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USL-1 North Carolina FC

Carolina clips Austin, 3-0

August 1, 2009 - USL First Division (USL-1)
North Carolina FC News Release


CARY, N.C. - Following Saturday's 3-0 win over Austin, Carolina midfielder Luke Kreamalmeyer was asked for an explanation on the RailHawks recent scoring binge (seven goals in two games).

"I'm not really sure what it is, but we're definitely working well together," said Kreamalmeyer, who assisted the RailHawks' third and final goal against the Aztex at WakeMed Soccer Park. "I think everyone's moving off the ball really well, and when you do that you're going to open teams up. We did that well again tonight, and getting another three goals is great."

The three goals were all well and good, but most telling is that they were scored by three different players, and each was assisted by someone else. Joseph Kabwe (from Gregory Richardson) and Andriy Budnyy (from Kreamalmeyer) each scored for the first time since May 22, and Sallieu Bundu (from Mark Schulte) took over the team lead in goals (five) with his 69th-minute tally.

"It's a team effort," said Carolina coach Martin Rennie. "Different guys are doing their job and they're all performing. Another thing that's encouraging tonight is there's probably six guys who could start who weren't even available. It's all good. In August, there's a lot of games, so we're going to need everybody performing."

The win was Carolina's seventh in eight matches, and the RailHawks are the first team in the USL First Division this season to reach 11 wins.

Goalkeeper Eric Reed made four saves to earn his fifth shutout of the season and the RailHawks' 11th. With Saturday's clean sheet, Carolina has not conceded a goal in 220 minutes.

The RailHawks (11-5-3) were hoping to jump on the weary Aztex (3-11-7), who lost 1-0 in Charleston two nights earlier, from the outset. Carolina nearly got one in the 11th minute. Kreamalmeyer led a counterattack, and Bundu ended up with the ball wide right. He played a ball back across the box to Gregory Richardson. Richardson headed it down at the back post, but Austin goalkeeper Sam Reynolds was there to make the save.

In the 29th minute, after a nice buildup through the midfield, Richardson got the ball wide left and played a centering pass to Kabwe, but Kabwe pushed the ball just wide of the goal.

Eleven minutes later, the two hooked up again, only this time for the game's opening goal. Richardson, as he's been wont to do since joining the club in early July, beat his man on the left wing, played a ball across the box and Kabwe was on the other end for his second goal of the season.

"We knew Gregory was going to beat his man," said Kabwe, who's scored a goal and has two assists in his last two matches. "So when I was running to goal, I was timing my run. I knew if I went near post everybody was going to rush to me so I kind of sat back at the far post. The ball came to me, and I just took a touch and took a shot from there."

The RailHawks nearly got their second goal in the 56th minute. On a free kick, Brian Plotkin served the ball to the far post. Brad Rusin headed it back toward the center and Schulte headed it on frame, but Reynolds got a foot on the ball and kept it out.

On their next free kick, the RailHawks found a way to beat Reynolds. Kreamalmeyer played a ball into the area, Schulte headed it down, and Bundu knocked it in the goal.

"It took us a while to score, but once we did I knew we just had to get the next goal in the second half and I thought it would open up," Rennie said. "It's another confidence boost, and we're the first team to win 11 games now."

Andriy Budnyy, who entered the match in the 80th minute, scored the RailHawks' final goal in the 85th. Plotkin played Kreamalmeyer out wide. Kreamalmeyer broke in on goal and then sent it across the box to Budnyy, and he knocked it in.

"I saw Plotkin, he saw me," Kreamalmeyer said. "He put the ball perfectly in front of me and I took a touch behind the defender, and I was looking to shoot when I saw Andriy wide open so I just slid it across and then he put it in."

The RailHawks will go for their third straight win and eighth in nine outings on Wednesday, when they will meet the Rochester Rhinos in Rochester, N.Y.

"The biggest thing is you just want to win. It's nice to score three or four goals and we want to keep doing that, but most importantly, we want to be hard to beat and we want to keep winning," Rennie said. "All the teams at the top of the league are doing well. We can't slip up. Our next game's going to be a real tough one against Rochester. The lost [Friday] night so they'll be fired up for the game. That should be a good one."

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