Sports stats

Late Goal Keeps New York Cosmos Unbeaten

May 30, 2015 - North American Soccer League (NASL) News Release


NEW YORK - Raî=BAl showed the skill and quality that made him a star in Spain, scoring a goal late in the second half to give the visiting New York Cosmos a 1-1 draw against Minnesota United FC and preserve their unbeaten record in the NASL's Spring Season on Saturday night in Blaine, Minn.

The draw gives the Cosmos 19 points with one remaining match, which will come at home against Jacksonville on June 13. A victory by the Cosmos would have clinched the Spring Season Championship, and a win by Minnesota would have moved the Loons to within three points, with one game in hand.

It was the second time in three weeks the Cosmos snatched a point on the road after trailing late in a game. At Carolina on May 16, the Cosmos scored twice in second half stoppage time to earn a 2-2 draw. The Cosmos now travel to Cuba for a historic match against that country's national team on Tuesday.

Elsewhere, the Tampa Bay Rowdies looked like they were going to climb to second place, but a long-distance strike in the last minute of stoppage time from Indy Eleven's Kyle Hyland ensured the Rowdies would only take away a point on Saturday night.

Below is a full recap of all the action from around the league:

Minnesota United FC 1, New York Cosmos 0

Minnesota (3W-4D-1L, 13 points), playing before its fourth sold-out house (9,317 on Saturday night) of the season, broke out quickly. Pablo Campos got his head on a free kick from Kevin Venegas and nodded it past Cosmos (5-4-0, 19) goalkeeper Jimmy Maurer in the ninth minute. For Campos, it was his fourth goal of the season and 50th in the NASL. With the Loons appearing to be headed for a victory, the Cosmos' Spanish star Raî=BAl deftly chested down a long pass and calmly slotted a left-footed shot past Sammy Ndjock for the late equalizer. It was his fourth goal of the season for the unbeaten, first-place Cosmos.

Indy Eleven 2, Tampa Bay Rowdies 2

In a match that was stopped for a few hours due to inclement weather, Indy Eleven and the Tampa Bay Rowdies played to a dramatic 2-2 draw at Carroll Stadium in Indianapolis. Dylan Mares opened the scoring for Indy Eleven (2-1-3, 9) in the 21st minute, converting a pass from Brian Brown to put the hosts ahead. Just seconds later, the match went under a lengthy weather delay. Once play resumed, the Rowdies (3-3-2, 12) looked like a different team, finding the net in each half to take a 2-1 lead. Just when it looked like the visitors may have gathered three points, Indy's Kyle Hyland scored a brilliant long-distance strike in the seventh minute of stoppage time to clinch a dramatic 2-2 draw. The Rowdies will be severely depleted going into next week's match against FC Edmonton, as Stefan Antonijevic, Georgi Hristov, and Maicon Santos were each sent off.

Jacksonville Armada FC 0, Carolina RailHawks 4

Jacksonville entered Saturday night as winners of all three of their previous home matches, but their opponents, Carolina (3-4-2, 13), took an early lead and never looked back. Defender Connor Tobin headed a cross past Jacksonville (3-1-4, 10) goalkeeper Miguel Gallardo in the ninth minute. The RailHawks then made it 2-0 in the 36th minute when Neil Hlavaty struck a curling shot from the top of the penalty area into the upper 90. Carolina added two more -- one on a free kick by Leo Osaki, the second a penalty by Mark Anderson -- before the end of the first half. The match was played in front of a sellout crowd of 8,573 at Community First Park.

San Antonio Scorpions 1, Fort Lauderdale Strikers 1

After last week's 3-0 whitewashing by the Cosmos, host San Antonio (2-1-5, 8) wasted little time against Fort Lauderdale, playing in front of 6,396 at Toyota Field. Joseph Nane's goal in the 21st minute gave the Scorpions the lead; it was the first goal of his NASL career. The Strikers (2-1-5, 8) tied the match a few minutes before halftime when James Marcelin passed up a shot and slid the ball to Stefano Pinho for an easy tap into an open net. It was Fort Lauderdale's first league goal in three matches. The Scorpions finished the match with 10 men after Stephen DeRoux was shown his second yellow card of the match in the 87th minute.



North American Soccer League Stories from May 30, 2015


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.


Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central