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North Carolina FC

RailHawks Open Playoffs Against Minnesota

October 3, 2010 - U.S. Soccer Federation D-2 (USSF D-2)
North Carolina FC News Release


CARY, N.C.(Sunday, Oct. 2, 2010) - The NASL Conference champion Carolina RailHawks will face NSC Minnesota in the USSF D-2 Pro League quarterfinals this week.

Second-seeded Carolina will travel to Blaine, Minn., to face the No. 7 Stars in the first leg on Wednesday at 8 p.m. EST at the National Sports Center. The teams will play the return leg on Saturday at WakeMed Soccer Park at 7 p.m. Both matches will be broadcast live on CarolinaRailHawks.com.

Carolina went 0-2-0 in two meetings against the Stars this season. The RailHawks suffered a 1-0 defeat at WakeMed Soccer Park on April 16, and they were dealt a 1-0 loss in Minnesota on Sept. 15.

"Once it comes to the playoffs, every team's up for it and hard to beat," said Carolina coach Martin Rennie. "It's good for us to play Minnesota again because we weren't at our best against them in the regular season. We've got a real hunger to prove ourselves against that team and make up for a couple performances that weren't at the level we've come to expect."

The RailHawks return to the postseason for the second straight year and third time in the club's four-year history. Carolina is still seeking its first playoff win and first playoff goal. They lost both games in their 2007 series against Seattle and went down 3-0 on aggregate. Last season, the RailHawks lost the opening leg 1-0 in Vancouver, tied the Whitecaps 0-0 in the return leg and were eliminated 1-0 on aggregate.

If recent results are any indication, those streaks could end this week. The RailHawks enter the playoffs having won three straight matches, and they have outscored their opponents 12-5 in their last six outings. The RailHawks put an exclamation point on their recent run of form Friday with a 3-1 win over Austin, a result coupled with Saturday's 2-2 draw between Vancouver and Portland that delivered the NASL Conference championship to Carolina.

Tickets for Saturday's match are on sale now. Tickets can be purchased by calling the LGFCU Box Office at 919-859-5425 or at CarolinaRailHawks.com/playoffs .

Each playoff series will be a two-leg, home-and-away aggregate goal series. There is no away goals rule. If teams are tied after 180 minutes, two 15-minute periods will be played. If the teams are still tied after extra time, the match will proceed to penalty kicks.

The entire USSF D-2 Pro League playoff schedule is as follows (all times EST):

No. 1 Rochester vs. No. 8 Puerto Rico

Leg 1: @ Puerto Rico, Thursday, 8:05 p.m.

Leg 2: @ Rochester, Saturday, 7 p.m.

No. 4 Portland vs. No. 5 Vancouver

Leg 1: @ Vancouver, Thursday, 7:30 p.m.

Leg 2: @ Portland, Sunday, 6 p.m.

No. 2 Carolina vs. No. 7 Minnesota

Leg 1 @ Minnesota, Wednesday, 8 p.m.

Leg 2: @ Carolina, Saturday, 7 p.m.

No. 3 Austin vs. No. 6 Montreal

Leg 1: @ Montreal, Wednesday, 7:30 p.m.

Leg 2: @ Austin, Saturday, 7:30 p.m.

The first legs of the semfinals will be played Oct. 13 or 14 and the return legs Oct. 16 or 17.

The first leg of the finals will be played on Oct. 23 or 24, and the return leg will be on Oct. 30 or 31.

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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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