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USL-1 North Carolina FC

RailHawks return home after three straight road wins

May 28, 2009 - USL First Division (USL-1)
North Carolina FC News Release


After three straight wins on the road, the first-place Carolina RailHawks return to WakeMed Soccer Park on Friday to face the Cleveland City Stars at 8 p.m. in Fox Soccer Channel's USL-1 game of the week.

This will be the second meeting between the two clubs in eight days. Carolina (6-2-1, 19 points) beat the City Stars 3-0 in Cleveland last Friday on Fox Soccer Channel.

"We've got to make up for not playing so well the last time we played at home," said RailHawks coach Martin Rennie, alluding to Carolina's 2-1 loss to Charleston on May 9. "I think the guys are focused on that and ready to play."

Friday's match with Cleveland will mark the one-third point of the season. Already, the RailHawks are rewriting the club record book. In the team's first two seasons, it did not record its 19th point until the 15th game of the season. In 2007, the RailHawks didn't win their sixth game until their 23rd match of the season. In 2008, they didn't win their sixth game until their 24th match of the season. They've accomplished both feats this year in nine games.

Before this season, the RailHawks had never won three matches in a row. This year, they've done it twice. The latest three-match win streak occurred on the road, the longest such success away from WakeMed Soccer Park the team's ever enjoyed.

The RailHawks enter Friday's match having not conceded a goal in 306 minutes, the second time this season they've held their opponents scoreless for more than 300 minutes. The club record is 357 minutes, set in 2007. Goalkeepers Eric Reed and Caleb Patterson each have three clean sheets to their credit, and the six shutouts Carolina has posted this year matches the number of shutouts the RailHawks had in all of 2008.

Not only are the RailHawks in first place, but they also lead the USL-1 in goals scored (11) and goal differential (plus-6), and they are ranked third in goals per game (1.22).

Friday's match is presented by WakeMed Health & Hospitals. For the occasion WakeMed will land its Air Mobile helicopter at 7 p.m. on Field 4 for all fans to visit. Also, the first 1,500 fans will receive a RailHawks/WakeMed pom pom, courtesy of WakeMed.

The New York Red Bulls Street Team will perform on the concourse before the match and at halftime on the field.

Monkey Joe's Inflatables for children will be on the East Concourse, and those who want to participate in the Kids Tunnel should meet at the North End corner of the stadium 30 minutes before kickoff.

Spirits Pub & Grub, located 701 E. Chatham St. in Cary, will host a postgame party immediately following the final whistle.

Individual tickets ($10, $15 and $20) are available at the LGFCU Box Office, by calling 919-859-KICK (5425) or by visiting www.carolinarailhawks.com. Children under 6 are admitted free and children ages 7-12 get in for $5 regardless of seat location.

Gates open at 6:30 p.m.

SCOUTING CLEVELAND

At 1-4-1, Cleveland enters the weekend in 10th place in the USL First Division. The City Stars started the season with three straight losses before playing Portland to a scoreless draw on May 9 to earn their first point of the year. Cleveland picked up its first USL-1 victory on May 16 with a 1-0 win at Minnesota.

After allowing nine goals in their first three matches, the City Stars had back-to-back shutouts before the RailHawks beat Cleveland 3-0 last weekend.

The promoted City Stars have found goals a bit harder to come by since their move up to the USL-1 from USL-2, where they played the previous two seasons. They've only scored two goals this season, while conceding 12.

Goalkeeper Hunter Gilstrap is among the league leaders in saves, with 29 in five starts. He posted 11 saves against Portland on May 9, an effort that earned him USL-1 Player of the Week honors. He had seven saves against Minnesota on his way to a second straight clean sheet. He had four saves last week against Carolina.

Part of the reason the City Stars are allowing 2.0 goals per game is because they give up a lot of shots. Through six matches, they've been outshot 97-33.

INJURY REPORT

Jack Stewart (ankle) is out 2-3 months.

LAST TIME OUT

The RailHawks picked up two away wins and six points last weekend. On Friday, they beat Cleveland 3-0 at Middlefield Cheese Stadium. Daniel Paladini had two assists, while Andriy Budnyy, John Cunliffe and Joseph Kabwe each scored their first goal of the season. Defender Jeremy Tolleson assisted on Kabwe's goal, and goalkeeper Eric Reed made one save to earn his third shutout of the season.

On Sunday, the RailHawks downed Austin 1-0 at Nelson Field after an 83rd-minute penalty by Paladini. Caleb Patterson had six saves in goal to earn his third shutout in four starts.

During their three match road trip, the RailHawks outscored their opponents 6-0 and five different players scored the six goals.

THREE MORE MAKE TEAM OF THE WEEK

Carolina midfielder Daniel Paladini, forward Andriy Budnyy and defender Kupono Low were named to the USL First Division Team of the Week for Week 7.

Paladini had two assists in Friday's 3-0 win at Cleveland, and he scored the game-winning goal on Sunday in the RailHawks' 1-0 win at Austin. Budnny was on the other end of Paladini's first assist in Cleveland, scoring his first goal of the season in the 18th minute. Paladini also assisted John Cunliffe's 21st- minute goal against the City Stars. On Sunday, Paladini converted an 83rd-minute penalty kick for his first goal of the season.

Low played all 90 minutes at left back Friday in Cleveland, where he helped the RailHawks hold the City Stars to six shots and earn Carolina's second straight shutout. He also played 13 minutes as a second-half substitute in Austin, where the RailHawks earned their sixth shutout of the season.

With three players this week, the RailHawks have had nine different players make a USL-1 team of the week, more than any other team in the league. Defender John Gilkerson is the only RailHawk to make more than one team of the week.

"It highlights the fact that it's a team effort for us," said Carolina coach Martin Rennie. "We've scored 11 goals in the league and it's been nine different scorers. Those things are good because it shows everybody's contributing and is involved. That helps to build harmony, but it also shows you that if one guy's missing, then the team doesn't fall apart."

OPEN CUP MATCH-UP ANNOUNCED

The Carolina RailHawks will open the 2009 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup against the USL Second Division's Richmond Kickers on June 9 on Field 2 at WakeMed Soccer Park.

"I've played them the last couple seasons, so I know quite a bit about them," said Carolina coach Martin Rennie. "Probably both teams would rather have somebody else, but it'll be a good game. I really respect Richmond. I think they're a well run organization and I think they're a really good team. That's a pretty tough first-round draw, to be honest."

As coach of the Cleveland City Stars during the 2007-08 seasons when they played in USL-2, Rennie's teams went a combined 1-1-3 against the Kickers. Richmond (1-1-4) currently sits in sixth place in the nine-team USL-2.

Carolina and Richmond met in the 2007 U.S. Open Cup quarterfinals after both knocked off MLS teams in the third round (Carolina beat Chicago, Richmond beat Los Angeles). Carolina earned a 1-0 win at WakeMed Soccer Park thanks to a goal by Connally Edozien. The RailHawks and Kickers have also met in each of the last three preseasons. In April, the Kickers prevailed 1-0 on a 90th-minute goal by Matthew Delicate.

The 96th Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup will feature 40 teams, 24 professional and 16 amateur. First-round pairings were determined by dividing the clubs geographically into eight groups of four and then conducting random draws within each group. In the second round, which will be conducted June 16, the 16 first-round winners will face off, and those eight victors will move on to the third round to square off against eight MLS teams. The quarterfinals will be played July 7, the semifinals will be played July 21 or 22, and the final will be played on Sept. 2.

LEAUGE LEADERS

Four RailHawks are at the top of four different USL-1 statistical categories. Mark Schulte leads the league in minutes played (910). Daniel Paladini is tied for the league lead in assists (three). Caleb Patterson is tied for the league lead in fewest goals allowed (two) and Eric Reed is tied for the league lead in goalkeeper wins (four).

DID YOU KNOW?

Sunday's 1-0 win over Austin represented Carolina's sixth shutout of the season. The RailHawks had six shutouts (in USL-1) in all of 2008. Sunday's win over Austin was also the RailHawks' third away win this season, matching last season's entire away win total.

USL-1 STANDINGS

1. Carolina RailHawks 6-2-1, 19 points

2. Charleston Battery 4-0-4, 16 points

3. Rochester Rhinos 4-3-1, 13 points

4. Portland Timbers 3-1-3, 12 points

5. Vancouver Whitecaps 3-2-2, 11 points

6. Puerto Rico Islanders 2-2-3, 9 points

7. Miami FC Blues 2-4-1, 7 points

8. Austin Aztex 1-2-3, 6 points

9. Montreal Impact 1-3-2, 5 points

10. Cleveland City Stars 1-4-1, 4 points

11. Minnesota Thunder 0-4-3, 3 points

USL-1 SCHEDULE

Friday, May 29

Cleveland at Carolina, 8 p.m.

Puerto Rico at Austin, 8:30 p.m.

Saturday, May 30

Cleveland at Charleston, 7:30 p.m.

Montreal at Rochester, 7:35 p.m.

Vancouver at Portland, 10 p.m.

Sunday, May 31

Puerto Rico at Minnesota, 6:05 p.m.

Check out the North Carolina FC Statistics



USL First Division Stories from May 28, 2009


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