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2-0 Win Seals NASL Combined Title for Cosmos

October 31, 2015 - North American Soccer League (NASL)
New York Cosmos News Release


HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. - The road to the 2015 North American Soccer League Championship Final goes through Cosmos Country.

On Saturday night in their regular season finale at Hofstra's Shuart Stadium, the Cosmos defeated the Tampa Bay Rowdies, 2-0, to finish atop the league's Combined Standings.

The Cosmos (10-6-4), who have home field advantage throughout the postseason, will host either Tampa Bay (5-5-10) or Fort Lauderdale in a Championship Semifinal match at Brooklyn's MCU Park next Saturday at 2 p.m. ET.

"That was one of the things we were looking for," midfielder Andrés Flores said. "It's something special for the fans to have us here and it's special for us because we want to play in front of them."

"Now we have the biggest challenge of the playoffs," goalkeeper Jimmy Maurer added. "The advantage of playing at home is immense."

The Cosmos, who went undefeated en route to claiming the Spring Season title, finished third in the Fall Season Standings. But they ended the regular season on a four-game winning streak and unbeaten in their last five games.

Ottawa's 1-1 draw with Atlanta earlier on Saturday opened the door for the Cosmos to finish atop the Combined Standings. To do so, they would have to beat the Rowdies by at least two goals.

Those goals came four minutes apart in the second half. First, Raúl netted his eighth goal of the season when he took a pass from Ruben Bover and put a low left-footed shot under Matt Pickens and inside the far post in the 54th minute.

Raúl and Marcos Senna were honored before their final regular season game in their storied careers and video tributes to both Spanish legends were played at halftime.

"When you're a kid you always want to play with the best players in the world, and now I've had the opportunity to play with two legends of the sport," Flores said.

Sebastian Guenzatti followed Raúl's strike with his fifth goal of the season in the 58th minute, sliding to latch onto a Walter Restrepo cross after Senna played him behind the defense.

"It felt really good actually. The first thing I thought was to celebrate with the crowd," Guenzatti said. "It felt amazing. Now we can get a final at home."

The celebration wasn't just reserved for Guenzatti and the players on the field.

"The second goal was very important for us and it came at a very good time for us," Cosmos coach Giovanni Savarese said. "That's why the reaction on the bench, because we understood exactly at that moment that we were in first place."

Now the Cosmos shift their focus on the postseason and winning a second NASL championship in three years. There is a new goal to accomplish - sending two legends in Raúl and Senna out on top.

"I think that's the main goal, to have them leave as champions," Guenzatti said.

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North American Soccer League Stories from October 31, 2015


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