Goals from Jawneh and Spengler Lift Cosmos Past Corpus Christi

August 19, 2026. Cabaniss Athletic Complex Corpus Christi, TX

Lamin Jawneh celebrates opening goal with coach Davide Corti. (photo courtesy of NY Cosmos)

The New York Cosmos recorded a 2-0 victory over Corpus Christi FC, with goals from Lamin Jawneh and Ajmeer Spengler. Another solid defensive performance helped the Cosmos to record their second consecutive shut-out victory.

Fresh off of an impressive 1-0 victory over AV Alta, the Cosmos returned to action Wednesday night in Corpus Christi looking for their first road win of the season. Meanwhile, Corpus Christi was looking to extend its unbeaten run, as they looked to move up the playoff table. Cosmos made one change to the weekends lineup with Nestor Cabrera returning from injury replacing Massimo Morabito at right-back. The match began with Corpus Christi applying pressure early on but with Cosmos dictating play and maintaining possession. Corpus Christi had an early chance in the 9th minute as Tristan Stephani would mishandle a shot from close range, but Corpus Christi was unable to take advantage of the sequence. While Cosmos continued to take the initiative, the Texas side were dangerous in transition moments, but the Cosmos would remain organized and were able to avert significant danger. The breakthrough for Cosmos would come in the 25th minute. Cosmos midfielder Frankie Ljucovic would do well to weave past Corpus Christi defender Bubu Medina and lay the ball out wide to Lamin Jawneh. The Gambian attacker would cut inside on his left foot and unleash a spectacular, bending shot from outside the box that would fly by James Talbot into the bacl of the net. Following the goal, Corpus Christi would show more initiative in the attack, but the Cosmos backline would be up for the task. Jawneh would have another good chance to increase the lead for Cosmos in first half stoppage time, but Talbot would do well coming off his line to thwart the opportunity. The half would end with Cosmos up by one in a first half that saw them maintain 58% of the ball and limit Corpus Christi to seven shots, zero on goal.

The second half would see Eamon Zayed's side bring in the newly acquired Tomas Pondenca in place of Alexis Cerritos in hope of sparking Corpus Christi's attack. The move seemed to work as Corpus Christi started to gain control of the ball and began to apply pressure to the Cosmos defensive unit as they looked for the equalizer. In the 65th minute, Tristan Stephani would do well to deny a close range shot by Patty Langlois to help Cosmos maintain its slim lead. The Cosmos would bring in Patrick Bohui and Massimo Morabito in place of Christian Koffi and Nestor Cabrera in the 66th minute. The Paterson side would survive a scare in the 71st minute as Jake Keegan's shot would rattle off the cross bar, with Cosmos scrambling to maintain their lead. The game would open up further as Corpus Christi looked close to equalizing the match. Cosmos would take advantage of the back and forth play and Ozzie Ramos would find Ajmeer Spengler, Spengler would dribble past the center circle and weave by multiple defenders on his way to goal. He would unleash a shot from an accute angle from outside the box and place it into the top left corner to give Cosmos a two goal lead in the 76th minute. The Cosmos would emphatically celebrate the world class goal as Cosmos appeared to seal their first road victory of the season.

Looking to close out the match, the Cosmos would bring in fresh legs in the 78th minute, Ljucovic and Guenzatti would depart in place of Darren Sidoel and Nick Zielonka. Corpus Christi would continue to press forward but the Cosmos backline would do well to limit any real threats. Jordan Chavez would be added to the mix in the 85th minute, coming in for one of the heroes of the night, Lamin Jawneh, and he would help his side preserve the 2-0 shut-out. The Cosmos would comfotably end the match recording their first road victory of the season, while lamenting a few avoidable yellow cards at the end the match.

\\goals to seal the shutout for the Cosmos. [1, 2, 3, 4]

Ajmeer Spengler in action versus Corpus Christi. (photo courtesy of Mike Gloria)

With the new additions to the squad and the tactical changes made by Davide Corti, this Cosmos side is a different team. The early mistakes that plagued the team early on are hopefully a thing of the past. While a playoff spot seems extremely unlikely, the Cosmos goal is to build for the future and determine the pieces that will help them in 2027. The goal of moving up in the standings is a realistic goal and a positive end to this season will be a big momentum builder as the club looks to the future and reestablishing the Cosmos winning tradition.

Cosmos record second consecutive shut-out victory. (Photo courtesy of Mike Gloria)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Y4YErK-fg0

CORPUS CHRISTI FC 0-2 NEW YORK COSMOS

NEW YORK COSMOS (4-2-3-1): Stephani; Acosta, Holt, Chilaka, Cabrera; Ljucovic, Ramos; Koffi, Spengler, Jawneh; Guenzatti. Subs: Bohui (66′ Koffi), Morabito (66′ Cabrera), Sidoel (78′ Ljucovic), Zielonka (78′ Guenzatti), Chavez (85′ Jawneh). Unused Subs: Milovanov, Garcia, Galazzini.

CORPUS CHRISTI FC (4-4-2): Talbot; Gomez, Roscoe, Kearney, Langlois; Bowen, Kwakwa, Medina, Abeal Pou; Keegan, Cerritos. Subs: Pondeca (45′ Cerritos), Bachstein (61′ Abeal Pou), Johnson (78′ Kwakwa). Unused Subs: Hamid, Shalita, Parks, Thomas, McCready, Barganski.

Goals: 25′ Jawneh (COS), 76′ Ajmeer Spengler (COS).

Booked: 9′ Jawneh (COS), 59′ Gomez (CCFC), 89′ Roscoe (CCFC), 89′ Sidoel (COS), 90’+2 Stephani (COS), 90’+4 Chavez (COS).

Match Stats:

Possession: Corpus Christi 50% - Cosmos 50%

Shots: Corpus Christi 18 - Cosmos 5

Shots on Target: Corpus Christi 6 - Cosmos 3

Passes Completed: Corpus Christi 224 - Cosmos 244

Touches in Opposition Box: Corpus Christi 30 - Cosmos 12

Saves: Corpus Christi 1 - Cosmos 6