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NASL North Carolina FC

Match Preview: RailHawks and Minnesota Kick off at 3:30pm on Fox Sports North

October 19, 2013 - North American Soccer League (NASL)
North Carolina FC News Release


BLAINE, Minnesota (October 19, 2013) - The Carolina RailHawks (4W-2T-5L, 14pts) journey to the "Land of 10,000 Lakes" to face NASL rival, Minnesota United (4W-2T-5L, 14pts) on Saturday, October 19 at National Sports Center in Blaine, Minnesota. The match will kick off at 3:30pm ET and will be televised on Fox Sports North and streamed on www.CarolinaRailHawks.com .

The two clubs are tied in the NASL standings on 14 points and will meet for the fourth time this year. Thus far the RailHawks have taken the advantage in the yearly series, with 2 wins at WakeMed Soccer Park and 1 tie at the Metrodome. Despite the advantage, the RailHawks have never fared well in Minnesota with a winless record of 0W-4T-4L.

"Minnesota is a good team and fans are going to be able to expect a hard fought match," said RailHawks Head Coach Colin Clarke. "We are battling some injuries at an unfortunate time in the season, but have squad that is more than capable of getting a result this weekend."

In search of their first win in Minnesota, the RailHawks will have to do it without the services of captain Austin da Luz, defender Kevin Rutkiewicz and midfielders Breiner Ortiz and Tiyiselani Shipalane.

In the previous meeting in Minnesota, the two clubs drew 2-2 on the Metrodome turf. RailHawks defender Jordan Graye gave the RailHawks the halftime lead before former RailHawks forward Etienne Barbara scored two goals to give the home side the lead. But RailHawks midfielder Enzo Martinez would have the last say with his 84th minute wonder-strike to level the match.

Last Time Out

Both clubs are coming off disappointing losses and will look to have quick starts in search of an early goal. The RailHawks left New York with a 4-0 loss at the hands of the Cosmos. In his first week back from injury, NASL leading goal scorer Brian Shriver showed flashes, but was unable to link up with his strike partner. For the RailHawks to grab a road victory, Shriver will need to improve upon last week's performance. Minnesota United is coming off their own loss with a 3-1 result at Atlanta Silverbacks Park.

Top Scorers

Saturday afternoons match will feature some of the NASL's best scorers. At the top of the scoring chart is the RailHawks Brian Shriver with 12 goals. After missing 3 matches due to injury, Shriver will look to return to his previous scoring rate. Minnesota holds their own pair of top scorers in NASL all-time leading goal scorer Pablo Campos and Simone Bracellelo. Campos has 9 goals on the year and currently ranks fourth in the NASL Golden Boot Race. Bracellelo has finished his fair share of chances with 7 goals, but is also a deadly assist man with 5 assist, good for 5th best in the NASL. Any of these three deadly forwards have the ability to strike at any time and notch a goal for their club.

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