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NASL North Carolina FC

RailHawks Open Season With Back-To-Back Home Matches

February 8, 2010 - North American Soccer League (NASL)
North Carolina FC News Release


CARY, N.C. (Feb. 8, 2009) - The Carolina RailHawks will kick off their fourth season with a pair of home matches at WakeMed Soccer Park against AC St. Louis on April 10 and NSC Minnesota on April 16.

The 2010 USSF Division 2 schedule, which was released Monday, will feature 30 matches, with each team playing 15 at home and 15 away.

"It's exciting to finally have the schedule for next season," said RailHawks coach Martin Rennie. "We're bringing back a strong nucleus from last year's team and adding a few new key players that will help us build on all the success of 2009."

The RailHawks will play the bulk of their games on the weekend - 21 matches, 11 at WakeMed Soccer Park, leaving nine mid-week dates, four at home.

After their two-match, season-opening homestand, the RailHawks will play six of their next seven on the road. The only home match will be May 14 against Tampa Bay. They won't play another league match at WakeMed Soccer Park until June 19 against Crystal Palace.

With the front of the schedule loaded with away matches - 10 of Carolina's first 15 matches are on the road - the back end will allow the RailHawks to play mostly at home. Of their final 15 matches, 10 of them will be at WakeMed Soccer Park. Beginning July 28, the RailHawks will kick off a four-match homestand against Rochester, then face Vancouver (July 31), Montreal (Aug. 7) and Rochester again (Aug. 11). The RailHawks will close the season with four home matches in September against Crystal Palace (Sept. 3), Portland (Sept. 11), Puerto Rico (Sept. 25) and Austin (Sept. 30).

Eight teams will qualify for the playoffs, which will begin the week of Oct. 4. The first-place teams in the USL Conference and NASL Conference will be the top two seeds. The next six best teams, based on total points, will round out the playoff field. Each round, including the championship, will be conducted as two-game, home-and-away aggregate goal series.

Tentative dates for the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup have also been established, though the draw will not occur until later in the spring. The first round is set for June 15-16, and subsequent rounds will follow on June 22-23, June 29-30, July 6-7, Aug. 31-Sept. 1 and Oct. 4-5.

The RailHawks have also reserved dates for at least two exhibition games - one in April, one in July - and are planning to bring in at least one team from Mexico's Primera División. Those teams and the dates of those friendlies will be announced soon, as will the RailHawks' preseason plans.

For ticket information to all RailHawks matches at WakeMed Soccer Park, contact the LGFCU Box Office at 919-859-5425 or visit www.carolinarailhawks.com.

For the entire USSF Division 2 schedule, visit www.ussoccer.com.

CAROLINA RAILHAWKS 2010 USSF D2 SCHEDULE

Date Home Team Away Team

Saturday, April 10 Carolina RailHawks AC St. Louis

Friday, April 16 Carolina RailHawks NSC Minnesota

Saturday, May 1 Rochester Rhinos Carolina RailHawks

Saturday, May 8 Miami FC Carolina RailHawks

Friday, May 14 Carolina RailHawks Tampa Bay Rowdies

Wednesday, May 26 Puerto Rico Islanders Carolina RailHawks

Sunday, May 30 Montreal Impact Carolina RailHawks

Sunday, June 6 Portland Timbers Carolina RailHawks

Wednesday, June 9 Vancouver Whitecaps Carolina RailHawks

Saturday, June 19 Carolina RailHawks Crystal Palace Baltimore

Saturday, June 26 Carolina RailHawks Montreal Impact

Saturday, July 3 AC St. Louis Carolina RailHawks

Sunday, July 11 Puerto Rico Islanders Carolina RailHawks

Wednesday, July 14 Montreal Impact Carolina RailHawks

Saturday, July 17 Rochester Rhinos Carolina RailHawks

Tuesday, July 27 Carolina RailHawks Rochester Rhinos

Saturday, July 31 Carolina RailHawks Vancouver Whitecaps

Saturday, August 7 Carolina RailHawks Montreal Impact

Wednesday, August 11 Carolina RailHawks Rochester Rhinos

Saturday, August 14 Crystal Palace Baltimore Carolina RailHawks

Wednesday, August 18 Carolina RailHawks Miami FC

Saturday, August 21 Austin Aztex Carolina RailHawks

Wednesday, August 25 Tampa Bay Rowdies Carolina RailHawks

Saturday, August 28 Carolina RailHawks Puerto Rico Islanders

Friday, Sept. 3 Carolina RailHawks Crystal Palace Baltimore

Saturday, Sept. 11 Carolina RailHawks Portland Timbers

Wednesday, September 15 NSC Minnesota Carolina RailHawks

Saturday, September 18 Crystal Palace Baltimore Carolina RailHawks

Saturday, September 25 Carolina RailHawks Puerto Rico Islanders

Thursday, September 30 Carolina RailHawks Austin Aztex

Check out the North Carolina FC Statistics



North American Soccer League Stories from February 8, 2010


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