Sports stats



NASL North Carolina FC

Match Recap: Carolina Tops Minnesota United 1-0 in Final Home Game of the Season

October 22, 2016 - North American Soccer League (NASL)
North Carolina FC News Release


Cary, N.C. - The Carolina RailHawks (11W-7D-13L; 40 pts; 6th place) defeated Minnesota United FC (11W-8D-12L; 41 pts; 5th place) 1-0 in their final home match of the 2016 NASL Season, setting a regular season attendance record of 8,086. Despite the win, a Rayo OKC victory over Fort Lauderdale eliminated the RailHawks from playoff contention with one game left in the regular season. Forward Matt Fondy netted the game-winner making him this season's team leading scorer with seven tallies.

"[It's] Bittersweet," said Head Coach Colin Clarke. "It was our best performance of the year in a lot of ways against a very good team. We had our best crowd of the year, it was just a great night. I thought the boys were superb from the first whistle and their overall performance was very good."

Minnesota came close to securing the early lead in the 6th minute when Mickey Daly was called for a foul just outside the box. However, Kevin Venegas' impressive free kick curled into the outside netting, allowing Carolina to regroup and start their attack.

The RailHawks looked to counter as Matt Fondy nearly capitalized on a Tiyi Shipalane corner kick in the 13th minute, but the forward's header missed the frame.

In the 30th minute, Matt Watson looked to find the net from his signature spot just outside the box. The center midfielder's shot was saved by a diving Sammy Ndjock, resulting in a RailHawks corner. Ndjock had another big save shortly after as he snuffed a Brian Shriver breakaway in the 39th minute.

The RailHawks headed into the locker room with the majority of possession and seven shots on goal.

Carolina started the first half searching for a goal. Captain and NASL Golden Ball nominee Nazmi Albadawi fired a shot towards the bottom right post, but Ndjock dove to keep the score at zero.

Carolina's efforts came together when Watson stole the ball at center field to spark a dangerous attack. Watson slotted the ball to Brian Shriver who played it across the face of the goal to the feet of Matt Fondy. Fondy skillfully put away his seventh goal of the season and put the RailHawks ahead of Minnesota United 1-0 in the 51st minute.

In the 72nd minute, Albadawi's shot hit the hand of Minnesota defender Damion Lowe, setting Albadawi up for a penalty kick. The midfielder's attempt, however, sailed over the crossbar.

Just one minute later, NASL Young Player of the Year nominee Sylvestre made a crucial save after Venegas took a hard shot at the keeper.

Minnesota found the net in the 80th minute, but their goal was immediately called offside. The Loons made a final push to find the equalizer in the finals minutes, but a huge save from Sylvestre, and later the crossbar, stifled their attempts, helping the RailHawks secure their 1-0 win at home.

Hawk Hits:

Matt Fondy scored his seventh goal of the season and is now the team's leading scorer for the 2016 season. Brian Shriver made his second assist of the season. He is the second leading goal scorer on the team with six. Brian Sylvestre made his 10th consecutive start. The 23-year-old has been nominated for the NASL Young Player of the Year Award. Click here to vote for Sylvestre. Nazmi Albadawi has been nominated for the 2016 NASL Golden Ball Award (MVP). Click here to vote for Albadadwi. Team awards were announced at halftime during the game. Click here to see who won. Fans can vote for their favorite RailHawks player to win the "2016 Fan Favorite Award". Click here to vote. Voting ends on October 28 at 5 p.m. ET. With a Rayo OKC win tonight, the Carolina RailHawks are out of 2016 NASL Playoff contention. The RailHawks will next travel to Puerto Rico for their final match of the 2016 season. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, October 29.

Boxscore:

CAR 1

MNU 0

Lineups:

CAR: Brian Sylvestre; Kareem Moses, Mickey Daly, Connor Tobin, Steven Miller; Austin da Luz, Matt Watson, Nazmi Albadawi ©, Tiyi Shipalane (Marvin Ceballos, 87'); Brian Shriver (Drew Beckie, 90'), Matt Fondy

Subs not used: Akira Fitzgerald, Simon Mensing, James Marcelin, Omar Bravo, Billy Schuler

MNU: Sammy Ndjock; Brent Kallman, Damion Lowe (Bernardo Anor, 78'), Justin Davis, Kevin Venegas; Jeb Brovsky (Aaron Pitchkolan, 37'), J.C. Banks, Ibson, Ben Speas, Danny Cruz (Stefano Pinho, 68'); Christian Ramirez

Subs not used: Tiago Calvano, Jack Blake, Chris Klute, Steward Ceus

Goals:

CAR: Fondy (Shriver, Watson 51')

MNU: --

Cautions:

CAR: Albadawi (10'), Moses (77')

MNU: Pitchkolan (67')

Ejections:

CAR -- MNU --

Attendance: 8,086 (regular season record)

Check out the North Carolina FC Statistics



North American Soccer League Stories from October 22, 2016


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.

OurSports Central