PREVIEW | Cosmos vs. Fury FC

After a scoreless draw on the road against the Atlanta Silverbacks, the New York Cosmos return home. This weekend, however, features the club’s first visit to Brooklyn where they will take on Ottawa Fury FC at MCU Park with kickoff at 7:00 p.m. ET.

Team Overview

New York Cosmos: The Cosmos remain one of three undefeated NASL sides going into Week 5 of the Spring Season, and hold the league’s best record (2W-2D-0L, eight points). They’ll aim to increase their one-point lead over the Tampa Bay Rowdies in the standings come Saturday.

Similar to its start in 2014, New York is allowing the fewest goals per contest (0.25) of any team in the league. Goalkeeper Jimmy Maurer is a big part of that. Another clean sheet for the Cosmos defense would go a long way in securing them a win and bolstering their pole position in the standings.

Ottawa Fury FC: Contrary to the Cosmos, Fury FC has allowed three goals in each of its last three contests. Two of those three games were against NASL rival FC Edmonton, but took place outside of league play. The Eddies dispatched Fury FC with a 6-2 aggregate scoreline in the home and away legs of the Amway Canadian Championship matchup.

Ottawa (1W-1D-2L, four points) occupies the eighth spot in the NASL standings. Approaching the midway point of the Spring Season, the Canadian side needs to string together wins in order to contest for the Spring title and an automatic place in the postseason. Fury FC has dropped three consecutive matches in league and Canadian Championship play, and their lone NASL win of the year came in their home opener against Minnesota United.

It’s been an exhausting run for Ottawa over the last two weeks. Fury FC is set to play its fifth match since April 18, and the Cosmos offer no reprieve.

Matchup History

These two teams matched up three times in 2014, Ottawa’s inaugural season, with the Cosmos winning all three contests by one goal each. The home team’s undefeated record will be on the line in Coney Island.

The last game played between these teams was back on October 11, 2014, at Shuart Stadium. Cosmos winger Hagop Chirishian scored in second-half stoppage time, assisted by Hunter Freeman, to cap off a 2-1 victory. Forward Tom Heinemann of Fury FC had equalized off a feed from Philippe Davies in the 58th minute.

The Cosmos won each of the first two meetings 1-0 back on June 8 and July 20. Ottawa set, at the time, an NASL Modern Era attendance record in the July fixture, packing nearly 15,000 fans into TD Place for the club’s first match in its new home.

Notes

• The Cosmos are playing in Brooklyn and MCU Park for the first time, which provides an opportunity for marquee offseason acquisition Raúl and the rest of the team to showcase their talent in one of the five boroughs. MCU Park is hosting its first professional soccer match.
• Right after MCU Park’s first soccer match the venue will host its second. Reserve side New York Cosmos B will play its inaugural match in the National Premier Soccer League against the Brooklyn Italians. Cosmos assistant coach Alecko Eskandarian will make his first appearance as head coach of Cosmos B, and U.S. youth international Haji Wright will suit up for his new club. Kickoff is scheduled for 9:35 p.m. ET.
• The Cosmos remain at the top of the NASL standings with eight points, one ahead of the Tampa Bay Rowdies. A scoreless draw in Atlanta last weekend extended New York’s season-opening unbeaten run to four games, its longest unbeaten streak to open a season in the modern era.
• Coming into Saturday goalkeeper Jimmy Maurer and the Cosmos have allowed the fewest goals, just one, in the NASL. On the other hand, Ottawa Fury FC goalkeeper Romuald Peiser and his defense are tied for the most goals allowed at seven.

Quotes

"We know that Ottawa is a difficult team, and a team with even more resources and talent this year. They're going to come here and give us a good game, so we need to be prepared for this match. We want to make sure we give it our best every weekend and treat each game like a final." – Head coach Giovanni Savarese

"In terms of the match, we'll prepare the same way we always do. We realize we have a difficult team to play against, and we're excited for the opportunity. And we're very proud to have the opportunity to play in Brooklyn for the very first time." – Team captain Carlos Mendes