2015 NASL Spring Season Week Four Roundup

After four weeks of the North American Soccer League spring season, the New York Cosmos lead atop the table has been reduced to just one point. Here's what happened around the league:

Fort Lauderdale Strikers 3 - Ottawa Fury 1

Our next opponent dropped to the Strikers as Ottowa put up a valiant fight against the Strikers, but couldn’t come back after going down 2-0. The first half ended 1-0, but a 20-yard shot from Freitas added one more to the Striker’s lead. Despite a consolation from Ottawa, the Strikers put the game away in injury time. Both of these teams put up a good effort, and playing  each is going to be, at the very least, interesting.

Indy Eleven 1 - Carolina RailHawks 1

Indy adds one more 1-1 tie to their record after they gave up a late goal to the Railhawks at home. In true Indy style, a sold-out crowd cheered on the 11 as they put the ball just past the Railhawks in the first half. However, despite multiple attacks on the Carolina goal, the Railhawks just managed to pop in a goal late in the second half. Despite last season’s woes, Indy is playing pretty consistent, and have planted themselves in a solid 4th place.

Tampa Bay Rowdies 3 - Jacksonville Armada 2

The Rowdies bounced back from their 2-0 loss at Shuart last weekend, coming back in a drama-filled match which saw the expansion side controlling the match into halftime with a 2-1 lead. However, the last 45 minutes saw the Rowdies blasting back to make it 3-2. Despite the average showing at Shuart last week, the Rowdies are looking strong at 2nd place just behind the Cosmos.

Minnesota United 2 - San Antonio Scorpions 2

The future MLS side and the current champions played to a draw in Minnesota as the Loons fighting the Scorpions to the bitter end. The home side conceded first, but after a change of mentality, tied it up in the 34th minute. After going up 2-1 in the second half and a bit of a refereeing trouble in San Antonio’s favor, Untied gave up a  heartbreaker penalty in the 90th which San Antonio slotted in to make the game end 2-2. Despite this, these two sides, in theory the strongest in the league, still hold the last two spots in the table.

Atlanta Silverbacks 0 - New York Cosmos 0

Now we come to the Cosmos, who hold their unbeaten record against the Silverbacks with a fairly "tame" game. Standout performances include Lucky Mkosana, who gave the Atlanta defenders some grief. The otherwise somewhat boring game was punctuated by the most odd occurrence: Raul had to be escorted off by police after fans swarmed the pitch post-game.