WHO

  vs.  

WHEN & WHERE

Saturday, April 23 at 8 p.m. ET | NSC Stadium in Blaine, Minn.

WATCH & FOLLOW

• Viewing Party: Buffalo Wild Wings in Westbury, N.Y.
• Watch LIVE on ONE World Sports and at ONEWorldSports.com
• Follow @NYCosmos_Match and #MNUvNYC on Twitter for play-by-play updates

THE STAKES

Prior to last Saturday night’s dramatic defeat in Indianapolis, the New York Cosmos had lost only 12 of 73 NASL regular season games since the reboot season of 2013. Their record in the matches immediately after those losses? Four wins, five draws and two defeats. Giovanni Savarese’s side has demonstrated its ability to bounce back, rarely losing twice in a row. It should be noted, though, that both times the rebooted Cosmos have dropped back-to-back matches, the second match has come away from the friendly confines of Hofstra’s Shuart Stadium.

Enter Minnesota United FC, who’s fresh off a dominant 3-0 win over the Fort Lauderdale Strikers in last weekend’s home opener at NSC Stadium. The Cosmos and Loons each have picked up six points through three fixtures, and each side has scored six goals while conceding only two. Meanwhile the Carolina RailHawks have won all three of their Spring Season matches, putting them three points clear in first place.

Perennial contenders at the top of the table, this matchup between the Cosmos and United – though it comes just four matches into the Spring Season – will carry plenty of weight in the 10-game campaign. On May 30, 2015 the Cosmos trailed United for over 80 minutes before a burst of magic from Spanish star Raúl and Salvadorian international Andrés Flores helped them secure a draw on the road. New York finished the Spring Season with 20 points, edging out Tampa Bay by a single point to capture the title.

MATCHUP HISTORY

In eight tries the Loons have never beaten the Cosmos. New York is 4-4-0 (W-D-L) in the all-time series, winning once at Shuart Stadium and tying twice at NSC Stadium back in 2015. The last meeting was Sept. 19, 2015, a tense scoreless draw marked by steady goalkeeping from Jimmy Maurer and Sammy Ndjock.

NOTES

• Potent attack: With six goals in three games, the Cosmos are off to their best goal scoring start of the reboot era. Midfielders Juan Arango and Adam Moffat lead the squad at two scores apiece, while striker Jairo Arrieta co-leads the league with eight chances created.
• Ayoze involved: No one in the NASL has attempted more passes through three weeks than Cosmos fullback Ayoze. The 30-year-old Spaniard has not missed a minute of match time for New York, completing 73.6 percent of his 174 pass attempts and averaging exactly 58 passes per 90 minutes.
• Battles at the top: After Saturday night’s matchup against second-place Minnesota, New York heads home to prepare for a Sunday, May 1 showdown with the first-place Carolina RailHawks at Hofstra’s Shuart Stadium.