Success can be measured and defined in many ways.
Winning a championship is the ultimate way to celebrate.
Reaching the playoffs can be the next best thing.
Even a team performing to best of its ability and see improvement of players is another way.
The Long Island Rough Riders men did not win the USL League Two crown or the Metropolitan Division title.
Head coach Chris Megaloudis was disappointed that the team did not reach the postseason but also was gratified that his players left it all on the field.
“Although we didn’t get into playoffs, we fought to the very end. The guys enjoyed every bit of it, and we did as well,” he said, referring to his coaching staff.
The Rough Riders finished third in their division with a 7-2-3 record and 24 points. They finished behind two very strong teams -Metropolitan champion FC Motown (10-1), 31 points) and Ironbound SC (8-0-4, 28).
“It was definitely a season filled with a bit of ups and downs, but hard to say why,” Megaloudis said, “because I think that the team was one of our stronger teams. I think that we were a bit unlucky in certain games. That’s the name of the game sometimes. Normally some things go your way that have been in the past, and this year just, just didn’t seem to have that same sort of luck a little bit. The team was very, very strong, very strong. I was happy with the group, with the staff. I think the players enjoyed it.”
Long Island started the season strong.
The team recorded clean sheets in its opening two matches, 2-0 over New Jersey Copa FC on May 20 on the road and 3-0 past Staten Island ASC at home on May 27. The Riders followed that up with a 2-2 road draw at Ironbound on May 30. They suffered the first of their two home defeats to the Hudson Valley Hammers on June 3 before rebounding with a seven-game unbeaten streak that was punctuated with a 4-1 home win over Cedar Stars Rush on June 275 Long Island outscored its foes over that impressive span, 20-2.
“And then we had a game against Cedar Stars where it was one of those days,” Megaloudis said.
Long Island wound up played to a 1-1 road draw.
“It was 100 and something degrees that specific day and we had to travel,” the Riders coach said. “So that was a little bit tough for us. We wound up tying that game and that put us in a difficult spot. The other thing is that the other teams ahead of us kept winning. So, it was us three locked in for towards the end. Nobody had advanced until the very last second. All three had a good shot to get in.”
With a playoff spot still on the line in the team’s regular-season finale on July 10, the Rough Riders dropped a 4-2 decision at FC Motown in Madison, N.J. The team needed to win and Ironbound SC to lose against Manhattan SC. Neither result came to fruition.
“For me it was a great season,” Megaloudis said. “It’s just unfortunate not to get into playoffs because that’s always the goal but that’s the name of the game sometimes.”
Megaloudis added that a 7-2-3 record was no means for me a disappointing season.
“Disappointing to not get into playoffs, but not a disappointing season at all,” he said. “Usually when that happens, you get a feeling of some players not being, you know, not being happy because you’re looking at a good team that isn’t in playoffs. But for some reason these guys remained super competitive. They were training in and out at the highest levels.”
When asked which players stood out, Megaloudis said there were so many he was afraid of leaving anyone off the list.
“Usually, you have certain players that you’d expect more from, but everybody came in with a level of what we’d expected from them,” he said.
But then the Rough Riders coach named several players who made major impacts on the pitch.
“In terms of a really outstanding season, a guy like Tyler Morck was unbelievable for us,” he said of the midfielder. “Ethan Wood in goal. He saved two out of three penalty takes in the year, and he did fantastic. He came up big for us in goal. Baptiste Boit, one of our center backs, was really, really good. Josh Gordon [defender] came in and was fantastic.”
Megaloudis also mentioned defenders Francesco Tolaba and Tarik Freire, and forward James York and Tarik Freire.
“The list goes on and on,” he said.
“This is one of the best teams that we’ve been a part of as a staff. I’m missing probably the rest of the team because that’s how good the expectations were from these players, and that’s what they gave us.”
Megaloudis hoped that many of those players will return for the 2027 campaign.
“They enjoyed it to a point where you can see every single one of those players wanting to come back,” he said. “That’s important for us because that’s the culture part of it. Everybody was really ready and keen on ultimately fighting until the end into getting into playoffs. They could hold their heads up high when that happens.”