Cosmos Lose 3-1 to Forward Madison
June 20, 2026 Breese Stevens Field, Madison, WI
Looking to avoid a sixth straight league loss, the Cosmos traveled to Wisconsin to face a difficult Forward Madison squad. In front of a lively crowd at Breese Steven Field the Cosmos found more ways to lose another match as they fell 3-1.
The Cosmos made three lineup changes from the previous match. Derrek Chan returned in goal in place of Javier Garcia, who struggled in last week’s loss to One Knoxville. Massimo Morabito and Davey Mason returned to the lineup, as Nestor Cabrera was moved up the field. This was the last match in a stretch that would see the Cosmos face most of the top teams in the league, and the Cosmos were looking for much needed points before embarking on the “easier” portion of the schedule.
The match started with both sides trying to dictate play but with no clear advantage for either. The Cosmos would threaten in the 13th minute after Darren Sidoel would find Lamin Jawneh with space on the right-hand side, Jawneh would find Guenzatti who would feed Sidoel after making a run into the box. The Dutch midfielder would do well to get a shot off that would hit the top of the post. A minute later, Forward Madison would have its first big chance of the match, Annor Gyamfi would find himself in the center of the Cosmos box, and Derrek Chan would make a huge reaction save to keep the match level. With both teams employing a direct style of play, the Cosmos would have another good opportunity in the 19th minute, Ajmeer Spengler’s shot from outside the box would be saved in the top right corner by JT Harms. In the 24th minute Madison would be awarded a corner kick, Ramon Torres would take the corner and find an unmarked Ryan Carmichael on the right side of the six yar box, Carmichael would head the ball in to help Madison to a 1- lead after 25 minutes. Things would get worse for Cosmos a few minutes later. After a sequence of short passes, Madison would find themselves in the Cosmos area, Anderson Holt would head the ball in the 6-yard box, Chan would not react quickly and Ramon Torres would take advantage and hit a right footed shot from close range to make in 2-0 in the 28th minute. After the goal the Cosmos play would suffer as the teams’ confidence looked to have taken a hit after conceding yet another goal.
The Cosmos would make two changes at the half, taking out both fullbacks (Morabito and Mason) and bringing in Galazzini and Zielonka. Cabrera would slide back to defense as Zielonka would occupy an attacking position. Without any time to see if the changes would yield results, the Cosmos would find themselves down 3-0. Jackson Castro would strike the ball from outside the box to the center of the goal, Derrek Chan would be unable to hold onto the ball and redirect it into goal. The costly keeper error would make it 3-0 for Madison in the 48th minute. The match would slow down after the goal as Forward Madison would be content to slow the match down. Ajmeer Spengler would look to find players in space on long balls but with limited success. However, the Cosmos would start to find a rhythm and would start to advance forward in looking for a goal to put them back in the match. In the 76th minute Cabrera would send a nice cross into the area, Sidoel would do well to head it in the path of goal, Zielonka would initially mishit the ball, but would settle it again, as Guenzatti would pounce on it and hit a right footed shot to the bottom right corner to make it 3-1 for Cosmos. The goal would be Guenzatti’s 100th career goal, and 99th of his professional career in the United States. After the goal the Cosmos would take out Sidoel and Spengler and bring in Milovanov and Puentes in their place. The Cosmos would continue to have more of the ball but would be unable to add another goal. The best chance for Cosmos would come in the 89th minute as Jawneh would dribble into the center of the box and do well to force a diving save by JT Harms. The match would end 3-1 with Cosmos showing much needed fight in the second half, but nevertheless a sixth straight league loss.
Once-again the Cosmos showed they could compete with one of the top teams in USL League One, and once again they showed that they continue to make the same mistakes that good teams capitalize on.
The Cosmos will return to league action on July 4th against Greenville Triumph at home and will face five straight opponents with losing records. If they have any shot of changing their fortunes, they need to take advantage of these matchups, but in order to have any success they will need to correct the costly mistakes that plague them match after match. It will be interesting to see if the Cosmos make any moves in the coming weeks to strengthen a roster that is in need of an upgrade.
NEW YORK COSMOS (4-3-3): Chan; Mason (46’ Zielonka), Holt, Chavez, (46’ Galazzini); Mendonca, Sidoel (77’ Milovanov), Spengler (77’ Puentes); Cabrera, Guenzatti, Jawneh. Subs: Materazzi, Garcia, Noecker. Coach: Davide Corti.
FORWARD MADISON (4-2-3-1): Harms; Munjoma, K. Carmichael, Toure, Kanyane (58’ Segbers); Torres (58’ Shannon), McCamy (83’ Cabral); R. Carmichael (72’ Ngoubou), Castro, Gebhard (41’ Bolma); Gyamfi (72’ Karamoko).
Subs: Manske, Flores. Coach: Patrick Nyarko.
Goals: 25′ R. Carmichael (FM), 28′ Torres (FM), 50’ Castro (FM), 78’ Guenzatti (NYC).
Bookings: 17′ K. Carmichael (FM), 33′ Toure (FM), 56’ Castro (FM), 74′ Spengler (NYC), 85′ Chavez (NYC), 85’ Karamoko (FM).
Match Stats:
Possession: Cosmos 46% – Forward Madison 54%
Shots: Cosmos 10 – Forward Madison 17
Shots on Target: Cosmos 5 – Forward Madison
Corners: Cosmos 4 – Forward Madison 4
Saves: Cosmos 4 – Forward Madison 3
Fouls: Cosmos 14 – Forward Madison 12
Yellow Cards: Cosmos 2 – Forward Madison 4
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