If you're a backup goalkeeper and get a chance to play, you must grab the opportunity with both hands.

 

Kevin Tenjo is a perfect example.

 

He sat the Cosmos B bench the opening four games of the National Premier Soccer League campaign and the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup play-in match before starter Macklin Robinson suffered a knee injury.

 

The 23-year-old Tenjo took over for the 4-2 away win over Rhode Island Reds FC on June 2. He has acquitted himself well for the North Atlantic Conference Division leaders (7-0-0), who face defending champion Elm City Express (2-2-2, 8) at Hofstra Soccer Stadium in Hempstead, N.Y. on Saturday at 7 p.m.

 

No one had to remind Tenjo about the plight of a backup goalkeeper. He saw action in eight matches his previous two seasons with Cosmos B.

 

"This is really difficult," he said. "There is only one goalkeeper you can play at one time. Every goalkeeper on all teams has to be ready. Any opportunity, 20 minutes [into a game]. I have to do the best. Goalkeepers have to be ready because we don't know when we will be called on."

 

Being prepared comes down to mental toughness, Tenjo said.

 

"I think it’s 90 percent mental because it's just one position," he said. "Field players have more opportunities because they can substitute in the games. Goalkeepers are really difficult."

 

But he has been ready to shoulder the load for what many observers feel is the best side in the 98-team NPSL. With Tenjo in the net, Cosmos B is 3-0 as he has a 1.66 goals-against average.

 

"It's a lot of responsibility because Mack is a really good goalkeeper and he makes his things really good," he said. "I have to do the same thing or better. It is a lot of responsibility for me, but that is soccer, that is football."

 

"I'm really happy," he added. "I was waiting for this a long time."

 

Tenjo played his youth soccer and the beginning of his pro career with Santa Fe for 12 years in his native Colombia until he was 20-years-old. He joined Cosmos B in 2016 after emigrating to the United States.

 

"I think the Cosmos are a really good organization," he said. "It's a storied club. I am happy right now. I have the opportunity to say I am so thankful [to be] with the club."

 

Head coach Carlos Mendes felt that his goalkeeping his in good hands with the 5-11, 174-lb. Tenjo.

 

"He's done well," he said, adding that Tenjo will improve as he gets more playing time. "I think just at moments in games, sometimes the experience, the maturity, I think he'll still continue to grow. He's very good with the ball with his feet, helps us build out of the back. He's made some big saves for us when we needed him."

 

Tenjo could be in Cosmos B goal for a while because Mendes indicated that Robinson could be a longshot to return for this season. The regular season ends in early July, followed by the playoffs.

 

"With the short season, I think the timeline is going to be tough," he said. "To be realistic. We haven't ruled it out. Maybe he'll come back and get the fitness. You don't know how long that will take, but we'll see."

 

If Cosmos B defeats the Express, it will qualify for the divisional playoffs. The top four teams will reach the postseason.

 

“Now we are focusing on the championship,” Tenjo said. “That’s one step for the playoffs.”

 

And perhaps beyond, such as winning the NPSL title. Cosmos B captured the crown in its inaugural season in 2015.

 

“I think we have to do that," he said. “That’s the mentality for every player, to be champions. We have to work for that, just work and just work. We have to be 100 percent mentally ready for that.”

 

After Saturday's game, Cosmos B will have only two regular-season matches remaining. New York visits Hartford City FC at Central Connecticut State University in New Britain, Conn., on Saturday, June 30, at 7 p.m. before welcoming Kingston Stockade FC at Commisso Stadium at Columbia University on Saturday, July 7, at 7:30 p.m.

 

All tickets for Cosmos B home games are general admission and are $10 apiece. Cosmos B will donate all ticket sales to Street Soccer USA, which brings a wide range of free programs that connects soccer skills to life skills to youth and young adults in low-income community across the country and New York City.