NY Cosmos loss over Indy Eleven
|The New York Cosmos had a difficult night on Saturday as they fell 3-0 to Indy Eleven at Michael A. Carroll Stadium.
The loss was the Cosmos’ first since July 27th in Edmonton. The home side got the game’s first chance as Sinisa Ubiparipovic’s shot from just outside the box rolled wide of the post for a Cosmos goal kick in the fifth minute .
In the 27th minute, Nemanja Vukovic’s cross was headed away by the Cosmos defense before it could reach Justin Braun, and then Cosmos goalkeeper Jimmy Maurer alertly caught a cross from Marco Franco before it could reach a teammate.
After a few near misses, Indy Eleven broke the scoreless tie in the 34th minute. A cross from Don Smart was redirected by Eamon Zayed, and Braun was on the receiving end to head the ball past Maurer, giving Indy a 1-0 lead.
Later in the half, David Diosa looked to get the Cosmos even, but Franco came over to knock the ball away from Diosa and keep Indy ahead 1-0 at halftime. Early in the second half, the Eleven doubled their lead as Dylan Mares’ cross was shot in by Zayed inside the six yard box to give Indy a 2-0 lead in the 48th minute.
Just three minutes after the second goal, Indy added another as a hard low shot from outside the box by Mares got past Maurer to give the home team a 3-0 lead after 51 minutes.
Trying to get back in the game, the Cosmos pressed on the attack. Juan Arango’s free kick from long range bounced to Indy goalkeeper Jon Bush, who pounced on it to keep the Cosmos off the board. A couple minutes later, Diosa took a shot from outside the box that sailed over the head of Bush and over the crossbar for a goal kick. In the 60th minute, Sebastian Guenzatti got his head on a cross, but he sent it high as well.
With time winding down, Cosmos substitute Jairo Arrieta got the team’s best chance of the night, a header from eight yards out, but Bush leapt to get his hands on the ball and keep it away from the goal.
The Cosmos (9-4-3 Fall, 15-4-7 Combined) remain on top of the NASL’s Fall Season and Combined Season Standings. They’ll travel to WakeMed Soccer Park for a matchup with the Carolina RailHawks next Wednesday, September 28th, at 7:30 p.m. ET.
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