The New York Cosmos had not won in their previous four trips to Carolina, but the fifth time proved to be the charm. Despite trailing 1-0 at the halftime break, Gio Savarese's side managed to dominate the second 45 minutes, and in the end, won by a comfortable 3-1 margin.
Leo Fernandes, Lucky Mkosana, and Adam Moffat had the goals for the Cosmos, with Fernandes' goal, his seventh, putting him in the team lead. Savarese had nothing but good things to say, following the second 45 minutes:
"It was definitely one of the best second halves we've had because we managed the ball really well, we managed the game in a good way, we created chances, we defended well and we moved the ball in a very good way. The team looked very mature in those times. I thought it was a very good performance."
"We moved the ball faster from the back, we were able to beat the lines of pressure quicker, we got guys in the box on crosses with more numbers and we were able to pressure them higher and win balls in areas that could be more dangerous."
The victory moves the Cosmos into a four-way tie for second in the fall standings, thought they've got at least a game in hand over each of the other clubs sitting on 15 points. First place Ottawa had the weekend off, leaving them four points clear of New York having played the same number of matches.