Who are the Jersey Express?

The US Open gets back underway in the northeastern United States on Wednesday, and with the draw for the third round having already been held, New York Cosmos fans will have one match in particular to watch out for tonight. The boys in green will open their cup run against the winner of tonight's match between the Jersey Express and New York Red Bulls II, which will be played in Newark.

Jersey Express is a PDL side based in Newark, NJ, founded in 2007 under the name Newark Ironbound Express. They play alongside New York Red Bulls U23 and DC United U23 in the Mid-Atlantic Division. In 2014, they were crowned champions of the Eastern Division of the PDL. In their past few seasons, they have recorded an average attendance in the mid-400’s, with their average slowly on the rise. They also field a Super-20 side (ages 17-20) as well as a youth system that spans ages 10-18. They once played alongside the now-NASL side Ottawa Fury.

On the pitch, they seem to be a competitive side. They won their first US Open Cup match this season, defeating the New York Greek-Americans 3-0. Next up, they’ll host USL opponents NYRB II at home. With such a strong result against the Greek-Americans, the Jersey-based side feel they could produce a good result in the upcoming match. I would personally pick them to come out of the meetup with the Red Bulls reserve side victorious, largely because of the home field advantage they'll have this evening, and the fact that RBII had a match this past weekend.

Check out the team’s website here for more information on the Express, and we'll have more on their match against New York Red Bulls II on Wednesday.