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Match Preview: RailHawks Continue Playoff Push against Minnesota

September 11, 2015 - North American Soccer League (NASL)
North Carolina FC News Release


CARY, NC (September 11, 2015) - The Carolina RailHawks continue their fight for a postseason berth on the road against Minnesota United FC on Saturday, September 12th at 8:00 pm ET. The match will be broadcast live locally in North Carolina on WRAL2, and nationally on ESPN3.

Saturday will be the teams' second meeting of the Fall Season. The RailHawks hosted Minnesota United in July and earned a 3-1 victory off of goals from Simone Bracalello, Tiyi Shipalane and Austin da Luz.

The RailHawks are looking to continue to earn valuable points and climb in the standings. With 26 Combined Season points, the RailHawks are currently only four points off of a playoff spot with eight matches still to play in the regular season. Minnesota United currently sits third in the Combined and second in the Fall league standings.

The RailHawks enter Saturday's match coming off of a hard-fought 3-3 draw with the San Antonio Scorpions.

In Wednesday's match against the Scorpions, the RailHawks jumped out to an early 2-0 lead after Nacho Novo and Tiyi Shipalane scored in the 21st and 25th minutes, respectively. Despite Akira Fitzgerald stopped a penalty kick to Rafael Castillo in the second half, the Scorpions claimed the lead with three goals of their own, until the 77th minute when Austin da Luz tapped in a Shipalane cross, causing an own goal from Nana Attakora that would ultimately level the score at 3-3.

Minnesota United FC is also coming off of a draw on the road. Minnesota United tied FC Edmonton 1-1 last Sunday, with Kalif Alhassan scoring Minnesota United's lone goal in the 11th minute. Minnesota United held the lead the entire match, until FC Edmonton struck in the 90th minute.

The RailHawks remain on the road after Saturday's match, travelling to Atlanta to take on the Atlanta Silverbacks on Saturday, September 19th at 7:30 pm ET.

The RailHawks make their return to WakeMed Soccer Park to host first-place Ottawa Fury FC on Friday, September 26th at 7:30 pm.

RailHawks Notes:

Who to Watch

After scoring the second goal for the RailHawks against the Scorpions with a rocket strike from the edge of the box in the 25th minute last Wednesday, Tiyi Shipalane has shown fans and rivals how dynamic he is and has now recorded five goals and seven assists this season. Shipalane has logged more than 1,600 minutes in 2015 for the RailHawks.

Coach's Quote

"Saturday's game against Minnesota will be very important. We are getting down to the part of the season when every point is crucial," said RailHawks Head Coach Colin Clarke. "We need to start finding that consistency that is going to make the difference as we go into the end of the season. So we are going to Minnesota looking to get three points and keep us in place to reach our goals of getting to The Championship."

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