Cosmos claw back from two goals down to draw Forward Madison

The New York Cosmos battled the elements and injuries on Sunday afternoon in Paterson, New Jersey.

The team's first-ever meeting with Forward Madison FC ended 2-2, with the home side at Hinchliffe Stadium coming back from a two-goal deficit early in the second half. However, the run included a nearly 60-minute block of time where the Cosmos were up a player following a Madison red card, yet they were still unable to get a third goal.

Cosmos head coach Davide Corti said after the game that this was a draw that really felt like a loss.

"They were one man down and we should have won this game, but again, one point at this point is good," Corti said. "If they would have played 11 vs 11 and we could have tied up the game like we'd done, it would be something more positive like this. There's some sour in the mouth that stays, those are games that we need to bring home with three points."

Down two goals, up one player

Since the last Cosmos match on April 3, a 3-2 win over Charlotte Independence, goalkeeper Derrek Chan has gone down with injury. Sunday marked Tristan Stephani’s first start in goal since Wednesday, March 25 away at Greenville Triumph, after Stephani's first three games in net ended in losses.

First kick coincided with rain storms picking up across the area, which included wind that was blowing at the backs of the attacking Forward Madison players. The elements, plus more experience functioning as a team, helped the visitors set the tone early.

High pressure and more possession helped the Mingos break into the Cosmos end consistently. The New York midfield looked out of shape, with Nicholas Mendonca getting beaten constantly and the attack-minded Ajmeer Spengler not able to focus on his main task. 

The Cosmos did start to get some attacking looks as time went on. Justin Milovanov sent a long pass down the right side where he found Davide Galazzini on a run in the 12th minute. His shot from inside the box forced Madison keeper JT Harms into a dive, where his fingertips pushed the ball wide-left and away from the finishing touch of Christian Koffi.

In the end, the wind was going to be the big star of the first half, and it helped force the early breakthrough in the 22nd minute. A corner kick by Madison’s Geni Kanyane from the right side curled perfectly into the left side of the goal for an Olimpico.

Madison continued to pound, getting three more corners over the next ten minutes as the attack continued to make the Cosmos backline work.

Ryan Carmichael, a former Hofstra University man who joined Madison this season from Atlanta United 2 in MLS Next Pro, had a header blocked from point-blank range that could have doubled the lead.

Fortunes shifted in the 32nd minute for Madison when Kanyane brought down Galazzini and was shown a straight red for denial of a goal scoring opportunity, DOGSO for short.

The subsequent free kick by Spengler was blocked by the Madison wall and sent back towards Stephani near midfield. He tried to make a pass across midfield, but his pass was intercepted by Carmichael, who took it down field before chipping the keeper from 35 yards out to score and make it 2-0.

“The weather is always a component that we have to take into account in every soccer game and like today it took an effect on the game, and we just had to adjust to it,” said Cosmos midfielder Néstor Cabrera.

The Cosmos had two more chances in the first half. Galazzini hit the brakes in the box on a run to create space away from two defenders, passing off to Spengler who forced JT Harms into another diving save near the right post. Right before the half, team captain Sebastián Guenzatti had a point-blank shot blocked by a Madison player.

Quick goals, but unable to break the deadlock

With the man advantage, and now playing with the wind at their backs, the Cosmos overcame the two-goal deficit in the first five minutes of the second half.

It started with a throw-in near midfield which eventually saw Anderson Holt send a long pass that found Ajmeer Spengler near the box line. He got past Collin McCamy, the former 2025 New York City FC SuperDraft pick, and slotted a low shot past Harms to make it a 2-1 Madison lead. The goal means Spengler now has scored five times in USL League One play.

A minute later, the tying goal came off another goalkeeper error. A pass out from the back by Harms was blocked near the edge of the box by Cosmos legend Sebastián Guenzatti, who essentially shot on an empty net to make it 2-2.

"I asked (Justin Milovanov and Nick Mendonca) to play a little more in front of the defenders, and that's probably helped us a lot," Corti said when asked about his message at halftime. "It helped us a lot as well to have them one man down. So I guess that it was easier for us to release one of the midfielders again, we need to be better when we play 11 vs 11."

Madison playing with ten meant they started to play more of a bunkered style. New York began to control possession, getting six corner kicks in the final 45 minutes and creating dangerous chances against Harms. One corner in the 58th minute saw Jordan Chavez head a ball into the ground where the bounce needed to be saved by Harms, who had little time to react.

Madison almost had two goal scoring attempts by Claudel N'Goubou, including one in the 69th minute that found the back of the net, but both were called offside. 

Augustine “Tino” Puentes was helped off the field late in the second half with an injury, one of only two subs the Cosmos made all day. The other being the fourth appearance of former NYCFC II forward Julien Lacher. The Cosmos injury woes are deep right now. Besides Chan, defender Davey Mason and defensive midfielder Darren Sidoel were both out of the lineup due to injury.

Corti said after the match that Mason should be back training with the team this week. Sidoel, who scored the first goal in this new Cosmos iteration earlier this season, will need more time to progress with doctors.

When the final whistle blew, Cosmos stayed unbeaten over their last three games and are eighth in the USL League One table with seven points from nine games. This was the first draw of the season, yet it feels bittersweet.

The Cosmos looked off all game, both because of the weather but also because of the many missing pieces. Spengler continues to impress, but the defense can’t withstand pressure, and the midfield looked off while playing against 10 men.

"We had some positives, negatives, some things we have to take away from this game," Cabrera said. "At the end of the day, a tie is a tie. We take the result and we move on to the next game."

That next game is a Prinx Tires USL Cup clash this Saturday in Paterson, NJ. The Cosmos will welcome USL Championship side Brooklyn FC to Hinchliffe Stadium in a first-time meeting between the two New York-area USL expansion clubs.