It has all the makings of a classic confrontation.

 

At one end of Rocco B. Commisso Stadium on Saturday night will stand Cosmos B, the North Atlantic Conference Champions with a stellar 12-0-1 record. New York has outscored it opposition this year, 47-11.

 

On the other side of the pitch will be FC Motown, the Keystone Conference Champions with an 11-1-1 mark. The New Jersey side has outscored its foes, 48-7.

 

Up for grabs is the coveted Northeast Region title and a spot as one of the final four teams in the National Premier Soccer League Semifinals next week.

 

On paper, it has the making of being one of the best NPSL matches of the season if not in years.

 

"We expect a good game," Cosmos B midfielder Jalen Brown said. "It should be a challenge. It wasn't going to be easy to win the national championship but that's our goal. We expect nothing easy. We're looking forward to it and I'm sure they are as well. It should be an exciting game."

 

This will be the first match between these two teams from opposite sides of the Hudson River.

 

"I know they're going to come at us, we're going to come at them," Cosmos B midfielder Travis Pittman said. "It's going to be a battle, but I'm confident. If we stick to Carlos' [Mendes, head coach] game plan and we play confident and we play our Cosmos football, we should have no problem taking care of the result."

 

Both teams have plenty of talent on both sides of the ball.

 

Cosmos B placed two players -- right back Jonathan Borrajo and injured striker Bledi Bardic -- on the Northeast Region XI. Mendes also was named region coach of the year.

 

Three FC Motown players made the team -- defender Hani Nasr, midfielder Matt Nigro, and forward Dilly Duka.

 

Mendes called FC Motown "a different level team" with "very good players." The Cosmos B coach played with Trinidad & Tobago defender Julius James and Duka when he was a member of Columbus Crew SC.

 

"Dilly is a high-level player, can hurt you in a lot of ways," Mendes said. "They have some special players. They have guys with a lot of experience who have played at a lot of levels. We have to make sure that our attitude and mentality is right and be very organized and put together a game from start to finish if we're going to beat a team like that."

 

FC Motown head coach Sacir Hot expected nothing but the best from Cosmos B, which is coming off a 2-0 semifinal win over FC Frederick on Wednesday.

 

"They'll probably be the most organized and most structured team," he said. "They have soccer IQ all across the board. I saw them play against TSF and I thought that Carlos Mendes has them playing a real good style of soccer. All across the board it will be a challenge. It will be up to our guys to stick to our game plan and try to neutralize all their strengths."

 

Cosmos B is coming off its best playoff game as it dominated FC Frederick, particularly on the attack and in ball possession. Mendes cited his team's change in attitude and mentality.

 

"We gave them a lot of trouble," he said. "We went at them. That was the change from the previous games. There are still things we can work on. We're playing a very good team on Saturday. We have to be ready."

 

New York did itself a favor by not playing extra time for a third consecutive match in eight days. It allowed the team to not put any more wear and tear on its weary legs.

 

"Credit to the guys because of their mentality during the game and the way they played," Mendes said. "Playing another 30 minutes or whatever it may be, takes a lot out of you, especially playing these games, Wednesday, Saturday."

 

Both teams did not have much time to catch their collective breaths as they will play their fourth game in 11 days. Thursday was a regeneration day for Cosmos B and Friday training was short, Mendes said.

 

Mendes added that he wasn't going to change the team's preparation for Saturday's encounter.

 

"For us, it's the same as always," he said. "Let the guys recover, just make sure we're mentally sharp a day before the match. I think the guys should be up for it and excited for Saturday. This should be a very difficult game but a great challenge."