ALWAYS ROOM TO IMPROVE

Jimmy Maurer had quite the 2015 with the New York Cosmos. He started 28 of 30 NASL regular season matches and both postseason fixtures for the boys in green, putting up a 0.93 goals against average coupled with 12 shutouts in a championship-winning campaign. After a demanding year, he enjoyed a deserved three-week vacation back home in Atlanta with family and friends. But he was also keen to prepare for what was ahead.

“Staying fit in the offseason is always very important,” Maurer told NYCosmos.com. “It’s not too long, but it’s a decent amount of time. You’ve got to make sure you’re training.”

Now entering his fourth preseason camp with the Cosmos and third as the first choice goalkeeper, Maurer knows that the work he puts into training is vital to attaining the goals he sets for the season.

“My mindset is always the same. It’s the same as last year,” he said. “I’m doing everything I can to try and win another championship. And that just breaks down into taking it one day at a time in preseason and trying to bring my best every day, get better every day, and push the guys around me.”

Two weeks in, preseason training has been good for reconnecting with longtime teammates and forging chemistry with newcomers. 

“All the new guys have come in with great attitudes. It’s been a pretty seamless integration so far,” said Maurer. “It’s pretty early on, so we’re getting to know each other for sure. But everyone’s come in and put in some good, hard work on the field. We look forward to the upcoming preseason trips to keep building bonds.”

New York has three preseason dates scheduled in California this month: Feb. 20 vs. FC Ararat Yerevan of the Armenian first division, Feb. 24 against PDL club Fresno Fuego and an NASL Golden Era reunion with now-MLS side San Jose Earthquakes on Feb. 27. Maurer says preseason trips like these help create the togetherness needed to contend for another title.

“It’s always about the cohesion on the field. There’s little partnerships, little triangles that guys need to get used to,” he said. “If there’s someone new playing next to them, playing in front of them, playing behind them, they need to connect.

“[There are] little nuances [in] getting familiar with your teammates, knowing what they’re going to do before they do it, as well as any formations – new or old – we’re going to play.”

So what is the 2014 NASL Best XI goalkeeper and two-time league champion looking to improve on personally in 2016?

“Everything,” he said. “I want to be even better with my distribution. I want to expand my range on crosses, trying to expand my control of the game. There’s always a million things, looking back on video. A lot of things to improve on, and you take it piece by piece – a day at a time – and try to get better in every way you can.”

HUNGRY FOR MORE

During the offseason, Lucky Mkosana returned to a place where he hadn’t been in five years: his home.

“I went back to Zimbabwe to see my family,” Mkosana said. “It was so good to touch base with them and catch up on life.”

The 28-year-old came stateside and became the leading goal scorer in Dartmouth College men’s soccer history before turning pro in 2012. Last season he became an NASL champion with the Cosmos, but this year he’ll have a renewed outlook on the game.

“I feel like we have to just forget about what happened last season and take this season as if we’re just starting off, with the right mindset,” said Mkosana. “We need to win everything and win a championship again. It’s not just a matter of ‘defending’ it. We actually have to take it for the second year in a row.”

2015 was a career year for Mkosana. He scored seven goals across all competitions, including a match-saver in the 90^th minute of the inaugural East River Derby. He also scored the first Cosmos goal in the club’s historic Havana friendly against the Cuban national team.

According to him, there’s more work to do.

“Personally, I think I need to be hungrier,” he said. “That’s my mindset. I need to get into the game and I need to score a goal. I need to make more runs and work hard defensively to help the team.”

He’ll do that surrounded by new faces in the attacking third. While 2015 teammates like Spanish legend Raúl, midfielder Leo Fernandes and Argentine striker Gastón Cellerino will not take the pitch alongside Mkosana, Venezuelan midfielders Juan Arango and Yohandry Orozco and Costa Rican striker Jairo Arrieta will.

“The coaches do a good job with getting the right guys for the team. Not just good soccer players but good human beings,” Mkosana said. “That was a big part that we had last year, and they’re trying to do the same thing this year, too. As long as the morale is high on the training field, it’s going to be good overall for the entire club.”