Cosmos Come Back to Draw 3-3 with Chattanooga Red Wolves
- Emilio Lopez
- Aug 22
- 5 min read
Updated: 6 days ago
August 22, 2026. CHI Memorial Stadium, Chattanooga, TN
The New York Cosmos battled back from a two-goal deficit to ultimately earn a 3-3 draw against Chattanooga Red Wolves. With the draw the team extended its unbeaten streak to three matches.
Coming off their first road victory of the season a few days earlier against Corpus Christi FC, the Cosmos looked to extend their unbeaten streak to three matches. Meanwhile, Chattanooga Red Wolves were looking for a result to maintain them in playoff position. Cosmos were forced to make one change to Wednesdays lineup, Stalyn Acosta who suffered a knock late in the Corpus Christi match was replaced at left-back by Massimo Morabito. It didn't take long for the Cosmos two match shut-out streak to end. In the 30th second a shot from outside the area by an un-marked Yanis Lelin was saved by Tristan Stephani, however, Stephani fumbled the save and an alert Pedro Hernandez pounced on the ball to put the ball into the back of the net to take an immediate 1-0 lead. The Cosmos would react positively to the early goal against and would push forward in pursuit of an equalizer. The Cosmos best sequence would come at the 21st minute mark as a Sebastian Guenzatti heal shot would barely miss the mark. The Cosmos would continue to attack and it looked like an equalizer was likely coming. However, in the 32nd minute mark Tobi Adewole would take advantage of confusion between Christian Koffi and Massimo Morabito to get past the defender into the box, and unleash a right footed shot from the center of the box to the bottom right corner. Despite the two goal deficit the Cosmos would not give up as they looked to get back into the match. In first half stoppage time, Massimo Morabito would do well to get the ball to Ajmeer Spenger outside the box. Spengler would find Koffi inside the box and the frenchman would place a nice ball to Sebastian Guenzatti who would richocet his right footed shot into the back of the net to cut Chattanooga's lead to 2-1. Despite the halftime deficit Cosmos would go into the locker-room with the realization that they dominated most of the match, demonstrated by 64% possession rate and 11 total shots.
Cosmos would make one substitution at the break, Morabito would come off in place of Davide Galazzini at left-back. Despite the mistake on the second goal, the substitution appeared a bit of a surprise as Morabito had done well on the sequence that led to Cosmos first half goal. The move would further appear questionable as Galazzini would commit a reckless challenge and recieve a yellow card in the 49th minute. The Cosmos would continue to apply pressure on Chattanooga, in the 50th minute, Spengler's left footed shot from the left side of the box would barely go wide. Koffi would have a similar chance minutes later, but Chattanooga would continue to survive the Cosmos attacks. The breakthrough for Cosmos would finally arrive in the 56th minute. A Cosmos cross into the box would be cleared outside the area by a Chattanooga defender into the path of Nestor Cabrera. The Guatemalan international would do well to settle the ball and unleash a right footed shot from outside the box that would deflect off a defender into the bottom left corner. The former Rutgers standout would celebrate his first professional goal as the Cosmos would level the match at two. The Cosmos joy would not last long, in the 61st minute Yanis Lelin would take advantage of a Omar Hernandez pass into the box and finish off the play with left footed shot from the center of the box. The Spaniard's second goal of the season would help Chattanooga to a 3-2 lead.
Despite the deficit, Cosmos appeared alive in the match as the chances kept mounting for the visitors. The Cosmos would make three substitutions in the 76th minute, Darren Sidoel, Patrick Bohui, and Justin Milovanov would enter the match in place of Ozzie Ramos, Davide Galazzini and Christian Koffi. The move would instantly pay dividends, the recently inserted Justin Milovanov would send a cross into the box and find Spengler who would finish off the play from close range in the 77th minute to make it 3-3. The Cosmos would make one last substitution in the 81st minute, a fatigued Lamin Jawneh would depart the match in place of Nick Zielonka. The Cosmos would continue to attack, looking for the go-ahead goal. Bohui
would have a great opportunity to take the lead but his shot would barely miss the mark. In the 88th minute Cabrera would send a terrific cross into Guenzatti but his header would be saved. Despite the fact the match would end in a draw it would feel more like a victory as the Cosmos showed resiliency in leveling the match on two occasions. With the result the Cosmos recorded their 4th road point of the week.
This Cosmos team looks a completely different side. In the past, early mistakes would doom the team, this time, the early blunder by Stephani did not seem to affect the teams focus, rather, they pushed forward in hopes of an equalizer. Players like Spengler continue to produce, while up-and-coming players like Nestor Cabrera continue to improve. Justin Milovanov, who has lost protaganism with the new signings, should also receive praise for his performance. Playing an unfamiliar left-back role, Milovanov instantly impacted the match, assisting on Spengler's 77th minute equalizer. With the come-from-behind draw the Cosmos have now picked up 7 of the last 9 possible points as they look to climb up the league table.
CHATTANOOGA RED WOLVES SC 3-3 NEW YORK COSMOS
NEW YORK COSMOS (4-3-3): Tristan Stephani; Néstor Cabrera, Anderson Holt, Michael Chilaka, Massimo Morabito (46′ Davide Galazzini, 76′ Justin Milovanov); Ozzie Ramos (76′ Darren Sidoel), Frankie Ljucovic, Ajmeer Spengler; Christian Koffi (76′ Patrick Bohui), Sebastián Guenzatti, Lamin Jawneh (82′ Nick Zielonka). Subs: Stalyn Acosta, Jordan Chavez, Javier Garcia.
CHATTANOOGA RED WOLVES SC (4-4-2): Jason Smith; Jordan Ayimbila (76′ Beto Apolinar), Eric Kinzner, Oluwatobilba Adewole, Joshua Ramos; Yanis Lelin, Wynand Wessels (60′ Greyson Mercer), Angelo Kelly-Rosales (60′ James Vaughan), Matthew Bentley (90’+4 Nathan Donoho); Pedro Hernandez (60′ Michael Knapp), Omar Hernandez.
Goals:
1′ Pedro Hernandez (CHA)
32′ Oluwatobilba Adewole (CHA)
45’+2 Sebastián Guenzatti (COS)
56′ Néstor Cabrera (COS)
60′ Yanis Lelin (CHA)
77′ Ajmeer Spengler (COS)
Booked:
49′ Davide Galazzini (COS)
86′ Michael Knapp (CHA)
90’+1 Beto Apolinar (CHA)
90’+8 Patrick Bohui (COS)
Match Stats:
Possession: CHA 36% - 64% COS
Shots: CHA 8 - 26 COS
Shots on Target: CHA 5 - 7 COS
Passes Completed: CHA 214 - 432 COS
Touches in Opposition Box: CHA 17 - 29 COS
Saves: CHA 4 - COS 2
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