By Jeffrey Wong (@jwongnyy)

WHO

New York Cosmos (3^rd in Fall Season Standings, 1^st Overall) vs. Ottawa Fury FC (1^st, 3^rd)

WHEN & WHERE

Tuesday, September 22 at 7:30 p.m. ET | James M. Shuart Stadium at Hofstra University

Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Night with the Cosmos! Here’s a taste of what’s to come:

• Stay after the game for an autograph session with our Hispanic Cosmos players, including Andrés Flores, Sebastián Guenzatti, Walter Restrepo, Gastón Cellerino and more.
• Miss Universe, Colombia's Paulina Vega, will appear at the match and take pictures with fans pregame.
• Local Salvadorian band Ruben Y La Nueva Era will be playing Bachata and Cumbia style music at Gate C prior to the match and postgame behind the net while the players sign autographs.

WATCH & FOLLOW

• ONE World Sports
• WRHU Hofstra Radio (88.7 FM)
• Follow @NYCosmos_Match and #NYCvOTT on Twitter

THE STAKES

New York Cosmos: The Cosmos are coming off of a 0-0 draw on Saturday night against Minnesota United FC. The game was fairly balanced as neither team had much of an advantage in attacks (26-24 Minnesota), shots on target (4-4), total shots (11-9 Minnesota) or time of possession (50-50). The Cosmos had chances to make their mark on the score sheet as Walter Restrepo and Raúl almost broke the scoreless tie in the 19^th and 53^rd minutes.

On the other end, Cosmos goalkeeper Jimmy Maurer made a spectacular save of an Alejandro Vela strike in the 83^rd minute.

Alejandro Vela with the point-blank shot late, but @JimsMaurer denies. That guy is good. ⚽️ ➡️ ✋ #NYCosmos #MNUvNYC pic.twitter.com/g641MYUGqs

— New York Cosmos (@NYCosmos) September 20, 2015

Minnesota goals from Daniel Mendes and Christian Ramirez were disallowed in the 69^th and 73^rd minutes, respectively. Mendes’ shot was called back due to a handball and Ramirez’s was waived off for offsides. The 0-0 result extended the Cosmos’ unbeaten streak against Minnesota to eight matches.

With the draw, the Cosmos maintain their three-point lead over the Loons in the Combined Season Standings. The Cosmos are looking to keep this edge to secure home field advantage throughout The Championship, the NASL's four-team postseason tournament. Entering Tuesday’s match, the Cosmos look to extend their unbeaten streak at Shuart Stadium to 19 matches.

Ottawa Fury FC: Since their last meeting with the Cosmos on August 26 the Fury are undefeated in four matches, going 2-2-0 (WDL). Their last result came in a 2-0 away victory against the Fort Lauderdale Strikers on Saturday night. A second-half offensive attack with goals from Aly Alberto Hassan (52’) and Sinisa Ubiparipovic (81’) gave Ottawa its eighth victory of the Fall Season.

The victory extended Ottawa’s seven-match unbeaten streak away from home. Fury FC are looking for their first-ever victory over the Cosmos. With Minnesota United’s draw against the Cosmos, Ottawa is now two points ahead of United in the Fall Standings.

MATCHUP HISTORY

The Cosmos and the Fury have played each other twice this season. The first matchup was a memorable one, as Lucky Mkosana’s 14^th-minute goal gave the Cosmos a victory in their Brooklyn debut at MCU Park back on May 2.

The Cosmos’ most recent matchup with Ottawa was a scoreless slugfest on August 26 at TD Place. The Cosmos maintained an advantage in possession (56-44), but neither team had a true edge on offense as they were nearly deadlocked on attacks (28-26 Cosmos) and shots on target (3-2 Ottawa).

NOTES

Midweek matchups: On Tuesday night the Cosmos will play their third weeknight game this NASL Season. New York beat Minnesota 2-1 at home on Wednesday, August 5 and drew Ottawa 0-0 on the road Wednesday, August 26. The Fury meet the Cosmos after back-to-back games against Fort Lauderdale on August 12 (D 0-0) and August 19 (W 2-0). The Cosmos will play one more weeknight game this year: in Atlanta against the Silverbacks on Wednesday, October 7.

Great goalkeeping: The NASL’s top two goalkeepers will face off as Ottawa’s Romauld Peiser brings his NASL-best 0.78 GAA (goals against average) against the Cosmos’ Jimmy Maurer (0.91 GAA). Maurer kept a clean sheet against high-scoring Minnesota United this past Saturday in a road draw, while Peiser helped blank the Strikers at Lockhart Stadium to secure a Fury win.

A sign of things to come? Oliver Minatel netted his first two NASL goals this year during Ottawa’s last four games. The Brazilian forward was the club’s top scorer in 2014.

Shots fired: The Cosmos look to crack 200 shots taken for the season Tuesday night. They stand atop the NASL in the category with 196 shots.