New York welcomes the unbeaten Carolina RailHawks to Hofstra's Shuart Stadium this Sunday, May 1. Click here for tickets. 

For Cosmos defender Ayoze García Pérez – or simply Ayoze – personal accomplishments on the pitch are always secondary. The 2015 Emirates Cosmos Player of the Year has replicated that award-winning form early in 2016, leading New York in touches (334) while playing every minute of the team’s first four matches. That’s a source of pride, but it’s not what truly matters to the 30-year-old Spaniard.

“What makes me the happiest is that I’ve been able to help the team,” Ayoze told NYCosmos.com on Thursday. “And that’s the biggest goal, to be able to accomplish things as a team, and to influence my teammates and make them better players.”

The Cosmos started off their 2016 season with two home victories, but return to Hofstra’s Shuart Stadium this Sunday night fresh off a pair of tough defeats on the road against Indy Eleven and Minnesota United FC.

“It’s been difficult, without a doubt, to deal with such tremendous losses,” said Ayoze.

The former CD Tenerife standout has demonstrated comfort with the ball at his feet since arriving in New York prior to the reboot campaign of 2013. This year he’s been one of the Cosmos’ top passers, completing 171 of 226 attempts.

“I feel proud and honored by these numbers, but they’re merely statistics,” Ayoze said. “What really matters is what we can accomplish as a team.

“We are a team that plays from the back. We try to control the ball as much as we can. We try to play a nice game and practice good soccer. But the most important thing is what’s coming next, what’s ahead of us. We need to rebound from the two losses and try to do better to win the Spring Championship.”

Standing in front of New York this weekend will be the league-leading Carolina RailHawks, who have won all four of their NASL fixtures this Spring Season.

“As we look forward to this game against Carolina, we are really trying to do our best to fix all those small details that will help us defeat the NASL leaders,” said Ayoze.

The Cosmos’ back line trio of Ayoze, Hunter Freeman and Carlos Mendes is one of the longest-tenured starting defensive groups in the NASL, having played together since 2013. Add in goalkeeper Jimmy Maurer, a starter since 2014, and center back Jimmy Ockford, who has returned for his second loan spell from Seattle Sounders this year, and you have a familiar group.

“It’s been really nice to be able to play with these players, pretty much since we’ve started,” Ayoze said. "That gives us a lot of consistency, a lot of drive and a lot of trust to be able to play together.

“It’s gotten to a point where sometimes we don’t have to see each other to know exactly what the other player is going to do, and that definitely helps the team push forward. It’s one of the biggest strengths we have.”

Always focused on putting the right foot forward for the team, the individual statistics mean nothing to Ayoze unless the Cosmos are raising a trophy at the end of the season. And it is with this kind of mentality that he has become a quiet cornerstone of the defense, logging minutes, linking up with teammates and putting forward a winning mentality.