan midfielder scored 15 goals during the season and then scored the equalizer in the 73rd minute of Saturday night's 2-1 semifinal win over Rayo OKC at Hofstra University's Shuart Stadium. He also set up Yohandry Orozco's game winner in the 90th minute.

Throughout their history, both during the glory years and in the modern era, the Cosmos' mission statement has always been to win trophies, and this year is no different. The Cosmos head into the championship match with four straight wins, and they're unbeaten in their last seven games.

"We're excited," goalkeeper Jimmy Maurer said. "This is what you start working for in February. We know how it feels. We've tasted it before, and we want it again ... the feeling of lifting the trophy after the game Sunday."

It won't be easy for the Cosmos against an Indy team that won the regular season series. The Cosmos picked up a 3-0 win at home over the spring season champs on Aug. 31, but lost both matches on the road -- 2-1 on April 16 and a 3-0 setback on Sept. 24 that is still fresh in their minds.

"Last game, they were the better team, and they deserved to win," said Mendes, who this year became the first Cosmos player in the modern era to play in 100 games. "We need to be much better if we want a chance to win the championship."

The all-time series between these two teams has been tight. In addition to the three games this season, the Cosmos and Eleven played six matches in 2014 and 2015, and all of them were draws.

The Eleven present a difficult challenge in that they're organized and can attack with numbers. They work hard for every ball, and they play a physical brand of soccer. They are extremely talented, but the Cosmos will have to play close attention to Indy forward Eamon Zayed, who led the Eleven with 15 goals during the season.

"They're a tough team," Maurer said. "They have some big, strong guys, but the biggest thing with Indy is that they got all 11 players working for 90 minutes, and they never give up no matter what the situation is."

The Cosmos are facing a situation in which they are hosting the championship game, but not on their home field. Including the playoffs, the Cosmos were unbeaten at Shuart Stadium with a 15-0-2 record, but their home for the last four seasons is unavailable. Without many options, the Cosmos decided to host the game at their home away from home at St. John's.

Belson Stadium has hosted a handful of Cosmos' U.S. Open Cup matches over the last three seasons, but it only seats 2,600 fans as opposed to Hofstra's capacity of 11,929. After winning the 2015 Soccer Bowl in front of 10,166 fans, the Cosmos will look to repeat with far fewer supporters having access to tickets.

"For us, we have to focus on what we can control," Mendes said. "We're still in front of our fans, and that's most important. We know the field. It's a nice field and a big field with room to play, and we need to take advantage."

Should the Cosmos win, they would become the first team in the NASL's modern era to repeat as champions. In fact, the Cosmos are the only team in the league's entire history to win back-to-back titles, and that was in 1977 and 1978. When you think about how good those Cosmos teams from the late '70s and early '80s were with players like Pele, Giorgio Chinaglia, Franz Beckenbauer and Shep Messing, it's hard to fathom that they only repeated as champions once.

"You look at how good that historic Cosmos team was and the fact that they weren't able to do it on multiple occasions," Maurer said. "One of the toughest things to do in any sport is to repeat because you always have a target on your back."

The Cosmos are no strangers to being the hunted. That was the case back in the '70s and early '80s, and the same holds true today as the green and white aim to hoist the Soccer Bowl trophy for an eighth time. Should they win Sunday, they will, as usual, carry the banner for soccer in New York.

Don't forget to follow Pete on Twitter at @pschwartzcbsfan. You can also follow @NYCosmos, @naslofficial, and @JimsMaurer.