Striker Bledi Bardic struck for a hat-trick in the opening half hour to power the New York Cosmos to a 4-1 victory over the Brooklyn Italians in a National Premier Soccer League match at the Metropolitan Oval on Saturday night.

 

The triumph extended the Cosmos' regular-season winning streak to a club-record 18 games, dating back to the first game of the 2018 NPSL season.

 

The Cosmos (8-0-0, 24 points) lead the North Atlantic Conference while the second-place Italians (5-1-1, 16) suffered their first defeat of the season.

 

Bardic, who has scored five NPSL goals and seven across all competitions, recorded his first three-goal game for the Cosmos. He also tallied the game-winner in the 2-0 road win over New York Athletic Club last Sunday.

 

The Cosmos scored early and often in the first half against a club that it had nothing but close encounters in 2018.

 

The 27-year-old Bardic, who has been getting into scoring form lately, connected with the game only four minutes old to give the Cosmos a 1-0 edge, knocking in a rebound off of an Ansi Agolli shot.

 

His strike partner Aly Hassan doubled the score in the 14th minute with a diving header. 

 

Bardic was far from finished, though, lifting the Cosmos to a 3-0 advantage in the 17th minute before adding his third of the night in the 30th minute.

 

With the Cosmos enjoying a four-goal lead, the Italians finally solved goalkeeper Paul Blanchette in the 87th minute.

 

The Cosmos will continue their four-game road swing at Boston City FC on Saturday, June 15, and then at the Rhode Island Reds FC on Sunday, June 16.

 

They return to Mitchel Athletic Complex in Uniondale, N.Y., to start a four-game homestand against the Greater Lowell Rough Diamonds on Sunday, June 23, at 8 p.m.