RailHawks Get Back on Track, Top Strikers 2-0
August 20, 2011 - North American Soccer League (NASL)
North Carolina FC News Release
CARY, N.C. - The Carolina RailHawks (15-4-3) regained their winning touch on Saturday night, topping the Ft. Lauderdale Strikers 2-0 at WakeMed Soccer Park. Etienne Barbara led the way with his 17th goal of the season, and Matt Watson buried the Strikers with his second-half goal.
RailHawks goalkeeper Brad Knighton kept the Strikers off the board early and finished the night with five saves for his seventh shutout of the season.
The RailHawks broke the game open in the 30th minute.
After receiving a give-and-go from Pablo Campos, Barbara took a couple of touches in the attacking third and earned a penalty kick after getting tackled by Strikers defender Toni Stahl.
Displaying the confidence of a league-leading scorer, Barbara stutter stepped his approach and buried the penalty kick in the top left corner of the goal.
Coming out of halftime, the RailHawks attack began to gain some fluidity, leading to the second goal of the game.
In the 57th minute, Campos split the Strikers' defense with a perfectly weighted through ball to Watson, who calmly played it past Strikers' goalkeeper Matt Glaeser to make the game 2-0.
Steady goalkeeping and timely defending for the remainder of the game locked up three points for the league-leading RailHawks.
Next, the RailHawks travel down to Atlanta to take on the Silverbacks, next Saturday at 7:30 p.m. They return to WakeMed Soccer Park on the following Saturday, September 3, to take on FC Tampa Bay at 7:00 p.m.
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