# 1972 New York Cosmos season

The 1972 New York Cosmos season was the second season for the New York Cosmos in the now-defunct North American Soccer League. In the Cosmos' second year of existence, the club finished 1st in the Northern Division and 1st in the overall league table. In the playoffs, the Cosmos defeated the Dallas Tornado in the semifinal and the St. Louis Stars in the final, winning their first league championship and completing the first double by a club in the national era.

## Squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 0 | GK | ENG | Richard Blackmore |
| 1 | GK | GHA | Emmanuel Kofie |
| 2 | DF | USA | Barry Mahy |
| 3 | DF | USA | Charlie McCully |
| 4 | DF | USA | Werner Roth |
| 5 | DF | GER | Robert Neubauer |
| 6 | MF | CAN | John Kerr, Sr. |
| 7 | FW | BRA | Cinesinho |
| 8 | FW | ISR | Roby Young |
| 9 | FW | ESP | Helenio Herrera |
| 9 | | USA | Paul LeSueur |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 10 | FW | TCH | Josef Jelinek |
| 11 | FW | USA | Jorge Siega |
| 14 | MF | USA | Stan Startzell |
| 15 | MF | USA | Siegfried Stritzl |
| 16 | FW | BER | Randy Horton |
| 17 | FW | GHA | Wilberforce Mfum |
| 19 | DF | POL | Karol Kapcinski |
| 20 | MF | TRI | Everald Cummings |
| 22 | MF | POL | Dieter Zajdel |
| 24 | DF | USA | Gordon Bradley |
Source:

## Results

Source:

### Regular season

Pld = Games Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, D = Draws, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points 6 points for a win, 3 points for a draw, 0 points for a loss, 1 point for each goal scored (up to three per game).

#### Overall League Placing

Source:

#### Matches

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| May 7, 1972 | St. Louis Stars | H | 3-3 | 7,324 | Young, Horton (2) |
| May 14, 1972 | Rochester Lancers | A | 1-1 | 4,100 | Stritzl |
| May 20, 1972 | Miami Gatos | H | 6-1 | 1,302 | Horton (2), Cummings (2), Jelinek, Siega |
| May 27, 1972 | Atlanta Chiefs | H | 4-2 | 4,445 | Kerr, Horton (2), Cummings |
| June 3, 1972 | Dallas Tornado | A | 1-0 | 2,157 | |
| June 18, 1972 | Toronto Metros | H | 2-1 | 1,200 | Cummings, Siega |
| June 25, 1972 | Atlanta Chiefs | A | 2-0 | N/A | |
| July 1, 1972 | Montreal Olympique | H | 2-0 | 4,571 | Kerr, Mfum |
| July 8, 1972 | Miami Gatos | A | 0-2 | 1,438 | Horton, Mfum |
| July 16, 1972 | Montreal Olympique | A | 2-2 | 2,996 | Mfum, Cummings |
| July 22, 1972 | Dallas Tornado | H | 1-0 | 6,518 | Mfum |
| July 29, 1972 | St. Louis Stars | A | 1-0 | 4,385 | |
| August 6, 1972 | Toronto Metros | A | 1-1 | 1,255 | Horton |
| August 12, 1972 | Rochester Lancers | H | 4-1 | 4,616 | Mfum, Horton, Jelinek, Kerr |

### Postseason
#### Overview
##### Semi-finals

| August 15 | Rochester Lancers | 0–2 | St. Louis Stars | St. Louis, Busch Memorial |
| August 19 | Dallas Tornado | 0–1 | New York Cosmos | New York, Hofstra Stadium |

##### Final

| August 26 | St. Louis Stars | 1–2 | New York Cosmos | New York, Hofstra Stadium |

#### Matches

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| August 19, 1972 | Dallas Tornado | H | 1-0 | 5,026 | Kerr |
| August 26, 1972 | St. Louis Stars | H | 2-1 | 6,102 | Jelinek, Horton |

### Friendlies

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| July 31 | Birmingham City | H | 0-3 | N/A | |
| August 16 | Maccabi Tel Aviv | H | 5-2 | 5,126 | Horton (3), Kerr, Stritzl |
| August 30 | Dynamo Moscow | H | 1-2 | 13,205 | Zajdel |