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Jeorgio Kocevski’s turnaround from England to Long Island, N.Y., was fast. In early May, Kocevski was manning SU’s midfield against top Premier League academy squads.

Before the month was up, he had already started training with the Long Island Rough Riders, a United Soccer League Two team.

“It was pretty quick, I came back from England on a Sunday. And then I was pretty much in Long Island by Tuesday,” Kocevski said.

Kocevski played with the Rough Riders from May 27 to July 21, following Syracuse’s 2022 National Championship run where he started 21-of-22 games. According to head coach Tom Bowen, Kocevski quickly became the heartbeat of Long Island’s midfield. He led the team to a 12-1-1 record and the USL 2 Metropolitan Division Championship. Kocevski was named the club’s Player of the Year for 2023 as well as making the 2023 USL 2 Team of the Year.

Before his first game with the Rough Riders, Kocevski barely had a week of practice. He’d missed the first two games due to SU’s England trip but it didn’t take long for his presence to be felt.

Kocevski started in Long Island’s third game of the season against its league rivals — the Hudson Valley Hammers. Knotted at 0-0 after the first half, Kocevski notched two goals in an eventual 3-0 win. Teammate and Indiana defender Jansen Miller, remembered Kocevski “came out of nowhere” to finish one of them. Bowen recalled turning to his coaches after his first two goals with the club.

“Holy sh*t, we’ve got a player on our hands,” Bowen said.

Bowen had wanted Kocevski on his squad since seeing him play for USL 2’s Ocean City Nor’easters last season. When they matched up in summer 2022, Bowen said Kocevski “grabbed the game by the neck” and was a “nightmare to play against.”

“He’s one of those players when you’re playing against him…he’s making fouls or he’s nasty, getting around the field and he’s in your face,” Bowen said. “As an opposition coach it winds you up a little bit, but you also secretly admire it.”

As an assistant coach at Iona, Bowen had the perfect opportunity to recruit Kocevski when the Gaels traveled to Syracuse for the 2022 season-opener. Following a 2-0 SU win, Bowen asked about Kocevski’s plans for the summer. When Kocevski said he didn’t have any, Bowen pitched coming to Long Island.

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After things calmed down after SU’s national title win, Kocevski told Bowen he’d come to Long Island. He helped recruit players like current-Syracuse teammate Michael Suski, a Boston College transfer, to the team too.

Miller remembered when Bowen told the team Kocevski was coming, nobody expected a large impact. Miller said Kocevski “garnered a certain level of respect” coming from championship-winning Syracuse. The respect only grew after Kocevski’s season-opening brace.

“For me, going into any team, I always want to prove myself and prove that they’ve made a good choice in picking me,” Kocevski said. “I wanted to win the whole thing. And I wanted to give them every ounce of effort I could.”

Teammates Louis Beckett and Justin Weiss said it was easy for Kocevski to be complacent but he never showed it. Bowen said Kocevski was never arrogant, rather the “complete opposite.”

With the Rough Riders running a similar formation to Syracuse, Bowen said Kocevski slotted in seamlessly. He started each game as a defensive midfielder in a 3-5-2 setup. When the team was losing, Bowen pushed Kocevski into an attacking midfielder role with a knack for making searching runs into the box.

Bowen also played Kocevski up high. Long Island’s midfield depth allowed Bowen to experiment with a 4-4-2 formation. He’d deploy Kocevski on the right wing because of his crossing ability. Weiss said Kocevski “grabs a lot of attention” when he’s on the ball because of his confidence.

“When you’re playing in fear and putting it all out there, sometimes you can’t connect that last pass or take that risk,” Weiss said. “With him, I felt like he was willing to take those risks in order to reap the benefits.”

The Rough Riders were one of 32 teams to clinch a spot in the USL 2 playoffs. Kocevski helped them to the Metropolitan Division Championship, outscoring opponents 44-9 over 14 games. But, in a “disappointing end to the season,” Long Island lost 2-1 to Ocean City in the opening round.

Despite the abrupt end to the year, Bowen was thankful for Kocevski’s time with the Rough Riders. He said Kocevski is “made for Major League Soccer” because of his combination of size, mobility and quality on the ball.

“The fact that he has both the size and the fact that he’s a domestic player, everything for me points towards the MLS,” Bowen said. “If he doesn’t get picked up then teams are missing out on a good player.”

Published on October 26, 2023 at 12:12 am

Contact Zak: zakwolf784254@gmail.com | @ZakWolf22