Cosmos Victory Keeps Fort Lauderdale Top of the NASL Table

Published on May 12, 2014 under North American Soccer League (NASL) News Release


NEW YORK, NY (May 12, 2014) - With four of the five Week 5 matches in the books, the New York Cosmos and Minnesota United FC closed out the week with a tight, exciting win for New York Cosmos that has created a very tight NASL Spring Season Table.

The Cosmos victory pushes them into third place, level at 9 points with San Antonio, just three points behind League leader Fort Lauderdale and Minnesota, who both have 12 points.

This past Saturday, Fort Lauderdale Strikers won their third straight game and are at the top of the North American Soccer League Spring Table following a 4-0 victory over Atlanta Silverbacks.

Keeping pace with the leaders, San Antonio Scorpions bested Carolina RailHawks 3-0 to move into fourth place, just three points behind Fort Lauderdale and Minnesota.

FC Edmonton secured its first three points of the spring coming off their stunning mid-week victory over Montreal Impact in the first leg of the Amway Canadian Championship semifinals, 2-1 over expansion club Indy Eleven.

NYCvMNU (Monday May 12, 2014)

New York Cosmos, riding a 2 game losing streak, welcomed League leader Minnesota United FC to James M. Shuart Stadium. The first 45 minutes were scoreless and highlighted by Cosmos dominating possession and Loon's Keeper Matt VanOekel making a number of great saves.

Cosmos Midfielder Marcos Senna snapped a 294-minute scoreless drought when he cracked home a ball in the 61st minute, giving the Cosmos all they needed in this Monday Night Fútbol matchup.

Minnesota pressed hard in the last 25 minutes, but couldn't get a ball past Cosmos keeper Jimmy Mauer who recorded his third shutout in five games.

Minnesota is now in 2nd Place on goal differential and welcome League leaders Fort Lauderdale this Saturday. The Cosmos jump to third place and will host Indy Eleven next week.

"It hurts, we didn't play that well," said United head coach Manny Lagos. "We got a little better in the second half and maintained a little more possession, but we couldn't pull it out. I felt like we had been playing better soccer than we showed tonight."

OTTvTBR (Saturday May 10, 2014)

Fans filled Keith Harris Stadium on a sunny evening in Canada's capital to support Fury FC as they tied Tampa Bay Rowdies 1-1.

All the scoring occurred in a frantic first half. Georgi Hristov scored a 26th minute penalty kick for Tampa following a hand ball in the box.

Rowdies Keeper Matt Pickens had a massive save on an Ottawa penalty kick. Pickens is 3-3 in PK saves this Spring.

Fighting back hard, Fury FC leveled the match in the 37th minute, when Tony Donatelli deflected a corner into the back of the Tampa net.

Both teams worked up and down the pitch in the second half with numerous scoring opportunities for both clubs, but ultimately they both settled for one point with the tie.

"All in all it was a fairly even game. But it is what it is, we played well enough to win but we also could have lost," said Tampa Bay manager Ricky Hill

"It was a tough game, very mentally draining. This league is so tight, every point matters. You've got to be ready to play hard each week, and tonight we just didn't take our chances," commented Fury FC manager Marc Dos Santos

FTLvATL (Saturday May 10, 2014)

The Fort Lauderdale Strikers welcomed Atlanta Silverbacks to Lockhart Stadium and made the most of their evening, gaining three points and moving into first place following their 4-0 victory.

Martin Nuñez's third goal in three matches started the scoring for Strikers in the 23rd minute. Atlanta goalkeeper Eric Ati made a number of quality saves to keep the Silverbacks in the game during the first half.

There was little that could be done to stop Mark Anderson's 50th minute strike from just outside the 18-yard box. Anderson's crack put Strikers up for good.

The Strikers added two more in the second half with a free kick from Carlos Salazar and a PK converted by Fafa Picault.

"Our guys are playing very well together," said G-nter Kronsteiner, Strikers coach. "They played strong throughout the whole game, we attacked well, and we didn't allow many chances. I'm very proud of them and the way they are coming together."

Strikers travel to Minnesota for a critical Week 6 Match.

INDvFCE (Saturday May 10, 2014)

Goals by forward Daryl Fordyce and defender Kareem Moses in a two-minute span were all FC Edmonton needed as they secured a 2-1 victory before a sold-out crowd of 10,285 for Indy Eleven at IUPUI's Michael A. Carroll Stadium.

Indy Eleven got their name on the board in the 30th minute off a free kick when forward Mike Ambersley's header was deflected off FC Edmonton midfielder Mike Banner past the goalkeeper John Smits arms for the own goal.

"We were hanging on for long spells in the second half. These three points were a total team effort and that's what we're all about at FC Edmonton," said coach Colin Miller. "This set up in Indy is fantastic and has to be the benchmark for this league."

"Great atmosphere from our fans and a great energy in the stadium," noted Indy Eleven coach Juergen Sommer. "We made it difficult for ourselves, we're still making some mistakes, so we've got to nip it in the bud."

SASvCAR (Saturday May 10, 2014)

San Antonio Scorpions welcomed Carolina RailHawks to Toyota Field in search of their first home victory of the 2014 Spring Season. They did not disappoint the rowdy home crowd posting a 3-0 victory.

The first half between the Scorpions and RailHawks was contested mainly in the midfield as each team tried to impose their passing game on the other.

Scorpions exploded in the second half with quality goals by Eric Hassli in the 53 rd minute and Danny Barrera in the 58th m inute.

Tomasz Zahorski completed the scoring for the Scorpions with a converted penalty kick in the 77th minute.

The victory moves the Scorpions into third place, just three points behind Fort Lauderdale and Minnesota.

North American Soccer League 2014 Spring Season Week 5 Results

Saturday, May 10

Ottawa Fury FC 1 Tampa Bay Rowdies 1

Game Recap

Fort Lauderdale Strikers 4 Atlanta Silverbacks 0

Game Recap

Indy Eleven 1 FC Edmonton 2

Game Recap

San Antonio Scorpions 3 Carolina RailHawks 0

Game Recap

Monday, May 12 7:30 PM ET

New York Cosmos 1 Minnesota United FC 0

Game Recap

NASL Standings Week 5

P TEAM PLD W D L GF GA +/- PTS

1 Fort Lauderdale Strikers 5 4 0 1 13 7 6 12

2 Minnesota United FC 5 4 0 1 8 4 4 12

3 New York Cosmos 5 3 0 2 6 2 4 9

4 San Antonio Scorpions rs 5 3 0 2 6 4 2 9

5 Carolina RailHawks 5 2 1 2 6 9 -3 7

6 Tampa Bay Rowdies 5 1 3 1 5 6 -1 6

7 Atlanta Silverbacks 5 2 0 3 6 12 -6 6

8 Ottawa Fury FC 5 1 1 3 7 7 0 4

9 FC Edmonton 5 1 1 3 4 7 -3 4

10 Indy Eleven 5 0 2 3 3 7 -3 2

Tiebreakers: 1.) Goal difference 2.) Goals scored 3.) Head-to-head 4.) Away goal difference 5.) Away goals scored

Please note:

The NASL Weekly Awards schedule for Week 5 will be as follows:

Player of the Week - Wednesday

Plays of the Week - Wednesday

Team of the Week - Wednesday

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North American Soccer League Stories from May 12, 2014


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.


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