A roundup of all the action on the opening weekend of the 2016 North American Soccer League season…
New York Cosmos 3-0 Ottawa Fury
Juan Arango bagged a brace, one of which was assisted by former Columbus Crew and D.C. United striker Jairo Arrieta, as the defending champion (and winners of two of the last three years) Cosmos kicked off their defense of the Soccer Bowl crown in Sunday’s rematch of last year’s title game. Former MLS (Crew, Portland Timbers, Houston Dynamo, Seattle Sounders and FC Dallas — exactly one-fourth of the league’s current 20 teams) midfielder Adam Moffat scored the other.
Carolina RailHawks 2-1 Minnesota United
Ty Shipalane and Austin da Luz scored 13 minutes apart before the half-hour mark, canceling out Christian Ramirez’s 2nd-minute opener for the future MLS side (coming in 2017) from Minnesota.
Fort Lauderdale Strikers 1-1 Miami FC
Former MLS (Chivas USA, Toronto FC, FC Dallas, D.C. United and Chicago Fire — another one-fourth-teamer) striker Maicon Santos converted a 94th-minute penalty kick to equalize and snatch a point in the first between two South Florida sides. Dario Cvitanich had put the expansion Miami FC, which features former Premier League (Birmingham City, Wigan Athletic, Tottenham Hotspur and Stoke City) midfielder Wilson Palacios, ahead from the spot after just 12 minutes.
Elsewhere in NASL
Rayo OKC 0-0 FC Edmonton
Tampa Bay Rowdies 0-0 Indy Eleven
Next week’s NASL schedule
Indy Eleven vs. Ottawa Fury (Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ET)
Miami FC vs. Tampa Bay Rowdies (Saturday, 8 p.m. ET)
Rayo OKC vs. Carolina RailHawks (Saturday, 8 p.m. ET)
FC Edmonton vs. Minnesota United (Sunday, 4 p.m. ET)
New York Cosmos vs. Jacksonvilla Armada (Sunday, 6 p.m. ET)