Rowdies stay alive in spring season title race, Minnesota United falls

The North American Soccer League weekend kicked off with just three teams still mathematically alive in the chase for the spring season title, and following Saturday night's matches, that number has been cut to just two. The New York Cosmos can only be caught by the Tampa Bay Rowdies, and the odds of that are slim, at best.

Minnesota United entered the evening with a shot at catching the boys in green, but needed to win their final two matches in order to keep those hopes alive. Their 1-1 draw with the Carolina RailHawks ensured that they wouldn't be repeating as spring champions, however, and will have to improve during the fall season if they want to host a playoff match for the second consecutive year.

Like Minnesota, the Rowdies needed to win out, and hope the Cosmos didn't earn another point in order to keep their hopes alive. While the 2-1 victory on Saturday evening keeps them mathematically alive, it leaves them with an awful lot of work to do next weekend to overtake the Cosmos.

For the Cosmos, a win or a draw next weekend ensures they win the title, while a loss leaves the door open for Thomas Rongen's side. The Cosmos still hold a commanding advantage in GD (+6), which is the first tiebreaker, and have a three goal cushion in the second scenario, total goals scored.