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First Versus Second Clash Sees New York Cosmos Take on Unbeaten Tampa Bay Rowdies

September 25, 2013 - North American Soccer League (NASL) News Release


(MIAMI, Fla. September 25, 2013) - The New York Cosmos and Tampa Bay Rowdies renew their North American Soccer League rivalry in a top of the table clash at Hofstra University on Sunday evening.

Any one of four teams currently sitting between third and sixth place in the NASL table could be breathing down the necks of the top pair by the time they meet on Sunday night with three games kicking off on Saturday.

But it is the Cosmos and Rowdies who steal the headlines with the visitors being the only team that can unseat New York from pole position by winning away from home - something they have done five times in 2013. The Cosmos are unbeaten on home turf, boasting three wins and a draw, while the Rowdies are riding a 10-game unbeaten streak and have yet to lose during the NASL Fall Season.

"I've said this many times, but every week is another final for us," said Cosmos coach Giovanni Savarese. "And this weekend is no different. Tampa has acquired some new players since we played them and they're playing well. This is an important game and going to be another good challenge for us."

Having relied on last second goals to win their first two home games this season, the Cosmos appear to have found a goal scorer in Venezuelan Diomar Diaz, who hit the target twice last weekend and has three goals on the campaign. In opposition, the Rowdies will look to the league's second top scorer Georgi Hristov, whose 11 goals in 2013 have made him a constant threat.

"The Cosmos have shown that they are a tough team to beat," said Rowdies midfielder Stuart Campbell. "They are very strong at home, but then again we are the best team on the road and it's up to us to take over the top of the table. It's such an honor to play for a club that has such a rich history and tradition and playing against the Cosmos is special for every member on this team."

The anticipated clash can be seen live on www.OneWorldSports.com/watch after completing a brief registration and will be broadcast live on SNY TV, which reaches more than 13 million homes.

The NASL Week 9 fall action kicks off early on Saturday as Minnesota United FC welcomes the San Antonio Scorpions to the NSC Stadium in Blaine, MN, for a 3.30pm ET kickoff.

The hosts caught up in the race to win the fall title with a win last week, while San Antonio won for the first time as joint leading scorer in the race for the NASL Golden Boot, Hans Denissen (12 goals), struck with the decisive injury time penalty kick.

"For them, they're coming off a win, but for us, it's all about this home weekend," said United FC coach Manny Lagos. "We have unfortunately dropped some points at home where we maybe should have won. And now we really have to show that we can become a good home team."

At 7pm ET on Saturday, the third placed Carolina RailHawks hope to welcome back the league's other joint top scorer Brian Shriver from injury as the Fort Lauderdale Strikers visit WakeMed Soccer Park.

Along with United FC, the RailHawks and Strikers are locked together on 11 points and separated only by goal difference. Both are coming off tough losses last weekend and will be eager to stay in touch with the Cosmos at the top. Carolina has not lost at home in 2013 and will defend that proud 13-game record against a Fort Lauderdale team that had put together a five-game unbeaten streak before last weekend.

"Every game is extremely important from now on," said Strikers coach G-nter Kronsteiner. "As I said before, we have three games in a row against some of the top teams in the league (Cosmos, Railhawks and Tampa Bay Rowdies) that will show us exactly where we are as a team. The first one against the Cosmos we lost, but now we have a chance to get some points against another good team in Carolina. I don't want to lose another game now. We've worked hard to get to where we are and we deserve to get a point there."

Closing out Saturday's action at 7.30pm ET in Atlanta, the Silverbacks take on FC Edmonton with both clubs also looking to bounce back from a defeat a week ago.

A home win could push the Silverbacks up to as high as third place in the table, while a first away win for the Eddies will keep them in touch with the leaders.

"We had our chances last weekend and we didn't take them, so we've been working on taking advantage of them in practice," explained Silverbacks coach Brian Haynes. "More importantly, we can't give up goals, so there is going to be a lot of concentration in practice this week to make sure that we improve on that. We're going to make sure that we're very accurate offensively, and that we come out and play a good defensive game."

NASL Week 9 Schedule - (All kickoff times US EST)

Saturday, September 28

Minnesota United FC vs. San Antonio Scorpions

NSC Stadium; Blaine, Minn. 3:30 pm

Carolina RailHawks vs. Fort Lauderdale Strikers

WakeMed Soccer Park; Cary, N.C. 7:00 pm

Atlanta Silverbacks vs. FC Edmonton

Atlanta Silverbacks Park; Atlanta, Ga. 7:30 pm

Sunday, September 29

New York Cosmos vs. Tampa Bay Rowdies

James M. Shuart Stadium; Hempstead, N.Y. 5:00 pm

NASL Standings P W D L F A P

New York Cosmos 8 4 3 1 9 7 15

Tampa Bay Rowdies 8 3 5 0 18 12 14

Carolina RailHawks 8 3 2 3 11 9 11

Minnesota United FC 8 3 2 3 10 9 11

Fort Lauderdale Strikers 8 3 2 3 7 9 11

Atlanta Silverbacks 8 2 4 2 8 9 10

FC Edmonton 8 1 5 2 7 8 8

San Antonio Scorpions 8 1 1 6 11 18 4

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



North American Soccer League Stories from September 25, 2013


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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