Luis Hernandez

2016 US Open Cup Round 5: Late goals help New England Revolution spoil New York Cosmos’ cup run

June 30, 2016 by Luis Hernandez

For the third time in as many years, the New York Cosmos were bounced out of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup in the Round of 16, this time falling to the New England Revolution, 3-2. Late goals would, once again, be the culprit in denying them passage into the Quarterfinals for the first time.

The Revolution, who last won the tournament in 2007, have rebounded from a one-and-done loss to the Charlotte Independence (USL) last year with back-to-back wins over NASL opponents to earn the club its third trip to the Quarterfinals in the last four years.

The Revs entered the match with a competitive lineup, bringing back primary goalkeeper Bobby Shuttleworth, Jose Gonçalves and Andrew Farrell on the back line and competitive options in the mid and up top. Key pieces were also available to them on the bench including Lee Nguyen and Kei Kamara.

The Cosmos, to no one’s surprise, committed their full first team to the competition. Roversio received his second competitive start of the season, pairing alongside Carlos Mendes.

The Cosmos had the bulk of possession and chances early on with New England keeping them off the board. An Arango volley in the 15th minute would go high and wide but the midfielder created a dangerous chance in the 27th when he set up an unopposed run by Jairo Arrieta into the box and his shot was denied by Shuttleworth.

The Revolution encountered a setback as starting forward Juan Agudelo suffered an injury and was subbed off in the 32nd minute for Zach Herivaux, the Open Cup hero for their previous round.

New York finally broke through in the 38th minute when Arrieta received a pass in the six, then dropped the ball back to an incoming Ruben Bover who, wide-open, had the time to pick where to slide his shot.

The lead was short-lived as the Revolution struck back just five minutes later. Ruben Bover lost the ball at midfield to Diego Fagundez who sent a pass to Teal Bunbury, who entered the box and created some space against Ayoze before pushing right and firing a rocket over Jimmy Maurer and into the roof of the net.

An error by Jimmy Maurer nearly gave the visitors the lead in the 55th minute. Clearing a ball from his area, it was delivered to the foot of Bunbury who wound up and fired towards the right side of the net. Maurer, still on his six, managed to dash back and get a one-handed parry on the ball.

The Cosmos’ answer to that threat came about a minute later as Arrieta on the left side of the Revolution’s area, sent a ball to Arango at the top center. The Venezuelan chipped a ball to Sebastian Guenzatti who put a touch on the ball before cutting back to strike a low shot past Shuttleworth.

New England responded to their deficit with their second substitution of the night, bringing on offensive threat Kei Kamara for Scott Caldwell in the 61st. Within minutes, Kamara nearly assisted on a goal with his pass to Steve Neumann resulting in a ball just wide of the net.

Shuttleworth kept the visitors in it when Jairo Arrieta broke away from his defenders to chest down a ball and then volley it on net. The goalkeeper was up to the task, knocking it out of bounds and keeping them at a one-goal deficit in the 65th.

The Cosmos opted for a defensive sub in the 74th, bringing on Adam Moffat for Ruben Bover. It would not matter a minute later as Maurer’s goal kick was intercepted and headed by Neumann to Kamara who made a run into the box from the right side. His attempt to cross drew Maurer off his line, but the ball bounced off Roversio’s head and back to Kamara who volleyed it into a now-vacant goal for his first goal this season.

More substitutions followed. The Revolution pushed the attack by bringing on Lee Nguyen for Fagundez in the 77th. The Cosmos also made a pair of subs, bringing on Lucky Mkosana for Yohandry Orozco and Jimmy Ockford for Roversio.

New England put it away in the 83rd when Herivaux brought down Adam Moffat with a tackle, allowing Kamara to pick up the ball and make a run down the middle. With Ayoze in an advanced position, Kamara slid the ball right to Bunbury who went one-on-one with Maurer, hitting it over the keeper for the game-winner.

The Cosmos were presented with a series of opportunities, but were unable to find an equalizer.

“I thought our guys played an excellent match,” shared Cosmos head coach Giovanni Savarese. “I think we had the most of the game, created chances. I think we should have been a little more clinical to finish some of these chances. And in the end, when you play at this level, you make the kind of mistakes that we made, you get penalized. And I think that’s what happened at the end of the game. Two of our mistakes, they’re a good team, they put it away and then we found ourselves losing a game we should have won.”

New England’s players had nothing but good things to say about their lower division opponents afterwards.

“The Cosmos are a great team. It was a great matchup…in the US Open Cup it’s always going to be a battle, always going to be a test of character and we came out here and got the job done.” said Teal Bunbury after the game.

“It’s tough, these games aren’t always easy. Playing against a lower side is always tough.” Kamara added while wearing a Cosmos shirt he received in a post-game swap with his former Columbus Crew teammate Danny Szetela.

The loss eliminates the Cosmos from the 2016 Open Cup and brings their record in the US Open Cup to 5-1-3. The Revolution advance and will host the Philadelphia Union in the quarterfinals next month.

FULL MATCH REPLAY

2016 US Open Cup Round 4: Late Danny Szetela winner gives New York Cosmos second straight East River Derby win over NYCFC

June 18, 2016 by Luis Hernandez

Danny Szetela of the New York Cosmos celebrates with his teammates after scoring a goal against NYCFC in the 2016 US Open Cup. Photo: Steve Hamlin | TICC

Last year, the New York Cosmos needed penalty kicks following to put away NYCFC after playing 120 minutes. This year, the Cosmos would get all they needed in 90. One goal off the head of Danny Szetela would advance the boys in green to the Round of 16 for the third time in as many years.

The Cosmos came out with no real surprises on the roster, save for one. Roversio was not only in the 18, he cracked the Starting XI. Surprises continued on the bench with the returns of Adam Moffat and Alexis Velela to the 18 after being sidelined by injury.
The Cosmos continued to employ the 4-1-4-1 formation that has given them the most success this season in the NASL.

After comments from NYCFC that they intended to take the game seriously, the jury is out on whether they did. The entirety of the City back line was subbed out, with Shannon Gomez making his first appearance of the season, as well as goalkeeper Eirik Johansen. Mix Diskerud was the only week-to-week starter in the midfield, as Khiry Shelton was up front.
Both sides challenged each other early, but the Cosmos got the better of the chances in the first half. They got the first real chance of the night when Yohandry Orozco delivered a ball into the box for Juan Arango who fired a shot on net that Johansen was able to get a glove on and deflect in the sixth minute. NYCFC got a chance of their own in the fifteenth as a Gomez cross into the box ended with a Kwadwo Poku header that took a bounce before ending up in the hands of Jimmy Maurer. Seconds later, the Cosmos returned from that play with an Orozco shot and another save from Johansen.
The Cosmos back line prevented an early City lead just moments after that as Maurer left his line to clear a ball from the edge of the box, nearly gifting a goal to Disekrud, but his low shot at the open net was correctly read and picked off by Ayoze.
The Cosmos came close to getting on the board in the 37th as Jairo Arrieta drew three defenders before slipping a ball over the top to Danny Szetela who made an unopposed run down the middle. The ball escaped him after his first touch and Johansen was able to step out and make the grab. Maurer would make a grab on an easy Diego Martinez ball on frame two minutes later.
The Cosmos were the first to make the books as Arango received a yellow for a tough foul on Poku in the 43rd. City would not stay out of the book much longer as Jefferson Mena committed one on Arrieta and saw a card just a minute later.
The yellows continued in the second half with one in the 52nd to White for dissent and one to Szetela a minute later for taking the feet of Mehdi Ballouchy out from under him.
City saw a great chance in the 54th as Martinez got a clear look at net and fired a curling ball from about 25 yards out that Maurer just parried away before it was cleared. Martinez was also involved shortly after delivering a cross to Diskerud that he headed wide.
With NYCFC getting the bulk of the chances through most of the second half, Maurer had to make another parry on a shot from Patrick Mullins in the 68th.
NYCFC made the first substitution of match bringing on forward Tony Taylor for Khiry Shelton in the 73rd. Seconds later, they came within inches of taking the lead.
Mullins received a long ball in the box, tipping it past Maurer, who had left his line, and evading a slide from behind by Roversio. Only the work of Hunter Freeman saved the visitors as he raced back to the line during the confusion and slid into the ball to clear it before Mullins could center to a wide-open Poku.
The Cosmos made the next sub of the evening, bringing in Adam Moffat for Ruben Bover in the 79th.
After suffering an injury minutes earlier, Mena left the game in the 87th, replaced by starting center back Jason Hernandez. Despite the addition of a starter to the back line, it would not stop the Cosmos from finally finishing a ball.
A minute after the sub, Ayoze delivered a ball to Moffat who made a run into the offensive end before sliding a pass wide left to Orozco. The Venezuelan put a cross into the six for Szetela, who made an unopposed run into the box and finished with a header past Johansen.
City immediately responded, bring off Ballouchy for Jack Harrison. The Cosmos brought on defender Jimmy Ockford, pulling Arrieta.
With City pushing ahead, the Cosmos nearly caught them again when Arango tried to chip the keeper from distance, but the shot went wide.
The Cosmos made one final substitution, with Orozco coming off for Lucky Mkosana, but time would run out with the Cosmos holding on to their lead.
The NASL side will now advance to the Round of 16 in the US Open Cup and host the New England Revolution at Belson Stadium in Queens on June 29th.

Notes:
 This was Roversio’s second start of the year since coming back from injury. He also started a friendly vs SD Eibar in Las Vegas last month.
 This is the third time the Cosmos have hurdled MLS competition in their first Open Cup match against them in as many years, doing it to NYCFC the last two years.
 This is the Cosmos’ first win on the road against an MLS side falling in 2015 to Red Bull and 2014 to the Philadelphia Union.
 The Cosmos, who have never lost in Open Cup competition as the home team (3-1-0), will have a unique opportunity as they host the Revolution and, if they advance, will host the winner of the Union-Red Bulls match

HIGHLIGHTS

2016 US Open Cup qualifying: Pancyprian Freedoms need OT to oust Greek Americans in true New York derby

October 21, 2015 by Luis Hernandez

New York Pancyprian Freedoms 2015 Team Photo

On a cold Sunday in Maspeth, Queens, two long-time rivals faced off in the first open division qualifying round for the 2016 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup. The four-time champion New York Greek American SC hosted three-time champion New York Pancyprian Freedoms at the historic Metropolitan Oval in what is one of the longest-running rivalries in American soccer.

In a battle of two teams that have dominated the city of New York in Open Cup play since 2003, it was the Freedoms taking an early lead, only to lose it and force extra time where they beat the Greek American 4-2.

A steady back and forth opened the match. While the Freedoms initially had more chances available to them, the Greek Americans had several dangerous opportunities of their own. An element of chippiness came into play near the end of the first half with a Freedoms player going studs first into an opposing player’s ankle. Shortly after, another Freedoms player was upended in the corner by a Greek American defender and tempers flared again.

The Freedoms took advantage in the moments that followed, getting on the scoreboard first through a Chris Megaloudis goal in the 38th minute. Megaloudis was quick to pounce on a ball as the keeper came off his line and made a mistake, bobbling the ball away.

The Greek Americans would start the second half with a bang. Dele Akinyode beat the keeper on his left side, putting the sides back level on the board just two minutes in. The Greeks increased the pressure in the second half and only strong play from the Freedoms’ goalkeeper kept his club in it.

The home side took the lead in the 66th minute when Omar Edwards made a run down the left side before cutting in behind his defenders a ripping a shot from about 27 yards out to beat the Freedoms keeper with a spectacular goal.

With six minutes remaining in the half, the Freedoms managed to tie it up at two with a Nick Katsanos header coming off a corner kick sending the game into extra time.

Stoppage time would go to the visitors as the Freedoms scored one in the first half, courtesy of Panagiotis Halkidis. Chris Megaloudis would take away any hope for penalties by burying another in the second half, sending the Freedoms into the second round.

Despite the win, Freedoms captain Nick Katsanos was not satisfied with his team’s performance.

“We looked sloppy out there, especially in those first ten minutes,” Katsanos stated.

While he was happy with the victory, he also said the tight, physical game was what they expected.

“Yeah, we know these guys,” the defender said with a laugh. “This game comes as no surprise.”

With the victory, the Freedoms move on to the second round of qualifying and will host Jersey Shore Boca of the Garden State Soccer Association on Nov. 14 at Belson Stadium on the campus of St. John’s University. The Freedoms are now two wins away from qualifying for the US Open Cup for the first time since 2011.

MORE: Ten teams advance to Round 2 in opening weekend of 2016 US Open Cup qualifying