The site of the North American Soccer League game was Schaefer Stadium, New England home of American football. The surface was poly-turf, a product of American ingenuity. But the names up in lights last night belonged to Italian star Giorgio Chinaglia and the ageless Pele of Brazil, as the New York Cosmos defeated the Boston Minutemen, 2-1.

Chinaglia, playing only his second soccer game in the United States, scored both Cosmos goals to lead them back from an early 1-0 deficit. He now has four goals in two games for the Cosmos.

Before the game the Italian ace had voiced concern about the artificial playing surface, regretting that he had not practiced on it enough.

And the wet, slick surface was a factor for much of the game as players from both teams watched the ball skip away from them and bounce over their heads. But Chinaglia adjusted quickly and so did Pele, New York's field general.

It does not matter that the man, if one can call him that, is 35 and that he has been running up and down soccer fields professionally for 20 legendary years. There were times last night that he seemed the fastest on the field as he broke a 1-1 game open in the second half with lightning spurts past three or four Boston defenders.

The Minuteman defense was forced to foul to stop the intense New York pressure, resulting in two direct kicks in three minutes for Pele. Usually one is enough for the "King," but a diving save by Harvard alumnus Shep Messing '72 on a banana shot to the far left corner made a second try necessary.

Messing could not handle Pele's low drive as it hopped off the playing surface, and Chinaglia banged the rebound home for the lead.

In the first half, Chinaglia rose above a crowd in front of the net to head a cornerkick from Tinnion.

Boston's lone score came three minutes into the game. Ado Coker side stepped Cosmos defender Mike Dillon and fed Bert Bowery who snaked a dribbler past gaolie Bob Rigby.