USL-1 North Carolina FC

Carolina RailHawks Announce Three More Signings

Published on February 28, 2007 under USL First Division (USL-1)
North Carolina FC News Release


CARY, N.C. - The Carolina RailHawks today announced the signing of three players to contracts, including USL First Division All-Star Frank Sanfilippo. Also signed for next season are Liberian forward McColm Cephas and midfielder Rune Hagen from Norway.

Sanfilippo, who played for the Rochester Raging Rhinos and Syracuse Salty Dogs prior to joining the RailHawks, will be playing in his fourth season in the USL First Division. A stalwart of Rochester's defense, Sanfilippo played in 26 of the Rhinos' 28 matches last season, ranking third on the team in minutes played. The San Diego native notched three assists last season for the Rhinos and performed admirably against English club Sheffield Wednesday in the USL All-Star Game at SAS Soccer Park last July.

"It's great to get an All-Star on the team," RailHawks Head Coach Scott Schweitzer said. "People are going to fall in love with Frankie. I've never seen him outplayed against anyone. You know that when things get tough, he's going to be right there."

Prior to his professional career, Sanfilippo played for San Jose State University. In 2002, he was a NSCAA first-team All-American for the Far West region and named to the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) All-Conference and All-Tournament teams. Sanfilippo was selected in the sixth round of the 2003 MLS Superdraft by the San Jose Earthquakes.

Cephas joins his third USL-1 team. The Liberian international spent the 2006 season on loan to the Virginia Beach Mariners, where he appeared in 12 matches for the Mariners. Prior to that, Cephas played two seasons for the Richmond Kickers while they were in the USL First Division. The Monrovia, Liberia native led Richmond in scoring in his first year for the Kickers, scoring 12 goals and being named a finalist for USL-1 Rookie of the Year honors.

Collegiately, Cephas was a standout striker for Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond. He scored 23 goals in his two seasons with the Rams, including 17 goals his senior year. Cephas received 2003 NSCAA All-South Atlantic Region First Team honors following his senior season. Before arriving at VCU, Cephas played for two seasons at Morehouse College in Atlanta. In 2004, Cephas made his debut for the Liberian national team. He played in two World Cup 2006 qualifying matches for the Lone Stars, a road match against Zambia and a home game versus Senegal.

Hagen arrives in Cary as a free agent after his contract with Greek team GS Ergotelis expired. The Norwegian played one season for the Crete-based team, joining them from Danish side Herfolge BK. A left-sided midfielder, Hagen led the Norwegian Tippeligaen (first division) in assists in 1998 while playing for Stromsgodset IF. Hagen also enjoyed spells in Norway with clubs Valerenga and IK Start. The Honefoss, Norway native has represented his country at the youth level. He was also a member of the bronze medal-winning Norway side in the 1998 UEFA Under-21 Championship.

"With McColm and Rune we have two players that can scare defenders and make the crowd stand up and get excited," Coach Schweitzer said. "Both players can beat the other teams' defenses on the counter-attack with their speed. And we can also break defenses down in the run of play with possession of the ball and intelligent runs."

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USL First Division Stories from February 28, 2007


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