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USL-1 North Carolina FC

RailHawks return home needing 2-goal win

September 25, 2009 - USL First Division (USL-1)
North Carolina FC News Release


The RailHawks chose to play the first leg of their USL-1 quarterfinal at Vancouver so they would know exactly what they needed to do when they came home for the return leg.

After falling 1-0 on Thursday at Swangard Stadium, the RailHawks come home to WakeMed Soccer Park on Sunday at 5 p.m. needing a two-goal victory over the Whitecaps in order to advance to the USL-1 semifinals for the first time in club history.

Given their home showing all season, coach Martin Rennie and the RailHawks have little concern with the one-goal deficit they're facing in the two-leg, aggregate-goal series.

"Our home record all season has been very good and that's one of the reasons we wanted to play [at home] second," Rennie said. "We have a clear idea of what we have to do. We know it's going to be a tough game, but this is a chance to put everything into it. Anyone who's been at our last few home games would say we've played well, and the last three games have been significant wins and we're looking to build on that."

At WakeMed Soccer Park this season, Carolina was 11-2-2 in USL-1 play and they outscored opponents 32-8. The 11 wins were tied for most in the league and the 35 home points earned was second only to Puerto Rico's 36. Their 32 goals scored, eight goals allowed and plus-24 goal differential were all best in the league. In the RailHawks' last three home games (Miami, Puerto Rico, Montreal), they went 3-0-0 and outscored opponents by a combined 13-1.

Overcoming a 1-0 deficit is not unprecedented. In fact, the RailHawks can look at their opponents for additional motivation. In last year's USL-1 semifinals, the Whitecaps lost the opening leg 1-0 at Montreal. They returned to Vancouver, won the second leg 2-0 to advance on aggregate, and they went on to win the championship.

In order to achieve the desired result Sunday, Carolina must counter this: in 18 matches against the six other playoff teams during the regular season, the RailHawks won one of them by two goals (2-0 vs Montreal on Sept. 12). And of Vancouver's 10 losses during the regular season, only one of them was by two goals (2-0 at Portland on May 30).

"Now we know we have to go home and score, and that's what we would have expected anyway," Rennie said. "We're looking forward to getting back home and having a go at it Sunday."

LEG 1

In Thursday's first leg, the RailHawks were done in by a bad bounce on their way to the 1-0 defeat.

In the 77th minute, Vancouver's Marlon James and Carolina's Brad Rusin went up for a 50-50 ball. Rusin won the challenge, but the ball took an awkward bounce off the turf and Randy Edwini-Bonsu pounced on it in stride. Carolina goalkeeper Caleb Patterson raced out to challenge, but the speedy Edwini-Bonsu beat him to the ball, touched it by him and tucked it into the open net for the game's only goal.

The RailHawks were outshot 11-7 and they had several chances to strike for the first goal, but their execution in the final third, coupled with Vancouver's defense, kept them off the scoreboard.

"You maybe have a few less chances on the road, so you have to be precise," Rennie said. "We weren't as precise as we'd have liked to have been, but we did have a lot of the ball and a lot of chances. The last bit could've been better. But other than that, it was pretty good."

SCOUTING VANCOUVER

The Whitecaps finished the regular season 11-10-9 and in seventh place in the USL-1 table.

They were one of the best teams at home, going 9-3-3 at Swangard Stadium. The nine home wins were fourth most in the USL-1, as were their 30 points earned at home. However, the home success did not translate to the road. The Whitecaps had an away mark of 2-7-6 and they were outscored 21-16. However, they come to Cary in fine form as of late. Since their Aug. 18 tie with Carolina, the Whitecaps are 5-1-5 (0-1-3 on the road).

Vancouver features one of the best attacks in the league. Their 42 goals scored were fourth-most in the regular season, and their 380 shots were second only to Portland's 423. They were shut out only six times all year, fewer than any other team in the league. Forward Charles Gbeke led the USL-1 in goals scored (12), while Marlon James scored nine and Marcus Haber had eight and four assists. Midfielder Martin Nash added four goals and three assists and defender Wesley Knight led the team in assists (eight).

For all that firepower up front, what held the Whitecaps back from charging farther up the USL-1 table was their defense. Vancouver conceded 36 goals and had just seven shutouts, tied for third-fewest in the league. While the Whitecaps held opponents to 9.4 shots per game, opponents managed to score a goal every 7.8 attempts. Goalkeeper Jay Nolly played every minute of the season for the Whitecaps, posting a 1.20 goals against average, seven shutouts and 118 saves.

SERIES HISTORY

Sunday's match will represent the 10th time that Carolina and Vancouver have met and this series marks their first ever in the postseason.

The RailHawks are 2-3-4 in the previous nine matches with Vancouver and the Whitecaps hold a slight advantage in the scoring column (8-7). At WakeMed Soccer Park, the RailHawks are 1-2-2 all-time against the Whitecaps. The lone win earlier this season, 2-1 on July 17.

During the 2009 regular season, Carolina was 1-0-2 against the Whitecaps. In the season's first meeting, the RailHawks prevailed 2-1 at WakeMed Soccer Park on July 17. It was Carolina's first-ever home victory over the Whitecaps. The RailHawks took a 1-0 lead just before halftime after a Whitecaps own goal. Sallieu Bundu put the RailHawks up 2-0 in the 65th minute. That proved to be the game-winning goal because Vancouver's Charles Gbeke drew one back for the Whitecaps in the 90th minute.

In the second meeting, on Aug. 15, they played to a scoreless draw at Swangard Stadium. The Whitecaps outshot Carolina 22-9, but the Carolina defense stood up to the pressure. Carolina goalkeeper Caleb Patterson had seven saves to preserve his a clean sheet, an effort that later earned him Goalkeeper of the Week honors.

The teams closed out their season series three days later in Cary and that one ended a 1-1 stalemate. Vancouver's Marcus Haber gave the visitors a 1-0 lead with a textbook finish in the 66th minute, but the RailHawks swiped a point from the match thanks to Andriy Budnyy's 87th-minute equalizer.

RAILHAWKS IN THE PLAYOFFS

The RailHawks are seeking their first-ever playoff victory (0-3) on Sunday. Prior to Thursday's defeat, the RailHawks went 0-2 in their quarterfinal match-up with eventual champion Seattle. The Sounders won the opening leg 2-0 at WakeMed Soccer Park and the return leg 1-0 at Qwest Field in Seattle.

DID YOU KNOW?

*Since the advent of the A-League, the precursor to the USL-1, in 1997, only two teams that have won the Commissioner's Cup went on to win the league championship (Rochester in 1998, Seattle in 2007). During that same time, four regular-season runners-up have reached the final and two of them won the championship (Montreal in 2004, Vancouver in 2008).

USL PLAYOFF STRUCTURE

The top seven teams from the USL First Division regular season qualify for the playoffs and each of the three rounds are contested in two-leg, aggregate goal series. The team that has the most goals after the two games advances to the next round. If teams are tied after 180 minutes, they will then play two, 15-minute extra periods. If still tied after extra time, they will proceed to penalty kicks. Teams will be reseeded in the proceeding rounds, with the highest remaining seed facing the lowest remaining seed and so on.

USL-1 QUARTERFINALS

*All times Eastern

No. 2 Carolina vs No. 7 Vancouver

Leg 1: Carolina 0, Vancouver 1

Leg 2: Sunday, Sept. 27 at Carolina, 5 p.m.

*Carolina advances with two-goal win/Whitecaps advance with win or tie

No. 3 Puerto Rico vs No. 6 Rochester

Leg 1: Puerto Rico 1, Rochester 2

Leg 2: Sunday, Sept. 27 at Puerto Rico, 7 p.m.

*Puerto Rico advances with two-goal win/Rochester advances with win or tie

No. 4 Charleston vs No. 5 Montreal

Leg 1: Charleston 0, Montreal 2

Leg 2: Sunday, Sept. 27 at Charleston, 7 p.m.

*Charleston advances with three-goal win/Montreal advances with win or tie

No. 1 seed Portland has a bye to the semifinals

CAROLINA VS USL-1*

The following are the RailHawks' final team statistics for the year, and in parentheses is where they ranked in each category compared to the rest of the USL First Division.

Shots: 332 (4th)

Shots allowed: 307 (4th)

Goals scored: 43 (3rd)

Goals allowed: 19 (T-11th)

Saves: 104 (9th)

Shutouts: 17 (1st)

Times shut out: 7 (T-10th)

*based only on USL-1 regular-season matches

Check out the North Carolina FC Statistics



USL First Division Stories from September 25, 2009


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