By Aaron Cheris (@AaronHowie)

Throughout their inaugural NPSL regular season, New York Cosmos B was formidable. In 12 games, Cosmos B earned 11 wins and a draw to take the top spot in the North Atlantic Conference heading into the playoffs.

In those 12 games Cosmos B scored 49 goals, 22 more than any other team in the Northeast Region. Cosmos B allowed just seven goals in those games, tied for fewest in the region. The +42 goal differential was the largest in the Northeast.

“I didn’t expect the scorelines to be that way,” Cosmos B head coach Alecko Eskandarian said. “The guys have done a great job keeping their standards very high and they’ve done a great job putting away their chances and opponents.”

Leading the way for the Cosmos B attack has been Portuguese striker Miguel Herlein. He is the team's leading goal scorer with 12 goals, including two hat tricks.

“I’m very happy to contribute to the team,” Herlein said. “But I think it's work from everybody. My position is good for scoring goals, but every player contributes for this and I think it’s the hard work of the team.”

“He is a goal scorer. His skill and his footwork is fantastic,” Eskandarian said of Herlein. “More than anything though, his personality has fit in right away. He’s a very welcome addition to our team.”

This season, everyone has been a new addition to Cosmos B. When the team was formed months ago, few knew what to expect. However, the results have exceeded all expectations so far.

“At the beginning, it was difficult because we didn’t know each other,” Herlein said of adjusting to Cosmos B. “With training every day, we got used to each other and the chemistry got better.”

“Chemistry is always something you try to create as a coach and you hope the players will take it by the horns a little bit,” Eskandarian said. “I have to thank my staff and assistants for always interacting with the players and coming up with different exercises, especially on the road, that have allowed this team to gel and become a family very quickly.”

With the reserve squad succeeding, the Cosmos first team has also benefitted from the added depth of Cosmos B.

“My first two years here, we always talked about how we had players who needed games; guys we thought were doing well, but for whatever reason weren’t able to get minutes with the first team,” Eskandarian said. “Cosmos B has been a great resource.”

Earlier this season, first team starting fullback Hunter Freeman was injured. During his recovery, Freeman played in two games with Cosmos B, scoring four goals on the road back to the first team.

With the NPSL playoffs coming up, Cosmos B are excited for the challenge.

“It’s going to be a difficult game because it’s a knockout game,” Herlein said. “We will need 90 minutes. I think we have a good team to make it in the playoffs.”

“The playoffs are going to be very tough. As confident as we are and as hard as we’ve worked, I think we’ll run into some older, experienced teams,” Eskandarian said. “There are definitely some teams that can pose a threat. It won’t be easy by any stretch of the imagination and I’m looking forward to see how our players deal with adversity.”

NOTICE: 

Cosmos B's next playoff match is the NPSL Northeast Region Final. They'll take on the Clarkstown SC Eagles on Saturday, July 25 at 5 p.m. ET from Mitchel Field. Admission is free but seats are limited, so come early to cheer on the team!