When news around the Empire slips through the cracks, the “New York Minute” is there to round up all the action.
This week, I am catching up on F.C. New York, which made it’s home debut just two weeks ago, the New York Cosmos, who announced a few more footballing interests under their aspiring umbrella, and of course, I round it all out with the pro’s at New York Red Bull, who have begun a quiet outreach campaign that deserves a bit of a spotlight shined upon it.
Here is the talk of the town, in your New York Minute:
TONIGHT, TONIGHT. Playing up to their newly inherited Ambassador’s role, the New York Red Bulls will play visitor at Montreal as they face the soon to be 19th MLS franchise at Saputo Stadium in the Great White North. Catch all the action starting at 5p.m. by clicking THIS LINK. And if you are wondering who the Montreal Impact are, I put up a little post yesterday to clarify things.
F.C. New York Opens Their Home Campaign The long awaited, Queens based USLPro side F.C. New York passed their road hurdles for the first two games of the season, and were finally able to get some home cooking going. The team calls Belson Stadium on the St. John’s Campus their home, and they debuted the pitch against an Orlando City team that dismantled them in their inaugural debut, 3-0.
As the host team, they achieved greater success on the pitch, but still found themselves on the losing end of things in a 2-1 loss. They followed up that loss with an inspired performance this passed weekend, where the team was knocking on the door of their first win thanks to a Kyle Hoffer goal just 10 minutes into their game against the Harrisburg City Islanders. That wasn’t enough to hold the Pennsylvania side down, as they answered back in the 16th minute off of a Jose Angulo blast to tie the game, which is how it all ended.
And yes, to those with great memories of the hype, this is the same Jose Angulo who was so highly touted around American soccer circles just a few years ago.
They now head back on the road against the Charleston Battery, still searching for their first win.
The New York Cosmos To Field An U23 PDL Side Eric Cantona, President of Operations for the New York Cosmos group, has made a point to emphasis the importance of developing talent and translating that into the teams transition as a Major League Soccer hopeful. They have successfully constructed an Academy program, overseen by former Red Bull great, Giovanni Savarese, that aims to target that goal, and have now created an outlet for their growing investments to stay with the Cosmos through their development.
According to a joint USL / Cosmos press release, the PDL side will play in full effect come 2012. For now, the team will be composed of the “New York Cosmos U23″ team and “will play a limited exhibition schedule against PDL competition during the 2011 season.” They will not be eligible for the playoffs or the U.S. Open Cup, but will be eligible to face PDL franchises on occasion in anticipation of their inclusion. The PDL franchise will be led by Savarese, and the franchise will announce a coach and full roster by the middle of this month.
Did You Miss Red Bulls v. Cosmos? Many did, but this passed weekend, history was made on the fields of Brooklyn’s Aviator Compound as the Red Bulls and Cosmos respective academies faced off in three seperate encounters. And how did the youngsters fare? Well, the Red Bulls took the U18 matchup 2-1 in a physical encounter. The Cosmos Academy U16 annihilated the Red Bulls U16 4-0, while the Red Bulls U15 and U14 teams beat the Cosmos 3-1 and 1-0 respectively.
New York Red Bull Outreach. I am always happy to shine a spotlight on the good deeds of others. This season, the New York Red Bulls are outdoing themselves in a quiet outreach program that is helping local communities through various outlets. We have covered their work with New York’s Got Wings, where the team donates $1,000 for every goal scored this season, but they haven’t stopped there.
1 – The Red Bulls have teamed up with Croatian great Davor Suker to host the 2nd Annual “Mini Clinic for Charity” to benefit the Croatian American Charitable Foundation.
2 – As an extension of “New York Got Wings” program, the Red Bull also announced the winner of an online vote which would donate $5000 to a local soccer program in the five boroughs. The winner for Queens? Auburndale Soccer, which is where many of my friends played growing up!
3 – And Thierry Henry should really be commended. The Reading Eagle posted the story of a childs struggles with racism and how Henry helped the lad overcome and understand the situation. This is what soccer is all about. Have a read here.
What is 5 Points Press? Much credit to the Borough Boys, lead by Nick Laveglia, who put out a fine, one of a kind online magazine, 5 Points Press. This week, they have a revealing interview with Dan Courtemanche, Executive Vice President of Communications for Major League Soccer. For those curious, he goes into great detail on Major League Soccer’s Expansion team process, giving new clues into the business dealings and requirements needed to purchase an MLS side. Really revealing stuff, and a definite recommended read for all fans of American soccer.
