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Fernandes Named Emirates Cosmos Man of the Match

The Cosmos winger put himself in dangerous positions against the Scorpions on August 15 and it paid off.

Published Aug 15, 2015

Leo Fernandes has assumed the mantle of New York Cosmos leading goal scorer this season by often acting as an opportunist, making the most of his team's chances around the box. He did it again on Saturday night at Hofstra's Shuart Stadium, rushing forward to head in a rebound from Raúl's long strike in first half stoppage time.

Raúl's strike from distance hits the crossbar, and @Leo_Fernandes22 is there to finish! 1-1 at the half. #NYCvSAS pic.twitter.com/BPz72dh13f
— New York Cosmos (@NYCosmos) August 16, 2015

Five minutes earlier Fernandes scored an almost identical goal by cleaning up a long-distance blast from Adam Moffat, but he was ruled offside.

The Brazilian-American's finish propelled the Cosmos to a 2-1 win over San Antonio, pushing their unbeaten streak to five games. Fernandes now has six goals in NASL play, and was chosen by the media as Emirates Cosmos Man of the Match.

Members of the media will cast their votes to determine the Emirates Cosmos Man of the Match at every Cosmos home game. At each home match, the winner will receive an Emirates Airbus A380 model airplane with an engraved plaque recognizing the player’s achievement.

The Emirates Cosmos Man of the Match award will culminate in a season-ending Emirates Cosmos Player of the Year award. The recipient of the Emirates Cosmos Player of the Year award will receive two round trip tickets on Emirates from New York (JFK) to Dubai (DXB) to celebrate a triumphant season.

2015 Previous Emirates Cosmos Man of the Match Winners:

Hunter Freeman: August 5 vs. Minnesota United FC (W 2-1)