USL-1 North Carolina FC

RailHawks hit the road for twin tilt with Portland

Published on April 29, 2009 under USL First Division (USL-1)
North Carolina FC News Release


After a successful three-game homestand at WakeMed Soccer Park to open the 2009 USL First Division season, the undefeated Carolina RailHawks (3-0-0) will hit the road for the first time this year for two dates with the Portland Timbers (0-1-0) this week.

Carolina and Portland will square off on Thursday and Saturday. Both matches are at PGE Park and both kick off at 10 p.m. EST. They will be broadcast on USLLive.com.

The RailHawks are off to their best start in club history. With nine points through three games, they sit atop the USL-1 standings heading into the weekend. Carolina has outscored its first three opponents 4-1, and the RailHawks head out to Portland riding a streak of 243 minutes without conceding a goal.

Four different players have accounted for the team's goal total (Mark Schulte, Gavin Glinton, Sallieu Bundu and Brian Plotkin), while goalkeepers Eric Reed and Caleb Patterson have alternated starts so far this year, and both have one clean sheet to their credit.

The Timbers will open their home slate against the RailHawks, but Carolina has traditionally been an inhospitable guest at PGE Park. In two trips to the City of Roses, the RailHawks have gone 1-0-1 and not conceded a goal to the Timbers. In fact, the RailHawks have conceded only one goal to the Timbers in five all-time meetings.

"I've been really looking forward to this game for the last couple weeks," said Carolina coach Martin Rennie. "I didn't look too far ahead because we had our home games, but Portland is just a great city and it's a great place to play. They've got really passionate fans and a great crowd, so I think it'll be a game a lot of players will really be looking forward to and excited about. It'll also be a chance for a couple guys to come into the squad who haven't really been in the squad yet, like Andriy Budnyy and Matt Watson, and guys like that who are just really quality. And having Kupono Low back, he's a top player, too. I'm just really excited about what we can do out there. It's going to be fun."

INJURY REPORT

Defender Paul Ritchie (knee) and midfielder Brian Plotkin (stomach) will be unavailable due to injury.

SCOUTING PORTLAND

The Timbers were at the bottom of the 2008 USL-1 table after going 7-13-10 and finishing with 31 points and a goal differential of minus-7.

Like the Carolina RailHawks, Portland coach Gavin Wilkinson remade his roster for 2009.

Portland signed a trio of players who had standout 2008 campaigns with the Atlanta Silverbacks (David Hayes, Jason McLaughlin and Tony McManus), and they added Minnesota's Brian Farber, a quartet that injects plenty of USL experience to the roster.

The Timbers also added J-League veteran Takuro Nishamura, who joins countryman Takayuki Suzuki, who was among Portland's top players in 2008. Portland also signed Frenchman Vua Dieumerci, Guinean Mandjou Keita and Antouman Jallow of Sweden and Gambia.

Rounding out the additions are the handful of MLS players: Ryan Pore (Kansas City), George Josten (Columbus), Keith Savage (Chivas USA), Steve Cronin (Los Angeles) and Alex Nimo, who is on loan from Real Salt Lake. The signing of Cronin is a critical component of the lineup following last year's struggles caused, in part, by the reliance of goalkeepers on loan after losing Josh Wicks to the LA Galaxy prior to the season.

In addition to a busy offseason with player movement, it was also announced that the Timbers would become a Major League Soccer franchise in 2011.

SERIES HISTORY

This weekend's matches will represent the sixth and seventh meetings all time between Carolina and Portland. The RailHawks hold a 2-1-2 advantage over the Timbers in the series. In 2008, the RailHawks earned seven of a possible nine points in the season series and did not concede a goal against Portland in any match.

If history is any indicator, don't expect a goalfest when these two teams kick the ball around. In their five meetings, the teams have combined for three goals. The RailHawks have outscored the Timbers 2-1 in the series.

May 27, 2007: T, 0-0

In their first trip to Portland, the RailHawks stole a point despite playing a man down for 52 minutes after midfielder Jonny Steele drew his second yellow card of the match in the 38th minute. The intensely physical scoreless draw featured 42 fouls and eight yellow cards.

Sept. 1, 2007: L, 1-0

The RailHawks outshot the Timbers 15-6 and had the run of play for most of the match, but Portland's Bryan Jordan scored the game's only goal (assisted by current RailHawk Luke Kreamalmeyer) in the 80th minute, and the Timbers swiped three points from their first trip to WakeMed Soccer Park.

June 27, 2008: W, 1-0

Carolina midfielder Martin Nunez scored the fastest goal in club history (4th minute) and the RailHawks made the lead hold up over the final 86 minutes to prevail 1-0 at WakeMed Soccer Park. The end-to-end match featured 21 shots, 35 fouls and five yellow cards.

July 24, 2008: T, 0-0

The RailHawks fired 12 shots and the Timbers 14, but both goalkeepers prevented any of them from finding the back of the nets at PGE Park. Carolina's Chris McClellan stopped six shots and Portland's Brad Knighton five. The match was marred by 42 fouls, two yellow cards and two ejections.

Sept. 20, 2008:, W, 1-0

Martin Nunez provided the difference once again for the RailHawks, only this time it came late in the match. The diminutive Uruguayan midfielder tucked the ball into the goal in the 90th minute to give the RailHawks a win in their 2008 season finale at WakeMed Soccer Park.

LAST TIME OUT

The RailHawks closed out their season-opening homestand on Sunday at WakeMed Soccer Park with a 1-0 win over the Minnesota Thunder. It was their third straight win - a franchise first - and second straight shutout. Midfielder Brian Plotkin scored the game's only goal in the 58th minute.

DID YOU KNOW?

The RailHawks have never won their road opener. They are 0-1-1 in their first match on the road the last two seasons. In 2007, they lost 2-0 at Atlanta. Last season, they played the Silverbacks to a 1-1 draw.

Only three RailHawks have played all 270 minutes of the 2009 season (defenders John Gilkerson and Mark Schulte and midfielder Amir Lowery).

RAILHAWKS ADD DEFENDER RUSIN

The Carolina RailHawks signed defender Brad Rusin, the club announced Tuesday.

The 6-foot-4, 200-pound defender was a standout at UCLA from 2005-08. Rusin made 76 appearances during his career with the Bruins, scoring four goals and helping the team win two Pac-10 championships.

"Brad came on tryout with us and just stood out with his presence," said RailHawks coach Martin Rennie. "He's a young player with a lot of potential and we want to invest in him. We have two former Scottish international defenders - Paul Ritchie and Brian Irvine - and when I spoke to both of them, they thought they could really work with him and help him. He's got all the attributes to be a top player, so we're excited to have him."

Last fall at UCLA, Rusin led a defense that had eight shutouts, and he scored a career-high three goals, including two game winners, and he had two assists. Rusin, a team co-captain, was named All-Pac-10 first team after leading the Bruins' defense to six consecutive shutouts and a 0.76 goals against average. He was also named to TopDrawerSoccer.com's Team of the Season (second team).

"It's great to be here. It's a great team," Rusin said. "All the guys have been great. I'm one of the youngest guys, and it's good to have a lot of veterans around to learn from."

PLOTKIN, GILKERSON ON TEAM OF THE WEEK

Carolina midfielder Brian Plotkin and defender John Gilkerson have been named to the USL First Division Team of the Week for Week 3, the USL-1 announced Tuesday.

Plotkin scored the game-winning goal for the RailHawks in their 1-0 win over Minnesota on Sunday at WakeMed Soccer Park, while Gilkerson's role on the backline helped Carolina secure its second straight shutout.

"Those guys, it's well deserved," said Carolina coach Martin Rennie. "They're two of the younger players we brought here believing we could help them develop and improve. And I've seen big improvement in both of them. John's an elite athlete, and I think Brian's a really clever player and he creates a lot for us."

Plotkin scored his first goal of the season in the 58th minute Sunday. Midfielder Josh Gardner played Plotkin into the box. The ball took a deflection off a Minnesota defender and went straight to Plotkin. He took a couple touches then toe-poked the ball into the frame.

Gilkerson, the RailHawks' left back, helped hold the Thunder to just five shots Sunday. With the shutout, the RailHawks have conceded just one goal in their first three games; none in the last 243 minutes. Gilkerson is one of only three RailHawks to have played all 270 minutes so far this season.

This is the second straight week the RailHawks have had two members on the Team of the Week. In Week 2, defender Jack Stewart and midfielder Josh Gardner earned the honor.

THIS WEEKEND IN USL-1

*ALL MATCHES AVAILABLE LIVE AND ON DEMAND AT USLLive.com (all times EST)*

Thursday, April 30

Carolina at Portland, 10 p.m.

Friday, May 1

Rochester at Cleveland City, 8 p.m.

Saturday, May 2

Montreal at Puerto Rico, 8 p.m.

Charleston at Miami, 8 p.m.

Vancouver at Minnesota, 8:05 p.m.

Carolina at Portland, 10 p.m.

RAILHAWKS ON THE WEB

Keep up with the Carolina RailHawks on the team's web site, CarolinaRailHawks.com, on the team's blog, RailHawks Report, on Twitter and on our Facebook Page.

Also, keep up with the RailHawks on their podcast, RailHawk Talk. This week's guest was midfielder Brian Plotkin. Download it at RailHawks Report.

Check out the North Carolina FC Statistics

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USL First Division Stories from April 29, 2009


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