After scoring just twice in the last four games, the New York Cosmos enjoyed an avalanche of goals Saturday night, scoring three times in a span of 14 minutes early in the second half to beat the Tampa Bay Rowdies, 3-0, at Al Lang Stadium.
It was the first time all season that two forwards scored in the same game with Mads Stokkelien and Paulo Mendes finding the back of the net, while Ayoze added a free kick goal.
“It’s a great thing for the forwards to be able to find the goal. It’s very positive,” Cosmos coach Giovanni Savarese said. “The way we play, everybody will have the opportunity to score. The important thing is we find the goals.”
The goals came early and often after a scoreless first half.
In the 48th minute, Stokkelien got his head on a cross by Marcos Senna and then beat Tampa Bay substitute goalkeeper Ryan Thompson with a low shot to put New York in front.
“It was a great goal, the way he was able to be composed in heading the ball to the space and finishing the way he did,” Savarese said. “It’s something a quality player can do.”
Three minutes later, both Senna and Ayoze stood over a free kick from 20 yards out, but it was Ayoze who struck the low shot through the outside of the wall and to Thompson’s right to double the Cosmos advantage.
“Ayoze felt he could strike the ball toward that area, he saw an opening and he took the free kick and scored the goal,” Savarese said.
Paulo Mendes capped the scoring in the 62nd minute. The Brazilian stalked Jay Needham and stripped the Tampa Bay defender from behind before putting a low shot past Thompson to give the Cosmos a commanding 3-0 lead.
“We knew defensively they were having a little trouble coming out from the back, especially because the field was very bumpy,” Savarese said. “We spoke to the players to make sure they pressed a little higher. We were rewarded for a reason.”
As happy as he was with the second highest scoring output of the campaign following a season-opening 4-0 win over Atlanta, Savarese was more pleased with the effort in the defensive third.
A dangerous Tampa Bay attack was muted by the Cosmos defense with Jimmy Maurer making six saves to earn his fourth clean sheet.
“Not only Maurer, but the whole team defensively was very strong,” Savarese said. “Jimmy was very brave coming off his line to be able to punch away some of the balls to relieve the pressure and his distribution today was very good as well.”
Fullback Hunter Freeman was especially effective on both sides of the ball. While he is known as a quality crosser, Freeman also showcased his shooting ability with a long-distance attempt in the 20th minute that forced Tampa Bay goalkeeper Matt Pickens to dive to his right for the shot that was just wide of the far post.
Pickens sustained a quad/thigh injury on the ensuing goal kick and was replaced by Thompson moments later.
“From the bench it looked like the ball was going in,” Savarese said. “He struck it very well, it was just a matter of a little space for the ball not to go inside.”
The Cosmos have shaken off back-to-back 1-0 losses with consecutive wins and trail first-place Minnesota by three points heading into the final three games of the regular season.
