Photo by New York Cosmos
By AARON CRANFORD
After 10 games, the NASL Spring Season will come to a close for all clubs Saturday, and the New York Cosmos could claim the title by not losing a single one of those contests in 2015.
The Cosmos enter Saturday’s clash against Jacksonville Armada FC on a high after topping the Cuban national team, 4-1.
The only challenger left in the Cosmos’ way is the Tampa Bay Rowdies, who have a tough contest in the Atlanta Silverbacks to look forward to. The Rowdies will need a convincing win and a convincing defeat from the Cosmos in order to steal the crown away.
Meanwhile, Minnesota United FC will look to end the Spring Season on a high note vs. the Fort Lauderdale Strikers after struggling for results in the beginning of the season.
Take a look at what this weekend’s NASL action has in store:
New York Cosmos vs. Jacksonville Armada FC (Saturday, 7 p.m., WatchESPN)
The Cosmos only need a draw to claim the Spring Season title, but they’ll be looking for all three points when Armada FC visit the Big Apple.
Armada FC has had a respectable season, being its inaugural campaign. Jacksonville has posted some solid results, such as its win vs. the San Antonio Scorpions, and Jemal Johnson leads the charge with three goals. However, as of late, Armada FC has not impressed, unable to tally a win in its last five competitive matches.
Meanwhile, the Cosmos are led by Spanish star Raul, who’s enjoyed tallying four goals thus far in NASL. Walter Restrepo, Leonardo Fernandes and Ayoze García Perez have all contributed to the Cosmos’ success going forward, and they all will want to finish their spring campaign off strong.
Indy Eleven vs. FC Edmonton (Saturday, 7:30 p.m., WatchESPN)
In the crowded middle of the spring table, Indy and Edmonton can stand apart from the rest with a win on Saturday.
FC Edmonton has been one of the most entertaining teams to watch this NASL Spring Season because its usually not involved in a low-scoring affair. Lance Laing, Ritchie Jones and Daryl Fordyce all boast three or more goals in 2015, while Tomi Ameobi has also been a key factor going forward.
Dylan Mares has been heavily involved in Indy’s attack, contributing three assists in the spring, and against an FC Edmonton defense that is sometimes porous, Indy could try to ride its campaign out in style with a few goals.
Tampa Bay Rowdies vs. Atlanta Silverbacks (Saturday, 7:30 p.m., WatchESPN)
The Rowdies need a bit of luck and need to show their skill in their final spring showdown with the Silverbacks.
Georgi Hristov has been the Rowdies key man, distributing five assists, the most out of any player in NASL, and he’ll need to create against a resilient Silverbacks side. Steward Ceus has been of the better goalkeepers in the league to this point for the Silverbacks, but the Georgia club will need its forwards to come through in order to avoid sitting dead-last at season’s end.
Minnesota United FC vs. Fort Lauderdale Strikers (Saturday, 8 p.m., WatchESPN)
Minnesota United did not have the sort of start it wanted to in the 2015 Spring Season, but lately, the wheels have been churning, and the goals have been rolling in.
Despite the slow start, Pablo Campos leads the way for the Loons with four goals. However, with Miguel Ibarra set to depart the NASL for Liga MX, Minnesota United will have to learn how to function without the U.S. Men’s National Team midfielder.
The Strikers will have their hands full, but they’ll be hoping to bounce back from their 1-2 defeat to Indy Eleven last Saturday.
San Antonio Scorpions vs. Ottawa Fury FC (Saturday, 8:30 p.m., WatchESPN)
In the Spring Season’s final match, defending champions San Antonio Scorpions will take on Ottawa Fury FC in an affair that will hopefully give the Scorpions something to look forward to in the Fall.
It has been a rough campaign for the 2015 champions, as they currently sit in the middle of the packed spring table. Forward Omar Cummings has been one of the lone bright spots, leading the NASL with five goals.
However, Fury FC hopes to further the Scorpions agony with a win in Texas. But Ottawa will need more than just the play from Paulo Junior to topple the Scorpions.
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What do you think about this weekend’s NASL action? Do you see the Cosmos taking the spring season crown?
Share your thoughts below.
That picture makes me think of an old Howard Cosell line….look at all those fans disguised as trees!
Harhar, yeah. 18,000 fans in Cuba, with an all day rain. You nailed it.
The 9325786533rd time this has been written in a comment section post or MLS bot blog, please tell me what day the NASL will collapse so all the STH around the league can cancel their orders in time.
OMG. Another little bitch….
Kids these days…
Stop crying like a baby! Nobody cares about your divas opinion…
I’m a Cosmos fan you idiot, that was directed at the guy who said NASL was going to collapse and teams should join USL.
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Well, good news is you’re not a bot, but a real human being who makes mistakes.
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#greentideworldwide
#clubbeforeleague
You’re an embarrassment to NASL
And who are u? Coby Jones? Lol…
Let’s go Cosmos!!
NASL is a lowly league, losing 7 contests in the open cup to the USL.
NASL should call for pro/rel with USL and all their teams would move down to Div. 3 status where they seem to belong, any of the good teams/franchises should move to MLS eventually and the rest will probably wither on the vine or join USL, which is a more viable league…
Bla Bla blah… kid stop crying…. blah Bla blah..
Oh yeah they lost to USL… Wow.. what a big deal bitch!
On the real, please keep talking about the humiliating beat down USL gave NASL this year. Those stupid NASL clubs, evidently a couple didn’t even use their first teams, need to know people are watching and laughing at them.
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They need to know people are watching their failures – especially their own supporters. If you support a NASL, let them know they’re expected to beat teams in the MLS reserve league.
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#USOpenCup
Lol.. like MLS teams do care about us cup…
I was hoping there would be some insight regarding Cosmos & Silverbacks and how they were going to approach this weekend with Open Cup games midweek.
I was wondering the same thing, I’m guessing nobody really knows. I wouldn’t be surprised if we see B teams from both teams, since the season standings are pretty much set already.
It is weird that these posts, about soccer in the NASL, never get any comments.
But the comments on MLS ( or the Cosmos ) always get people who really care about the soccer.
Why? Almost like they just want MLS to fail.
I gotta go read about the break. I don’t really get it. I thought I saw they start up in two weeks?
Quit whining about American soccer – unless it is NASL.
Hypocrite.
There’s minimal comments regarding NASL on SBI because this site doesn’t cater to the NASL fan. SBI has bare bones previews/reviews, Cosmos features and occasional NASL tidbits. By no means does the site offer in-depth NASL coverage. And that’s not a complaint. I don’t come here to read about my NASL team; I leave that to other outlets. I’m here to keep up with national team news, MLS (no team in my market) and a little of the Euro stuff.
I’m not buying your conspiracy that NASL fans want MLS to fail. I would say the majority of NASL fans want to close the gap in quality between the two leagues, but at the end of the day, we all recognize that it’s a Division 2 league (until USSF says otherwise). It benefits soccer in this country if the lower leagues are competitive and ambitious. The hope is that competition or the threat of competition forces MLS to constantly evaluate and innovate, which in turn should improve the quality of our top league.
Maybe some NASL fans have grand illusions of Division 1 status, but at the end of the day, it benefits all facets of soccer in the country to have strong (and financially secure) lower divisions. Where else are the youngsters going to get their feet wet, professionally, and the veterans get one last pay day.
Kid… how come u always cry like a baby!?
If u know so much about soccer.. make your own web bitch!!
Lol… these bitches acting like they know everything..