When Bledi Bardic emigrated to the United States from his native Montenegro in 2013, it was to improve his lot in life.

Soccer?

That was secondary.

 

But that was then.

 

Nowadays, the 26-year-old striker is putting his primary energy into the beautiful game, and making life miserable as possible for opposing goalkeepers, whether it is scoring or setting up goals for New York Cosmos B. He did just that Sunday, striking for a brace -- his first two goals of the National Premier Soccer League season -- in the team's 6-1 triumph over Greater Lowell NPSL FC at Rocco B. Commisso Stadium at Columbia University.

 

In 2011, Bardic emigrated to the U.S.

 

"I came to United States for a better life and then I continued my career with soccer," he said.

 

Bardic, who scored seven goals in 20 matches for OFK Bar in his native country, hooked up with the Clarkstown SC, with which he tallied 84 goals in 64 matches in the Cosmopolitan Soccer League and when the team played in the NPSL. Most of his goals were scored in the CSL as he is Clarkstown’s all-time leading goal-scorer.

 

"Clarkstown helped me a lot to play a decent level to show my worth," he said. "I was ready to play professional after great seasons with Clarkstown."

 

He trained with New York City FC in 2015 before joining Puerto Rico FC in 2016 before joining Cosmos B and the Cosmos last season. He scored four goals in five games with the NPSL side and tallied twice in 10 appearances with the NASL team.

 

During the offseason, Bardic said he had some options to sign with teams from Europe, South America, and the U.S., but decided so stay in New York.

 

"I wanted to stick to the Cosmos," he said. "This is my second year here. It feels like home."

 

He has gotten no argument from Cosmos B.

 

Bardic's short-range goals are simple: to score goals and help the team to win.

 

His long-range ones are different.

 

"My goal is to play football, be happy, and get better every single day," he said. "We hope our A team is back in 2019, which will be great for the players and the fans."

 

These days, Bardic is more concerned about how Cosmos B fares. So far, so very good as the team has bolted out to a 3-0-0 start.

 

"It's a short season," he said. "We have to win every game. There's no time for mistakes. One mistake and you're out. It was very important to get three points."

 

Bardic and Wojciech Wojcik made sure of that as each player finished with two goals. The 6-1, 175-lb. forward tallied on either side of halftime, in the ninth and 61st minutes.

 

"We did a pretty good job of making them coming deep, finding the space behind the defense," he said. "There were a lot of spaces for us and we did pretty well on that. We should have had more goals, but we did a pretty good job offensively."

 

Cosmos B grabbed a 3-0 halftime advantage, but endured a lackluster start to the second half, allowing Greater Lowell to score and take control of the match temporarily.

 

"We should have been better in the second half," Bardic said. "We came out in the second half and we were lacking a little in the first five, 10 minutes. But then we got back and got two, three goals."

 

The next challenge for Bardic and Cosmos B is against TSF FC at DePaul Catholic High School in Wayne, N.J. on Thursday at 7 p.m.TSF FC (0-0-1) played Boston City to a 2-2 draw in its home and season opener on Sunday.

 

"We will take the positivity," he said of the Greater Lowell game. "Now we focus on the next game, try to win another game."

 

Cosmos B's perfect start could be the start of something big.

 

"This team is really good," Bardic said. "We train five, six days a week. We're working hard every day. We're doing good. We can get better at some parts of the team."

 

Get better?

 

Now, that's a scary thought for a team that is 3-0-0 and has outscored its opposition, 13-2.