Center back Dejan Jakovic and his Cosmos teammates must find a way to keep the opponents from finding the back of the net. (Photo courtesy of the Cosmos)

With games dwindling down to a precious few, the Cosmos face a must-win situation every time they take the field.

That could go double or triple when they play at home, considering their rather mediocre record at MCU Park in Coney Island in Brooklyn, N.Y.

So, that makes it so vital for New York to secure three points against the San Francisco Deltas in another North American Soccer League encounter Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.

Now wait a minute, didn’t we use that lead, for the most part, prior to last Sunday’s home game against Jacksonville Armada FC?

We sure did, which certainly defines the quandary that the Cosmos are facing — yet another must-win game at home.

While the Cosmos pulled off a miracle comeback in their 3-3 home draw Sunday, they still left valuable points on the table this late in the season.

The deadlock left the Cosmos in seventh place in the fall season standings with a 1-2-5 mark and eight points. In the overall standings, the Cosmos are in fifth place with a 7-6-11 mark and 24 points.

Moreover, they are 3-3-6 at home this season, earning only 15 points out of possible 36, which could spell doom for their playoff hopes if they can’t turn it around during the stretch run.

Notebook

The Cosmos will play their fourth game against the Deltas on Wednesday. They are 1-1-1 against their west coast foes. Neither team could find the net in their last meeting in Brooklyn May 27.

* Cosmos midfielders Juan Guerra and Márquez scored their fourth regular season goals in Sunday’s match. Guerra and Márquez, along with forward Pablo Vranjicán, are in a three-way tie for second in goals scored for New York this season.

* After recording two assists Sunday, defender Ayoze has joined the NASL assist race. He is in a six-way tie for the league lead with five assists.

* Javi Márquez, the FrontRowSoccer.com player of the week, earned his second Cosmos man of the match award after striking for the hosts’ first goal in their comeback draw. He has scored in three of four regular season games against Jacksonville this season.

Front Row Soccer editor Michael Lewis has covered 13 World Cups (eight men, five women), seven Olympics and 25 MLS Cups. He has written about New York City FC, New York Cosmos, the New York Red Bulls and both U.S. national teams for Newsday and has penned a soccer history column for the Guardian.com. Lewis, who has been honored by the Press Club of Long Island and National Soccer Coaches Association of America, is the former editor of BigAppleSoccer.com. He has written seven books about the beautiful game and has published ALIVE AND KICKING The incredible but true story of the Rochester Lancers. It is available at Amazon.com.