“Home is where the heart is,” the saying goes. For the Cosmos, New York is home, and home has been good.

With last Saturday evening’s 4-0 victory over The Miami FC at Shuart Stadium, the Cosmos finished their 2016 NASL regular season at home with an undefeated record of 14-2-0 (W-D-L).

“We had a nice crowd and we owed it to the fans to make sure we gave everything that we had,” said Cosmos Head Coach Giovanni Savarese.

The victory carried some history as well, as the Cosmos set a new NASL record of 19 consecutive matches without a regular season loss at home, breaking their own mark of 18 straight home matches unbeaten between the 2014 and 2015 seasons.

Even more staggering are the numbers put up by the Cosmos in the Empire State, recording 11 shutouts and outscoring their opponents by 31 goals. During the Spring Season, the Cosmos only surrendered one goal at home while finishing a perfect 5-0-0.

“We know that we are very strong at home,” midfielder Ruben Bover said. “We know the fans, and I think we play great here.”

Despite the impressive numbers, the mindset has always been the same, and that is to defend their home turf.

“From the beginning, we’ve understood that home is a fortress for us,” Savarese said. “Teams have a difficult time playing against us in our territory, and our guys have always brought the level higher.”

It looked like their undefeated home record would come to an end back on August 13, when the Cosmos went down 2-0 early to the Tampa Bay Rowdies at Shuart Stadium. But they battled back that night. Adam Moffat converted two penalty kicks, and David Diosa netted the game-winner in second-half stoppage time. The result served as a catalyst for the remainder of the season at home; the Cosmos would go on to outscore their opponents 19-1, posting a 6-1-0 record.

“All the guys that have been playing this season have been doing a great job to keep [the streak] going,” said Brian Holt, who was in goal for Saturday night’s match. “Everybody that steps in makes sure we’re prepared to continue that streak.”

Venezuelan midfielder Juan Arango has been vital in his first season at the club. With 15 goals and counting, Arango has already eclipsed Marcos Senna’s Modern Era goal scoring record. Arango even boasts the title as the Cosmos’ top scorer at home this season, tallying eight goals.

According to him, these accomplishments are merely a precursor to the season’s next stage.

“We’ve done great as a team here because we’ve been united,” Arango said. “But it’s still not enough. We have to put forth our best effort to show what we can do in the semifinal.”

With the top seed in the NASL postseason clinched, the road to The Championship will go through New York. Tickets to the The Championship Semifinal on November 5 are available by calling 855-71-COSMOS or visiting nycosmos.com/tickets.