New York Cosmos fight for second straight NASL Championship Final
|New York Cosmos are in their second straight NASL Championship Final, tonight’s game meeting with Indy.
So far if Cosmos win tonight’s will be the first back-to-back NASL champions of the Modern Era and only the second in league history, joining the 1977-78 Cosmos. It would be New York’s eighth NASL title overall.
The only professional soccer club in the country to match that number was the Philadelphia, winners of eight American Soccer League championships from 1934-56.
New York and Indy have met nine times in NASL regular season action in the past three years. All six matches in 2014 and 2015 were draws, while this year saw the home team take all three games (two for Indy and one for the Cosmos). The two teams played twice in the Fall Season, with the home team winning 3-0 each time.
Streaking: Counting their 2-1 win over Rayo OKC last week, the Cosmos have won four consecutive matches and are unbeaten in their last seven games (one draw). They have only conceded four goals on that run, and have four clean sheets in the seven games.
Golden Juan: Juan Arangohas been awarded the 2016 NASL Golden Ball, given to the league’s MVP. The Venezuelan midfielder finished second in the league in both goals (15) and assists (7).