Rayo OKC Sit in Fourth Place of NASL Combined Standings
With one week remaining of the NASL Fall Season, Rayo OKC took a three-point advantage over Minnesota United for the final spot of The Championship. The Loons take on New York Cosmos next Saturday, while Rayo face off against Indy Eleven in Week 18.
NASL Soccer News: Rayo OKC notched two second-half goals and defeated the Fort Lauderdale Strikers on Saturday night to gain control of the North American Soccer League (NASL) postseason race. In other news, defending champion New York Cosmos set the league’s home unbeaten streak record in a win over Miami FC.
Six teams battled for the No. 4 seed in The Championship over the weekend as Rayo’s victory put the club in the driver’s seat heading into the final week of the regular season. Minnesota United’s loss to Carolina put the club three points back of Rayo going into their home contest against the New York Cosmos on Saturday.
With the race down to Rayo and Minnesota, four clubs – Carolina, Fort Lauderdale, Miami FC, and the Tampa Bay Rowdies – saw their playoff hopes slip out of reach. Tampa Bay and Ottawa Fury FC played to a draw, while Indy Eleven extended their home unbeaten streak to 18 matches with a shutout versus Puerto Rico FC.
FC Edmonton closed out Week 17 with a victory over Jacksonville Armada FC.
Rayo OKC 2, Fort Lauderdale Strikers 0
Rayo OKC extended their unbeaten streak to nine matches with a victory over the Fort Lauderdale Strikers at Central Broward Stadium. With the loss, Fort Lauderdale are eliminated from playoff contention, while Rayo will play for the No. 4 seed during the final weekend of the NASL Fall Season.
After a scoreless first half, Rayo (8W-8D-5L, 32 Fall; 11-11-9, 44 Combined) scored a quick goal to open the second period of play. Michel’s free kick in the 50th minute was blocked by Strikers (6-5-10, 23 Fall; 10-8-13, 38 Combined) goalkeeper Bruno, but fell to Sebastien Ibeagha, who tucked it into the side netting. The visitors put the game to bed the game in the second-half stoppage time when Michel slotted a pass to Pecka and the former Strikers player sent his shot to the far post.
New York Cosmos 4, Miami FC 0
The New York Cosmos scored two goals in the game’s opening 10 minutes to defeat Miami FC at Shuart Stadium. The loss marked Miami’s second of the week, which ended the club’s hopes of advancing to The Championship. The Cosmos extended their home unbeaten streak to a league record 19 matches and closed out their 2016 home campaign with a 14-2-0 record as they prepare to host the No. 4 seed on November 5th.
Jairo Arrieta scored for the second straight match to give the Cosmos (13-5-3, 44 Fall; 19-5-7, 62 Combined) the lead in the second minute. Arrieta headed a perfect cross from Juan Arango past Miami (8-6-7, 30 points Fall; 9-10-12, 37 Combined) goalkeeper Daniel Vega. It was Arango’s sixth assist of the season. The Cosmos doubled their lead five minutes later when a collapse in the Miami defense led to Yohandry Orozco chipping a shot over Vega.
Arango scored his 15th of the year to extend New York’s lead to 3-0. Orozco tallied his second of the match on a low shot from distance in the 36th minute.
Carolina RailHawks 1, Minnesota United 0
The RailHawks defeated Minnesota United at WakeMed Soccer Park, but Rayo OKC’s victory versus Fort Lauderdale eliminated Carolina from the playoff race. The Loons remain in the hunt for the No. 4 seed in The Championship.
A quick counterattack in the 52nd minute by Carolina (7-5-9, 30 Fall; 11-7-13, 40 Combined) led to Matt Fondy’s seventh goal of the season. Brian Shriver’s cross found Fondy at the far post for a tap-in past Minnesota (6-7-8, 25 Fall; 11-8-12, 41 Combined) goalkeeper Sammy Ndjock. Nazmi Albadawi wasted an opportunity to put the RailHawks ahead by two goals when he sent a penalty kick over the crossbar in the 72nd minute.
In second-half stoppage time, the Loons came close to scoring the equalizer when Ben Speas’ shot from distance was pushed wide by Carolina goalkeeper Brian Sylvestre.
Indy Eleven 3, Puerto Rico FC 0
With a semifinal game looming, Indy Eleven are heating up at the right time. For the third straight match, the Boys in Blue recorded three goals in a victory – this time in a comfortable win over 10-man Puerto Rico FC at Carroll Stadium. Indy finished their home schedule with a 13-3-0 record.
Indy (11-4-6, 37 Fall; 15-10-6, 55 Combined) forward Justin Braun opened the scoring in the 36th minute when he headed home a cross from Sinisa Ubiparipovic. A second yellow card to forward Oliver reduced Puerto Rico FC (4-9-8, 21 Fall; 4-9-8, 21 Combined) to 10 men. Indy’s leading scorer, Eamon Zayed, doubled his side’s lead in the 45th minute, tapping home a rebound from his own penalty kick that was saved by Trevor Spangenberg.
The hosts snuck another goal in just before the halftime break as Dylan Mares put in a low shot from 20 yards out.
Only one Fall Season match remains for the Boys in Blue before they host FC Edmonton in The Championship Semifinals on November 5th. Indy travels to Oklahoma City next Sunday with a chance to play spoiler against Rayo OKC as they lead Minnesota United by three points heading into the final weekend.
Tampa Bay Rowdies 1, Ottawa Fury FC 1
Ottawa Fury FC ended a four-game winless streak in a 1-1 draw against the Tampa Bay Rowdies at Al Lang Stadium, which eliminated the club from playoff contention.
Ottawa (5W-7D-9L, 22 points Fall; 7-10-14, 31 Combined) took a 1-0 lead in the 27th minute when Tampa Bay (5-8-8, 23 Fall; 9-12-10, 38 Combined) defender Darnell King was shown a straight red card for denial of a scoring opportunity. Fury FC’s Maxim Tissot scored on a rebound from the free kick.
Georgi Hristov tallied his 11th goal of the year to get Tampa Bay even in the 48th minute off a pass from Justin Chavez.
FC Edmonton 1, Jacksonville Armada FC 0
FC Edmonton concluded the weekend with a 1-0 victory over Jacksonville Armada FC at Clarke Stadium. Daryl Fordyce converted a late penalty in the dying moments of stoppage time to give FC Edmonton the win at home.
The Eddies will face Indy Eleven in The Championship Semifinals on November 5th, while Jacksonville has been eliminated from playoff contention.
Photo Credit: North American Soccer League
