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| Charlie Ledula scored the first goal of the match, and that would be all the Cosmos would need in a 2-0 win over Hartford City FC on Sunday. (Photo courtesy New York Cosmos) |
NEW
BRITAIN—Charlie Ledula and Bledi Bardic scored second-half
goals as the New York Cosmos recorded a 2-0 victory over Hartford City FC in a
National Premier Soccer League game at Central Connecticut State University
Soccer Stadium Sunday.
The win raised the
Cosmos record to 5-0-0 as they ended their two-game New England weekend swing
with a pair of victories. They had defeated the Greater Lowell Rough Diamonds
Friday night, 7-1. Hartford City falls to 5-2-2.
A former standout at LIU C.W. Post, Ledula replaced
David Diosa at the start of the second half. Only four minutes after coming on
and a minute after Junior Burgos drilled a shot off the crossbar, the
Englishman made a major impact on a brilliant individual effort to score his
team-best fifth goal. He broke into the penalty area, raced to his right and
unleashed a 12-yard shot into the lower left side past goalkeeper Hami Kara for
a 1-0 lead in the 49th minute.
Burgos, whose specialty
is set pieces, set up the second goal on a free kick in the 74th minute to give
the Cosmos some breathing room. He sent a bouncing ball from the left side
through a maze of players that Bardic flicked home from close range.
The Cosmos dominated the
opening scoreless first half, but Kara was outstanding. He made several vital
saves in the opening 45 minutes, two on hard shots by Bardic and one apiece on
Ricardo Bocanegra and Burgos. Cosmos captain Danny Szetela twice narrowly
missed the right side of the net.
Mark Grant came close to
equalizing for the hosts when he worked his way through the Cosmos defense and
found himself one-on-one with goalkeeper Paul Blanchette, but he sent his shot
barely to the left of the net. Blanchette registered his second clean sheet of
the season for the Cosmos, who have yet to surrender a goal in the run of play.
These two teams will
square off again on Saturday, June 8, at Mitchel Athletic Complex in
Uniondale., NY. Match begins at 8 p.m.
#nycosmos @HartfordCityFC #npsl
—Staff Reports
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