NASL North Carolina FC

RailHawks Visit Ft. Lauderdale with Eye on NASL Title

Published on September 7, 2011 under North American Soccer League (NASL)
North Carolina FC News Release


The Carolina RailHawks are one point away from their first piece of silverware.

The RailHawks head to South Florida to face Ft. Lauderdale on Wednesday night at 7:30 knowing that a win or tie will clinch the NASL regular-season crown. The RailHawks (17-3-4) enter the midweek clash leading Puerto Rico by nine points, with a game in hand.

The RailHawks have four regular-season games remaining, and they'll play three of them in the next 10 days. After Wednesday's match, the RailHawks will head to Montreal on Sunday and then on to Puerto Rico on Sept. 17.

The RailHawks kick off this grueling stretch having won three straight, and they're unbeaten over their last four matches. Saturday's 2-0 win over Tampa Bay delivered the RailHawks' their 17th win of the season, a new club record.

The RailHawks remain at the top of the table as the season enters its 23rd week on the strength of the NASL's best attack and best defense. The RailHawks have scored a league-leading (and club record) 49 goals - 11 more than any other team in the league - and their goal differential sits at plus-28. They have only been shut out twice all season.

Forward Etienne Barbara has scored an NASL-best 20 goals this season, and he leads the league in assists (eight). Forward Pablo Campos bagged two more goals last weekend, his third multi-goal game of the season, and brought his season total to 11, tied for second best in the NASL. During the last four matches, Barbara and Campos have accounted for seven of the RailHawks' nine goals.

Defensively, the RailHawks' 21 goals allowed and 0.875 goals against average are both best in the league. During their four-match unbeaten streak, the RailHawks have conceded only three goals and posted two shutouts. Goalkeeper Brad Knighton has played all 2,120 minutes of the season in goal, and he leads the league in GAA, shutouts (eight) and is second in saves (93).

Ft. Lauderdale (7-10-7) enters the weekend in sixth place in the NASL table, two points ahead of Minnesota and two points behind Edmonton. They ended a three-match winless streak over the weekend after defeating Montreal 1-0 at Lockhart Stadium on Saturday. Gerson Mayen provided the game-winning goal in the 71st minute for the Strikers. At Lockhart Stadium, Ft. Lauderdale is 5-4-3 on the year. Their 31 goals scored are fifth most in the league, and they have gotten goals from 17 different players on the roster.

LAST TIME OUT

The RailHawks defeated Tampa Bay 2-0 at WakeMed Soccer Park on Saturday, giving them their third straight win and running their home unbeaten streak to 12 matches.

Pablo Campos scored both goals for the RailHawks, who outshot FCTB 20-7 en route to completing a sweep of the season series (4-0-0). Campos got his first goal in the 19th minute, when he headed in a corner kick from Kupono Low. He got his second in the 38th, tucking in a pass from Brian Farber. Brad Knighton was called on to make just two saves in order to record his eighth shutout of the season.

SERIES HISTORY

Wedneday's match will be the fourth and final meeting between the RailHawks and Strikers this season. The RailHawks won the first match 4-2 on April May 11 at WakeMed Soccer Park. Ft. Lauderdale defeated Carolina 2-1 on Aug. 6, and the RailHawks won the last match 2-0 on Aug. 20.

Two weeks ago, Etienne Barbara and Matt Watson provided the goals in the RailHawks' 2-0 win. Barbara converted a penalty kick in the 31st minute, and Matt Watson finished off a give-and-go with Pablo Campos to put the game away in the 57th minute. The RailHawks were outshot 16-11, and goalkeeper Brad Knighton recorded five saves to earn the shutout.

On Aug. 6, the Strikers took a 1-0 lead on Walter Restrepo's 30-yard blast. After Ft. Lauderdale's Abe Thompson was shown his second yellow card of the night and sent off in the 66th minute, the RailHawks capitalized on the man advantage in the 72nd minute. Following a scrum in front of the goal on a corner kick, defender John Krause redirected the ball into the net for his first goal as a RailHawk. But, moments from the final whistle, Martin Nunez capitalized on a misclear by the RailHawks defense and volleyed in from 20 yards the game-winning goal. The RailHawks were outshot 14-6 and put only two shots on target.

In their first match, the RailHawks trailed 1-0 after Patrick Otte's eight-minute goal. But the RailHawks responded quickly, with Pablo Campos netting the first of his two goals in the 17th minute. Etienne Barbara converted a 27th-minute penalty kick for a 2-1 lead, then Campos got his second of the night on the hour mark. David Santamaria drew one back for the Strikers in stoppage time, but the RailHawks' answered right back with Allan Russell netting one just before full time. Floyd Franks nabbed two assists on the night.

All-time against Miami/Ft. Lauderdale, the RailHawks are 8-1-4. Since Martin Rennie took over the RailHawks, Carolina has outscored Miami/Ft. Lauderdale 25-6 in eight matches.

NASL LEADERS

Not only are the RailHawks at the top of the NASL table, several players are among the league leaders in a handful of statistical categories.

Forward Etienne Barbara leads the league with 20 goals, eight assists, 48 points and 69 shots.

Forward Pablo Campos ranks second in the league with 11 goals.

Midfielder Jonny Steele is second in the league with seven assists, and midfielder Floyd Franks is tied for fifth with four assists.

Goalkeeper Brad Knighton leads the league in goals against average (0.875), and shutouts (eight) and is second in the league in saves (91).

Defender and captain Kupono Low ranks sixth in the league in minutes played (2,030).

INTERNATIONAL EXITS

Defender John Krause and midfielder Chris Nurse were called up to their respective national teams for CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying. Krause is representing Puerto Rico and Nurse Guyana.

Krause played the full 90 minutes in Friday's 0-0 draw against St. Kitts and Nevis, and he went the full 90 in Tuesday's 3-0 loss to Canada.

Puerto Rico is grouped with St. Kitts and Nevis, Canada and St. Lucia. Puerto Rico will face St. Kitts and Nevis on Oct. 7 and Canada on Oct. 11, and they'll finish qualifying against St. Lucia on Nov. 11 and 15.

Nurse appeared in both of Guyana's matches, a 2-0 win over Barbados on Friday and a 2-1 win over Bermuda on Tuesday, and played the full 90 minutes of both contests.

Guyana is grouped with Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados and Bermuda. They'll Barbados again on Oct. 7 and Bermusa on Oct. 11, and they'll finish this qualifying round on Nov. 11 and 15 against Trinidad and Tobago.

In this round of World Cup Qualifying, teams are placed into groups and they will play round-robin, home-and-away series. The winner of each group advances on to the next stage of qualifying.

MISC. NOTES

- Pablo Campos scored two goals Saturday against Tampa Bay, his third multi-goal performance of the season.

- Kupono Low earned his first assist of the season Saturday, setting up Campos' first goal. It was his first assist since 2008.

- Brian Farber earned his second assist of the season Saturday, setting up Campos' second goal.

- Brad Knighton had two saves Saturday en route to his eighth shutout and club record 17th win of the season.

- Etienne Barbara will miss his first match of the season Wednesday due to a red card suspension. It will be the first match he'll miss all season. To date, he is the only field player to have appeared in all 24 matches.

- Tyler Lassiter made his club debut Saturday and played the full 90 minutes and helped the RailHawks secure a shutout.

- The RailHawks are undefeated in games in which they score the first goal this season (12-0-3).

- The RailHawks set a new single-season wins record Saturday, earning their 17th win of the year. They have previously set a club record for goals in a season, which now stands at 49.

- The RailHawks are one point shy of tying the club record for points in a season.

2011 STAT LEADERS

Appearances:

Etienne Barbara, Brad Knighton (24)

Starts:

Brad Knighton (24)

Minutes (All Players):

Brad Knighton (2,120)

Minutes (Field Players):

Kupono Low (2,030)

Goals:

Etienne Barbara (20)

Assists:

Etienne Barbara (8)

Shots:

Etienne Barbara (69)

Yellow cards:

John Krause (7)

Red cards:

5 players tied (1)

Saves:

Brad Knighton (93)

Check out the North Carolina FC Statistics

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North American Soccer League Stories from September 7, 2011


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