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'Motivated' Adam Moffat Returns to Action
When Cosmos midfielder Adam Moffat saw Ottawa’s Romuald Peiser out of his net in the second half last Sunday night, he let his instincts take over. The result was a 40-yard chip over the French goalkeeper’s head that gave the Cosmos their decisive third goal, sealing a 3-0 victory in the home opener.
“I love being in that spot,” Moffat told NYCosmos.com on Friday. “Even if [the goalkeeper] is not too far out, or the defender clears it with his head, you’re there and you get time to have the shot.
“As it came to me, it was kind of slow. So I was stuck on two mindsets: either hit it hard or take a touch. But sometimes it’s instinct. Your body takes over. It happened kind of quickly, and fortunately I put just enough on it.”
A defensive midfielder by trade, the 29-year-old Scotsman has made his living breaking up opposing attacks and shuttling the ball between the back line and attacking midfielders. He’s also demonstrated an ability to finish from distance; so much so that these strikes are dubbed “Moffat Rockets.” But Moffat saw Sunday’s goal as different.
“Usually I like to hit it as hard as I can,” he said. “An old friend of mine called this one the ‘Moffat Loft It.’”
It’s been a long road back to the pitch for Moffat, who sat the majority of the 2015 Fall Season and most of the preseason this year with foot and ankle injuries. But 13 years as a professional have taught him how to deal with setbacks.
“You’re going to have challenging times,” said Moffat. “These past two injuries came back to back. I came back, I was in good shape for preseason and then I got injured on the second day. The doctors said I’d be out another six to eight weeks.
“You do feel sorry for yourself. But I’ve been around long enough, so I know you go through the adversity to get back on the field.”
Part of that adversity included watching from the sidelines last November as his teammates captured an NASL title.
“I did the same in 2008 with Columbus when we won MLS Cup,” Moffat recalled. “I started that season playing every game, and then I tore my ACL. We ended up winning the championship. It was great to do that, but you want to be playing in those big games. So you use that as motivation.”
One game into the 2016 season, Moffat has fixed his focus on his team’s road to another championship.
“We want to continue with what we did last year in terms of winning,” he said. “But we have a completely different group of players, and a different dynamic in the locker room. I think even the standard of the league has gotten much better. It’s going to be a much more difficult challenge.”
It’ll also be a challenge for Cosmos head coach Giovanni Savarese to spread around minutes to his bevy of quality central midfield options. Niko KranjÄar, Mike Lahoud, Danny Szetela and Ruben Bover all had their turns sitting back in the middle of the park during preseason.
“There’s a lot of depth,” said Moffat. “There are so many guys, and everyone is different… It’s good, all those different options. Hopefully it’s a big key to our success this season.”
Moffat could get his chance to launch more rockets this Sunday, which happens to be Star Wars Night at Hofstra's Shuart Stadium. Although he hasn’t seen “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” yet, he’s a fan of the series.
“‘The Phantom Menace’ is my favorite one,” he said. “I like Darth Maul. I thought he looked cool. I remember seeing that when I was younger – when the last trilogy came out – so it sticks in my mind. I also liked Harrison Ford [as Han Solo] and the Scotsman, Ewan McGregor, when he played Obi-Wan Kenobi.”
If Moffat can harness the power of the Force like he did last weekend, New York has a good chance at grabbing a second straight home win to open the season.
