American Soccer Club New York captured the inaugural KICK ALS! Cup with a 2-1 victory over the New York Cosmos in front of 1,238 fans at LaValle Stadium on the campus of Stony Brook University. A portion of the proceeds from the exhibition match will benefit ALS Ride for Life, making the evening about much more than just soccer.
American Soccer Club NY took control in the first half when Junior Rosero opened the scoring in the 33rd minute. Rosero finished off a perfectly timed pass from Kevin Romero for his first goal since joining the Fighting Tomcats on June 16.
“I’m excited to score my first goal for American Soccer Club NY on this cup night against a historic team like the New York Cosmos,” Rosero said. “It was a great showing from the team in the first half. It got a bit ugly in the second half, but I’m glad we were able to see out the win.”
The Fighting Tomcats doubled their lead just before halftime when Brayden Walker found the back of the net in stoppage time, giving American Soccer Club NY a 2-0 advantage heading into the break.
The Cosmos cut the deficit to one in the 55th minute when Chevone Marsh scored, but the Fighting Tomcats' defense held firm over the final 35 minutes to preserve the victory and claim the inaugural KICK ALS! Cup.
Before kickoff, Bob Montgomery and Tom Lang were honored with American Soccer Club NY's "Legends of the Game" awards in recognition of their outstanding coaching careers and lasting contributions to soccer throughout Long Island, the New York metropolitan area and across the United States.
At halftime, KICK ALS! co-founder Tom Frahmke led fans in symbolically "showing the red card" to ALS, highlighting the event's charitable mission. Following the match, Frahmke joined in presenting the inaugural KICK ALS! Cup trophy to American Soccer Club NY.
The Fighting Tomcats, now carrying momentum from the victory, return to National Premier Soccer League action with a road match against Santa Cruz FC.
“Great momentum for the team going into Saturday’s match,” Rosero said following the win over the Cosmos.