San Antonio Scorpions vs. New York Cosmos: Preview, squad news, television, streaming, weather, and more

The Cosmos host their second match of the season on Saturday evening, and will do so against a much better opponent than they faced during their first match at Hofstra. While the Atlanta Silverbacks had responded to a difficult fall season by shipping out most of their known commodities in favor of untested youngsters, the Scorpions went shopping for some of the better players in the NASL, as well as looking to MLS for talent. The result is a squad with the potential to be one of the best in the league.

To date, that squad has shown some inconsistency in the final third to go along with excellent supporting numbers. A Julius James red card in the first match of the season meant that they played most of their debut with only ten men, and they were less dominant than most would have expected against an Atlanta side widely viewed to be among the weakest in the league. Still, if results on Saturday go their way, they could actually find themselves topping the table three weeks into the season*.

*They'd need a big win over the Cosmos for this to happen, so it's unlikely at best

Last season, these clubs met twice, withe the Cosmos winning both home and away. This season should prove a far more difficult task, as the San Antonio midfield that was so poor in both fall meetings may now be the strength of that club. Three points would be huge for either side given the split-season format, and could also prove to be big when looking at the 27-game table for the final two playoff paces at the end of the season.

Opponent: San Antonio Scorpions (LW)

Date/Time: Saturday, April 26, 2014 at 7:00 pm EDT

Venue: Shuart Stadium, Hofstra University

Forecast: In the mid-50s with a chance of some rain. There is no roof over the stands at Hofstra, so pack accordingly.

Giveaways: The first 1,500 kids to arrive will receive a championship pennant.

Cosmos Squad News: Hans Denissen sound like he'll miss this one with his continued recovery from a knee injury. Other than that, New York seems to be healthy.

Scorpions Squad News: Tomasz Zahorski went off injured against Atlanta, and won't be fit to face the Cosmos. Other than that, it's all hands on deck.

Television: Like all Cosmos home games, this one can be found on One World Sports.

Streaming: NASL Live will stream the game live.