One day after the Hudson River Derby was won by Red Bull New York, the local rivalry matches continued as Westchester SC traveled over the bridge to Paterson, New Jersey and claimed three huge points over the New York Cosmos.
The Battle for New York between the two USL League One sides made for what was probably one of the best environments the Cosmos have had at Hinchliffe Stadium this season, outside of their home opener.
With an announced crowd of 1,300, and even with around 500 people actually in Hinchliffe Stadium (I counted), it felt like an important match. Both teams are near the bottom of the USL League One standings, but this game still had fire. It might have been one of the most fun Cosmos matches this year in terms of atmosphere, despite the result.
"It's a good, close rivalry. We've had some pretty back-and-forth games in the past, so that makes it even more fiery," Cosmos midfielder Ajmeer Spengler said after the game. "It raises the temperature of the game, makes the intensity higher and gives you that little bit of extra motivation to make a five or 10-yard sprint when you really don’t want to. It just adds energy to the game."
New York Cosmos: 0.84 xG, 11 shots, 3 shots on target, 60% possession, 507 passes, 85% pass accuracy, 14 fouls, 5 corners, 5 saves
Westchester SC: 2.72 xG, 14 shots, 7 shot on target, 40% possession, 338 passes, 77% pass accuracy, 8 fouls, 3 corners, 2 saves
Goals:
• Westchester SC, Koen Blommestijn, 45+2'
Cosmos, Ajmeer Spengler, 82'
Westchester SC, Conor McGlynn, 90+8'
Attendance: 1,310
The New Cosmos supporters have arrived to take their spot behind the Hinchliffe Stadium goal ahead of the Battle for New York versus Westchester SC.#NYCosmos #NYCvsWES pic.twitter.com/IwnJXbIlG4
— Michael Battista (@MichaelBattista) September 19, 2026
Westchester imposing early
Officially, the Cosmos controlled the ball 64% of the time in the first half. I have no idea where that stat comes from.
The Cosmos came into the match with 10 of the 11 starters from the road loss to Athletic Club Boise last weekend. The only change came at left back, with midseason signing Stalyn Acosta replacing Rutgers University alumni Néstor Cabrera.
Both teams did certain things well in the opening 45 minutes. For the Cosmos, it was midfield work. For Westchester, its defense was organized and stayed compact. They counter-attacked against a pushed up Cosmos side and led the half in both shots and shots on target. In truth, the visitors should have led 3-0 at the break.
In the 40th minute, a long ball from the Westchester end hit off the back of Cosmos defender Jordan Chavez's head, falling to feet of WSC's Kyle Evans. He cut to the side, past Chavez's attempt to slide and block, and shot just over the crossbar and off the football field goal posts. The Cosmos backline made multiple errors in the final minutes of the half.
A poor defensive pass in the back, looking much like James Sands on Friday night at Yankee Stadium, was picked up by Westchester in the 43rd minute. Played to the right, midfielder Daniel Bouman had a clear shot on goal, only stopped at the last moment by a sliding Ajmeer Spengler to force a corner kick.
The visitors got on the board in the second minute of first-half stoppage time, just as it looked as though the Cosmos had held on enough to enter the break scoreless. A long cross from Daniel Burko found Koen Blommestijn in the box, moving from the spot diagonally upwards and right. He got past Chavez, shot low, and beat keeper Javier Garcia to make it 1-0.
All half, the Cosmos struggled to create consistent chances and it finally caught up to them. Lamin Jawneh and captain Sebastián Guenzatti were non-factors for the most part. The home side's best looks at goal came from Spengler, with his best coming in the 26th minute. Battling to win the ball back from Westchester in their own end, the midfielder sent a shot from the left side inches wide of the right post past a diving Luca Marinelli in Westchester's goal.
Credit: USL League One on X (Twitter)
Westchester also lost a player early, when defender Jack Loura left the match with a leg injury in the 26th minute, replaced by FC Motown alumni Maurice "Mo" Williams.
Late drama costs the Cosmos
The Cosmos came out much hotter in the second half, holding definitively more possession and trying to drive forward to equalize. Head coach Davide Corti explained how the team was able to use Christian Koffi when he entered the match about 20 minutes into the second half.
“The game plan was to play in behind and find the spaces. They were man-marking in the midfield. Lamine was not feeling very well, so usually when you can easily beat a man in a 1-v-1 situation, we were missing that in the first half," Corti explained. "In the second half, with Koffi, we got more space, more crosses came in and there were more combinations in the middle of the field. We're happy that Koffi is back in good shape, and we’re going to have another arrow in our bow."
Westchester got two quick chances in the first five minutes, but overall the visitors seemed content to play more conservatively. That backfired in the 83rd minute.
A bad clearance by Mo Williams was collected by Cosmos defender Anderson Holt, who played off to second-half substitute Néstor Cabrera on the left-wing. After creating some space around a defender, he made a short pass to Ajmeer Spengler who 180-ed himself into a shooting position and shot from a tight angle to level the score. Best part? On the match broadcast, Spengler was covered by one of Hinchliffe Stadium's poles that hold up the protective netting.
God I love USL League One.
Credit: USL on YouTube
Spengler has nine goals this season in league play, tied with Sebastián Guenzatti for the team lead. His celebration went towards the Westchester away fans, the 914th Infantry, who threw toilet paper and beer at the player. Not fazed, the midfielder, telling them to shush, kicked the beer can in midair in a stylish move.
"I was kinda just in my own world for a second there. Beer was coming right at me so I thought, might as well give it a shot," Spengler joked after the match.
As the clock continued to go and a player went down with injury for Westchester, an extended period of stoppage time was announced. The home side threatened to take their first lead of the night, but the visitors would be the ones to score against the run of play.
A Cosmos attack fizzled out but led to a counter by Westchester that saw Koen Blommestijn cross into the box. He found Ermin Mačkić, who passed it forward, where Westchester captain Conor McGlynn parted the green sea of defenders. He dribbled around keeper Javier Garcia, and calmly tapped in the game-winning goal in the eighth minute of stoppage time.
Credit: USL League One on X (Twitter)
The win gave Westchester its first road win since mid-June, snapping a 22-match winless streak on the road. The goal was also McGlynn's 14th of the season, putting him atop the league's Golden Boot race.
Westchester SC fans, mostly from the 914th Infantry, celebrate with their team following the win over the Cosmos at Hinchliffe Stadium | Credit: Michael Battista
The standings situation
With the loss, the Cosmos now sit in 16th place in the 17-team USL League One. The defeat also marks the first time the Cosmos have lost two matches in a row since a three-match losing streak that began with their last visit to Mount Vernon, New York. They lost 3-0 to Westchester on July 22, then lost at home to Athletic Club Boise, and on the road against Richmond Kickers.
For Westchester, the team jumped one spot into 13th place and is now eight points out of the USL League One playoff field with five matches still to play this season.
It's been a full season of the Battle for New York, the name USL seems to want this rivalry to carry. It's weird how aggressive it's been, considering there's no history between these teams. Yet there have been fights at multiple matches, and even on Saturday, there were unconfirmed reports of an assault.
That said, even with smaller crowds, these sort of games are what the league needs. Atmosphere, adrenaline, excitement. All it takes is one section of supporters for each team and suddenly a game in the shadow of the Hudson River Derby seems a little bit more.
2026 Battle for New York Results (Click to expand list)
- May 15, Westchester 2:3 Cosmos (USL Cup)
- July 22, Westchester 3:0 Cosmos (USL1)
- Sept. 19, Cosmos 1:2 Westchester (USL1)
Both teams have little to play for when it comes to the postseason. However, avoiding the basement might be worth playing for on the Cosmos' part. Not every USL team will qualify for the 2027 US Open Cup field, and both teams have an incentive to climb away from the bottom of the table, considering regular-season standings will be how the teams that qualify are decided. At this time, though, we don't know where that cutoff is, so even struggling teams need to win as much as possible if they want an Open Cup berth.
The elephant in the room all day for the Cosmos, though, was the departure of team head of soccer Giuseppe Rossi the day prior. Both Spengler and Corti were asked about it after the match, both stayed neutral on the matter, with Corti thanking Rossi for his work.
Michael Battista
The coach did note, however, that the team probably should have started off by having someone more experienced within the league making its roster decisions. Rossi was originally the one in charge of player signings before Corti took over and worked with the former USMNT player later on.
The Cosmos are back home next Saturday to face the Richmond Kickers, the only team below New York in the USL League One standings. The teams last met in early August, when former Cosmos player Darwin Espinal scored a brace to give the Virginia side a 2-0 win at home.
The Cosmos will also be without midfielder Shamit Shome, who will be away with the Bangladesh national team for the 2026 FIFA ASEAN Cup.
