The club that put American soccer on the map in the seventies and eighties, the legendary New York Cosmos, visit Boston City this Saturday at Hormel Stadium in Medford, kickoff 7pm.
Made famous by world stars such as Pele, Franz Beckenbauer and Carlos Alberto, the Cosmos are these days a force in the National Premier Soccer League, boasting a perfect 8-0-0 record and are the league’s number-one ranked team among 91 clubs across the nation. The Cosmos draw on a fully-professional squad preparing to kick off the new NPSL Founders Cup this fall and top the North Atlantic Conference with 24 points.
The Cosmos are unbeaten in two regular seasons, and when Boston City first faced the New York side back in 2016, they ended a similar streak. Three years ago, the Lions were playoff-bound and in fine form themselves, but this season have struggled to find consistency, so a home victory would cause an upset. Boston City did hold the Cosmos scoreless until halftime in New York back in May, before losing, as star midfielder Junior Burgos proved deadly with two unstoppable free kicks, inspiring a 5-0 win.
But that won’t dampen the entertainment on offer at Hormel Stadium as joint interim coaches Cesar Deossa and Roberto Mazzinghy lead their side into battle.
The Lions hope to have top-scorer Jhonata Batista return from an injury he suffered having scored his fourth goal of the season away to the Rhode Island Reds last week. The attack has been boosted by the addition of striker Hugo Bomfim, who scored and assisted on his debut, while the Lions have added left back Francisco Neto, and returning midfielder Pedro Silva.
Tickets for Sunday’s match in Revere are available at www.BostonCityFC.com.
Saturday’s match facts:
Boston City FC (1-7-2) vs New York Cosmos (8-0-0)
Saturday, June 15, 2019
Kickoff 7pm
Hormel Stadium
90 Locust Street, Medford, MA
Boston City FC vs. New York Cosmos match notes: Boston City FC and the New York Cosmos have met five times previously with the Cosmos having won three, the Lions one and one game ended in a draw… The Cosmos won the first-ever meeting between the clubs, which was also Boston City’s first-ever match, 3-1 at Malden Catholic in 2016… The sides drew 1-1 in 2017 in Boston with Jhonata Batista on target for the Lions… Batista is Boston City’s joint top scorer in 2019 with 4 goals… Strikes from Darwin Espinal (2), Alejandro Penzini and Danny Szetela propelled the Cosmos to a 4-0 win in Boston to open the 2018 NPSL season… Earlier this season, the Lions held the Cosmos scoreless until halftime before Junior Burgos scored from two stunning free kicks and Darwin Espinal, Charlie Ledula and Joseph Sanchez completed a 5-1 win… The first time the clubs met in New York, Boston City triumphed 3-2 with goals from Jhonata Batista, Michael Bustamante and Homero Morais… The win was the second in a nine-match winning streak that propelled the Lions to the 2016 NPSL playoffs and was the first time the Cosmos had lost over 90 minutes in their NPSL history, having won the championship the previous season, 2015… Lions striker Jhonata Batista is second on the all-time club goal scorers list with 13, trailing Isaac Addai (17) by four goals… Seventeen players have made their debuts for a new-look Boston City FC this season with D Francisco Neto and F Hugo Bomfim becoming the latest away to the Rhode Island Reds on June 7 when Bomfim scored and assisted on a goal… Midfielder Pedro Silva, who made 16 appearances during the 2017 and 2018 seasons, returned to the side on June 7 and played in both matches against the Reds… Midfielder Santi Cardona is the only player to have played in every match this season… Jason Katz has started the past two matches for a total of six starts this season, with Jake Wagmeister making three appearances and Sandro van Kuijck two between the posts.
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