NASL North Carolina FC

RailHawks Seek 4th Straight Win Saturday

Published on May 20, 2011 under North American Soccer League (NASL)
North Carolina FC News Release


The Carolina RailHawks are unbeaten in their last six matches (5-0-1) and out to avenge their only defeat of the season on Saturday, when they meet the Puerto Rico Islanders at WakeMed Soccer Park at 7 p.m.

The RailHawks (5-1-1) are off to their best start in club history with 16 points through seven games and sit atop the NASL table, four points clear of second-place Minnesota and six points ahead of the Islanders (3-1-1).

On their six-match unbeaten run, the RailHawks have won three in a row and are looking to tie for the longest winning streak in club history with a win on Saturday. They won four in a row on two separate occasions in 2009.

The RailHawks continue riding their dynamic attack to victories. They have scored a league-best

15 goals, or 2.14 per game, and no team has shut them out in 2011. After scoring six goals in their first four games, they have scored nine goals in their last three - all wins.

Forward Etienne Barbara has scored in seven straight games and has nine goals on the season, while his running mate up top, Pablo Campos, has scored three goals.

The Islanders are in third place in the NASL table, with 10 points, and they have two games in hand over the RailHawks. They returned to NASL play earlier this week - falling 2-0 at Minnesota for their first defeat of the season - after a two-week break in order to play their quarterfinal series in the Caribbean Football Union Club Championship. The Islanders advanced 8-1 on aggregate over Walking Bout Company and will play their semifinal against Alpha United of Guyana on Wednesday in Georgetown, Guyana. The Islanders are chasing their third straight CONCACAF Champions League berth, which they would earn by finishing third or better in the CFU Club Championship.

Despite playing fewer games than every other team in the league except Montreal, the Islanders rate third in goals scored (nine) and second in goals per game (1.8).

Forward Jonathan Faña is second in the league with four goals, and Nicholas Addlery has scored twice.

LAST TIME OUT

The RailHawks defeated Montreal for the second time in 2011 on Saturday at Stade Saputo. Etienne Barbara scored both goals to lead the RailHawks to their third straight win.

Barbara silenced the 11,907 Montreal supporters eight minutes into the match when he took a shot from 25 yards out that took a deflection off a Montreal defender and found its way into the net. Barbara did it again in the 51st minute, this time after collecting a brilliant ball from Jonny Steele and burying the chance after getting behind the Impact defense.

The RailHawks picked up the win despite being outshot 15-8 by the Impact, who grabbed a goal back in the 84th minute from Idriss Ech Chergui.

The Impact also earned four yellow cards to the RailHawks' zero. It was the second time this season the RailHawks emerged from a match without going into the referee's book.

SERIES HISTORY

Saturday's match will be the second of three meetings between the RailHawks and Islanders in 2011.

The Islanders won the season's first meeting, on April 9 at WakeMed Soccer Park. In the NASL season opener - and re-match of the 2010 league finals - Puerto Rico dealt the RailHawks a 2-1 defeat.

The match began amid threatening skies and was halted for two-hours after 10 minutes had been played due to severe weather. Once play resumed, Puerto Rico's Josh Hansen scored in the 32nd minute. Etienne Barbara seemed to have rescued a point for the RailHawks when he drew a penalty kick in the 85th-minute and converted the spot kick to even the match at 1-1. But Puerto Rico's Jay Needham got his head on a corner kick in the fourth minute of stoppage time for the winner.

The teams will play their final match of 2011 on Sept. 17 in Bayamon, Puerto Rico.

Saturday's match will be the 13th regular-season meeting between Carolina and Puerto Rico, which holds a 7-1-4 advantage in the all-time series.

After going winless (0-1-6) in the series' first seven meetings, Carolina got its first win on Sept. 12, 2009, when the RailHawks defeated Puerto Rico 2-0 at WakeMed Soccer Park. That win touched off a three-match winning streak against the Islanders, including a 2-0 win in Bayomon, Puerto Rico last May - the RailHawks' first-ever win at Juan Roman Loubriel Stadium.

BARBARA STREAK CONTINUES

Forward Etienne Barbara continued his blistering start to the 2011 season with three goals and an assist in the RailHawks two games - both wins - last week. He had a goal and an assist against Ft. Lauderdale in a 4-2 win on May 11

and two goals in a 2-1 win on Saturday at Montreal.

Barbara has scored in seven straight games to start the season and has nine goals and two assists for a league-best 20 points.

He was named the NASL Offensive Player of the Week for Week 6. It was the third time this season he's been the league's player of the week.

Though the season is just one-quarter of the way through, Barbara has already established new RailHawks single-season records for goals and points in a season, both of which he set over the course of 28 matches in all of 2010.

He has also become the club's all-time leading scorer with 17 goals and 38 points - in just 35 appearances

NASL LEADERS

Not only are the RailHawks at the top of the NASL table, three players lead the league in separate statistical categories.

Forward Etienne Barbara leads the league with nine goals and 20 points, midfielder Floyd Franks leads the league with three assists, and goalkeeper Brad Knighton leads the league with 30 saves.

WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES

The RailHawks this season have five wins and 16 points in the table and have scored 15 goals through seven games.

At this point last season, the RailHawks had three wins, 11 points in the table and scored nine goals. They did not get their fifth win of the season until July 11, and they did not score their 15th goal until July 3.

NO SHUTOUTS

By scoring in all seven games this season, including two goals or more on five separate occasions, the RailHawks are proving to be a difficult attack to contain.

But that dates back to last season. They have not been shut out in the regular season since a 1-0 loss at Minnesota on Sept. 15, 2010, a string of 10 consecutive matches.

Earlier in 2010, they scored in 11 straight games, a club record.

PLAYER NOTES

- Forward Etienne Barbara had two goals and one assist on Saturday in Montreal to extend his goal scoring streak to seven games.

- Midfielder Floyd Franks assisted on Barbara's eighth-minute goal on Saturday and has three assists in the last two games.

- Midfielder Jonny Steele assisted on Barbara's 51st-minute goal on Saturday, his first assist of the season, and he started his second straight match in Montreal.

- Midfielder Chris Nurse made his first start of the season on Saturday in Montreal, logging 75 minutes.

- Midfielder Stephen Glass returned to action on Saturday for first time since May 14, coming on as a 75th-minute substitute.

2011 STAT LEADERS

Appearances:

Floyd Franks, Kupono Low, Devon McKenney, Etienne Barbara, John Krause, Nick Zimmerman, Brad Knighton (7)

Starts:

Floyd Franks, Kupono Low, Devon McKenney, John Krause, Nick Zimmerman, Brad Knighton (7)

Minutes:

Floyd Franks, Kupono Low, Devon McKenney, John Krause, Brad Knighton (630)

Goals:

Etienne Barbara (9)

Assists:

Floyd Franks (3)

Shots:

Etienne Barbara (21)

Yellow cards:

Floyd Franks, Kupono Low, John Krause (2)

Red cards:

Pablo Campos, Jonny Steele (1)

Saves:

Brad Knighton (30)

Check out the North Carolina FC Statistics

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North American Soccer League Stories from May 20, 2011


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