News

New York Cosmos Ready For Challenge In Open Cup

The club begins the tournament against Black Rock FC on May 8
Published May 1, 2019

After they discovered who they were going to play in the opening round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, New York Cosmos players and coaches admitted they did not know much about Black Rock FC.

But to a man, they promised they would do the required research and not take the USL League 2 team lightly, or any foe, for that matter, in the nationwide competition.

The Cosmos will host Black Rock FC at Rocco B. Commisso Stadium in Manhattan on Wednesday, May 8, at 7:30 p.m.

"We know who we are, but we'll have to do our homework and get to know them a bit better when the time comes," Cosmos head coach Carlos Mendes said. "We know it’s going to be a difficult match. We expect every game to be hard. There's been nothing easy and we obviously want to do better in the Open Cup than we did last year. So, it's very important that we're ready for that game, that we're 100 percent ready. We'll make sure we'll get as much information as possible and prepare the best we can for the game."

The winner of the match will advance to the second round, scheduled for May 14-15, and play Hartford Athletic of the USL.

Last year the Cosmos were eliminated by the Brooklyn Italians, 3-2, in the preliminary round of the competition, so they want to give something back to their fans.

"For us, what's important, last year we disappointed our fans, ourselves, the club losing in the first round," captain Danny Szetela said. "It's a new year, a new opportunity. I think the team is going to be ready, definitely going to be ready. We're excited. We definitely want to go very far in the Open Cup. We want to play an MLS team."

Midfielder Joey Sanchez played in that Open Cup match last year.

"You can't underestimate anyone, especially in the Open Cup," he said. "Last year we were upset in the first round. We've got to learn from the mistakes of last year."

Regardless whom the Cosmos play, they realize they will be in for a match because of their name.

"Of course, you've got to respect everybody," striker Bledi Bardic said. "Everybody comes to play. Everybody plays hard against us and they try to win, like us. We've got to respect them, play seriously, and try to win the game."

The Open Cup will be Black Rock's first competitive match of the season, as it won't open up its League 2 season until it visits the Seacoast United Phantoms on Friday, May 17. 

So, just who is Black Rock FC?

The second-year club is the Northeast Division champions (9-2-3 record) of the Premier Development Soccer League (now League 2), which lost in the conference finals in 2018.

Established in 2013, the team is located in Barrington, Mass., and has programs for players from U-5 through U-19 at the youth level and now in League 2 at the amateur level.

The club's youth program produced two professional players.

Former New York City FC forward Jack Harrison, who is on loan with Leeds United (England), performed there, as did Bermudan international Zeiko Lewis. He was chosen by the New York Red Bulls in the 2017 MLS SuperDraft and currently plays for Fimleikafélag Hafnarfjarðar in Iceland.


The Cosmos are coming off a 2-0 season-opening victory against New York Athletic Club in front of 3,750 fans at Mitchel Athletic Complex. Prior to the matchup with Black Rock, the Cosmos head on the road for the first time this season in a contest with Kingston Stockage FC on May 4 at 6 p.m.