Second half scoring outburst sees Cosmos cruise past Tampa Bay

The spring season has been a bumpy ride for the Cosmos, so it's mildly fitting that things got back on track on the bumpy pitch at Al Lang Stadium. New York looked about as good as they have all season on Saturday night, securing a comfortable 3-0 win that probably wasn't as close as the final score indicates.

While the first half of this one was all Cosmos, the game went into the halftime break with no goals for either side. Unfortunately, that lack of end product has been far too typical this season, as the Cosmos have looked to be superior to their opposition for all but about ten minutes thus far in 2014.

Luckily, the start of the second half see a bit of a scoring explosion. Mads Stokkelien headed a cross into the back of the net just minutes after the restart to open the scoring for the evening, before Ayoze doubled the lead minutes later with an excellent free kick. Paulo Mendes finished the scoring about 15 minutes after it started, nicking the ball off a Tampa defender before slotting the ball into the corner. It was smooth sailing from that point on, and Jimmy Maurer managed to keep his fourth clean sheet of the season as the Cosmos stayed within three points of Minnesota United.

Next up for the Cosmos will be their first match against the Indy Eleven, who sit at the bottom of the NASL table following their loss to the Ottawa Fury. Another comfortable win would be awfully nice, as the goal differential gained last night could prove to be a big key in the title race.