NASL: Raul scores after Ronaldo breaks his Real record

  

Cristiano Ronaldo scored five goals in a 6-0 Real Madrid win over Espanyol on Saturday, giving him 230 Spanish La Liga goals to surpass the club record of 228 held by Raul. But Raul is still scoring. The 38-year-old Spaniard struck the New York Cosmos' gamewinner in a 1-0 win over Jacksonville that pulled the spring champion Cosmos within three points of fall leader Ottawa and extended their lead in the combined standings to six points.

The goal marked Raul's sixth, to go with three assists, since joining the Cosmos for the 2015 season. Raul remains Real Madrid's all-time leading scorer with 323 goals, five ahead of Ronaldo.

As spring champion, the Cosmos are assured a spot in the NASL semifinals, where they will be joined by fall season winner and the two teams with the best record in the combined standings of the spring and fall seasons. (Unless the Cosmos finish tops again, in which case the next three teams in the overall standings advance.)

Raul's goal against Jacksonville came in the 74th minute, 22 minutes after the Cosmos' gained a man-advantage with the ejection ofLucas Treja.

“I have to be honest: I felt we were going to find a way to win the game," said Cosmos coach Giovanni Savarese. "The important thing was for us to be calm, to be solid defensively, and at some point the game was going to give us something to be able to win. The special moment was given by Raúl.”

NASL Player of the Week
San Antonio Scorpions midfielder Rafael Castillo scored once in a 3-3 tie with Carolina RailHawks and twice in a 2-0 win Indy Eleven. The Colombian is
tied for fifth in scoring in the NASL with seven.

NASL Standings:
FALL SEASON
Ottawa 25 //  Minnesota United 22 New York 22 FC Edmonton 19 Atlanta 18 Fort Lauderdale 17 San Antonio 13 Carolina 12 Indy Eleven 12  Tampa Bay 11 Jacksonville 11.
COMBINED
*New York 42 Minnesota United 36 Ottawa 36 Tampa Bay 30 // Ft. Lauderdale 28 FC Edmonton 28 Carolina 28 Atlanta 26 San Antonio 25 Indy Eleven 25 Jacksonville 23.
*Won spring season.

NASL Week 11, Results:
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9
San Antonio 3 Carolina 3
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 12
Minnesota United FC 3 Carolina 1
New York 1 Jacksonville 0
San Antonio 2 Indy Eleven 0
Ottawa 0 Fort Lauderdale 0
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 13
FC Edmonton 1 Tampa Bay 0

NASL Week 12, Schedule:
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15
Atlanta vs. Minnesota United
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16
Fort Lauderdale vs. Jacksonville
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 19
Atlanta vs. Carolina
Fort Lauderdale vs. Ottawa
Indy Eleven vs. FC Edmonton
Tampa Bay vs. San Antonio
Minnesota United vs. New York

NASL Week 13, Schedule:
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22
New York vs. Ottawa
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 26
Carolina vs. Ottawa
Fort Lauderdale vs. Minnesota United
Jacksonville vs. Tampa Bay
San Antonio vs. Atlanta
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 27
FC Edmonton vs. New York