Cosmopolitan League Mid-Season Update
The four games played on December 15th are the last games in the Cosmopolitan League until March as winter creeps into New York City. I began my first “9-5” job in Brooklyn, recently, and moved to NYC from my hometown of Atlanta in September. Before moving here I did not know a lot about the Cosmo League. As I became adjusted to my new home and in between trying to figure out the subway system as well as a street grid that actually makes sense, unlike Atlanta’s which I grew to love, I wanted to learn more about the league and the city’s culture of soccer. Writing updates about the league has helped me begin, but I plan on writing more about the history of the league as well as other aspects of soccer in the city. For now, however, I will continue my updates with a more in depth mid-season analysis of the Cosmo League. - Paul Kowalczyk
Division 1
The season so far has been a close race for the top four playoff spots. With the Pancyprian Freedoms’ emphatic 7-1 victory over Sporting SC, they are ahead of Lansdowne Yonkers FC only by goal differential. While these two teams have seemed to establish themselves as the front runners, there is only a seven point difference between 3rd place Doxa FC and 8th place KidSuper Samba AC. Zum Scheider FC 03 Started the season strong but has fallen to fourth place since the Pancyprians and Lansdowne Bhoys made up games rescheduled after cup competition commitments. Previous league leader and last season’s runner up, Cedar Star Academy, has also shown how easy it is to fall from the top. After thrashing KidSuper Samba 10-1 in Week 5, CSA went four games without a win, only drawing once. Division 1 is very competitive and there’s no room for error with historic teams such as the Pancyprian Freedoms and Lansdown Yonkers FC.
The Pancyprians have won the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup three times and have just qualified for the 2020 tournament beginning in March. The Lansdowne Bhoys have also established themselves as a nationally competitive team, winning the Fricker Cup this past August and in 2017 as well as the National Amateur cup in 2017. The Pancyprians faced off with the Bhoys in the final of Eastern New York State’s Amateur Cup on December 10th, but the final score has not been posted online (typical lower league soccer). Lansdowne’s Twitter posted the halftime score with the Pancyprians up 1-0, but did not continue updates. The Cosmo League website and the ENYSSA website also have not posted the score. The winner of this game moves onto the USASA Region I portion of the tournament and will face other teams throughout the Mid-Atlantic and New England.
Doxa FC has also looked fairly good this season and just gave Lansdowne Yonkers their first loss of the season. Having had to focus on cup runs as well as the league, they have picked up a few losses, but are still in the playoff race, currently siting in 3rd. Having played Lansdowne twice already, and tying the Pancyprians the first time they played Doxa FC will like their chances of securing a playoff spot and could be a dark horse if they make the playoffs.
Another historic team that has been a little more surprising with their performance this season has been the NY Shamrocks. The Rocks made the playoffs last year after finishing the season in 4th place, but are currently sitting at the bottom of the league. They are tied with promoted side Sporting SC at 7 points, but have played one more game than Sporting SC and are behind on Goal Differential. While there are still 8 games to go, the Rocks will need to turn things around to avoid being relegated back to Division 2, having been in Division 1 for the past four years after their promotion at the end of the 2014/2015 season.
Way Too Early Predictions
Teams that make the playoffs: Lansdowne Bhoys, Pancyprians, Cedar Stars Academy, Doxa FC
Finals: Pancyprians v Lansdowne Bhoys
Winners: Lansdowne Bhoys
Teams Relegated: KidSuper Samba AC, Shamrock SC
Picking the current 1st and 2nd place teams to meet in the finals is a little boring, I’ll admit, but they have already faced each other in two cup finals so far this season and have clearly shown to be a step above the rest of the Cosmo League. On the other hand, Shamrock have not shown very much to prove that they will be able to stay up again this season. KidSuper Samba has also just conceded too many goals for me not to pick them as the second team facing relegation. Anything could happen after the break though, it is three months long after all.
Division 1 Table:
Goal and Assist Leaders Division 1 (As of 11/24):
Division 2:
Division 2 has been just as, if not more, competitive than Division 1 this season. Nine points separate 4th place from 11th place, but it seems the top three of Manhattan Celtic, Hoboken FC 1912, and Richmond County FC have established themselves ahead of the pack and will likely be three of the four teams that compete for the two promotion spots. I would include Real Ole FC in this pack, but they currently have a goal differential of -3 while the top three all have positive differentials in the double digits. Real Ole has six wins and four losses with no draws, but two of their losses have been by 4 goals and the other two by 5 goals. With such big losses and most of their wins having been won only by a goal, I just don’t see them being able to stay up so high in the table unless something changes over the break. However, three months is a very long break and a number of things could happen during that time, especially with how unstable things can be in amateur soccer.
Central Park Rangers have been struggling to handle Division 2 after being relegated this past season, but have moved out of the relegation zone with two wins out of their last three games. Hoboken FC, the other relegated team from last season has been handling the drop very well, having only lost one game to 1st place Celtic. The surprise of the season for Division 2 is how well Richmond County FC has done so far. Currently in 3rd place, the team was promoted after the past season from the Metro Division, as there was no Division 3 until this season. Jumping from Metro Division to Division 2 is quite a leap considering league rules dictate teams in Divisions 1 & 2 must also be able to field a reserve team which plays in a separate division. Richmond County FC has handled it with no problem however, only losing one game out of nine this season. The Staten Islanders are a serious contender for promotion this season.
Way Too Early Predictions:
Teams that make the promotion playoffs: Manhattan Celtic, Richmond County FC, Polonia Gwardia, Hoboken FC 1912
Promoted Teams: Richmond County FC, Manhattan Celtic
Teams Relegated: NYPD FC, FC Japan
Celtic and Richmond County have just been killing it this year, they’ve been winning by a lot and only losing by one goal in each of their losses so it’s hard for me not to think they’ll move on. Last season, Division 2 was split into a North and South region so they did promotion a little differently but as long as two teams are being promoted, these are the ones I’m picking. Picking teams to be relegated is a little more difficult, especially considering how close together most of the teams are in points, but FC Japan and the NYPD, while showing glimpses of success, are just not looking good. For the third time though, there’s a three month break!
Division 2 Table:
