After a humbling 4-1 home loss against league-leading Ottawa Fury FC to finish September, New York Cosmos goalkeeper Jimmy Maurer knew he and his teammates needed to buckle down for the final five games of the regular season. Heading into that match, the Cosmos hadn’t lost at Shuart Stadium since August of last year.

Now the last two weeks of the NASL Season are here. New York is unbeaten through three October fixtures, outscoring its opponents 7-1. Maurer’s goals against average has dipped to 0.96. His clean sheet total has swelled to 11 in league play. Most importantly, his side is within two points of Ottawa for the top spot overall. So far, so good.

“As a professional, you’re going to have ups and downs throughout the season,” Maurer told NYCosmos.com. “Whether you come off a win or a big loss, you have to come back to work the same way, and you’ve got to put the hard work in.

“That’s what we did after the loss to Ottawa. We didn’t let it faze us. We just kept working how we always do. Now we’ve gotten back to our good results.”

Maurer came up big on October 7 with a shutout in Atlanta, exhibiting his penchant for the spectacular save in his hometown. In what will be remembered as one of his signature moments this season, the Georgia-born goalkeeper stymied mounting pressure from the Silverbacks with a scrambling double save.

Add that one to the highlight reel, @JimsMaurer. #NYCosmos #ATLvNYC pic.twitter.com/5RsEXbK0FF

— New York Cosmos (@NYCosmos) October 8, 2015

Maurer would tally another clean sheet on October 11 back at home against Edmonton.

“It’s been a great last couple of games,” he said. “We’ve defended as a team. It’s all eleven players. A great performance by the group to get back-to-back shutouts.”

How will New York’s first-choice goalkeeper prepare for the final two matches of the regular season? As always, it’ll be a purposefully relaxed process.

“The day of a game, honestly there’s a lot of sitting around,” said Maurer. “We joke that we like those midday games better just because you don’t have to wait as long for the game.

“I get up in the morning, have a good breakfast, have a little walk with the team if we’re on an away trip. At home I’ll go take a walk in the park with my kids and my wife. When I get back I probably watch a bunch of soccer on TV and have lunch. Then, I always take about an hour nap, wake up, shower and head to the stadium.”

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and Maurer’s mother was one of many breast cancer survivors honored at the team’s home match October 4. He’s also embraced a change in his gameday attire for the occasion.

“The last couple of years [West Coast Goalkeeping] have done an October pink glove, and they’ve always put the proceeds towards breast cancer charities,” Maurer said. “With a background of having my mom as a breast cancer survivor, every year I’ve worn them. “This year I wanted to do it the whole month of October.”

He’ll don the pink gloves next when the Cosmos meet the San Antonio Scorpions on the road this Saturday, October 24 at 8:30 p.m. ET. Fans can watch the match live on ONE World Sports and ESPN3.