Story and photo by Hal Goodtree.

Cary, NC – Just seven weeks into the off-season, it’s been a busy time for the Carolina RailHawks, Cary’s professional NASL soccer team. They’ve hired a new coach, set the first two games of 2012 and are getting a stadium expansion.

N. Ireland Soccer Legend Colin Clarke New RailHawks Coach

Last week, the RailHawks introduced new head coach Colin Clarke to the public and the press at Page-Walker in downtown Cary.

Clarke comes over from arch-rival Puerto Rico Islanders. The Hawks and the Islanders have been dueling it out for division leadership for the past couple of years, and the selection of Clarke makes perfect sense.

Prior to coaching Puerto Rico, Clarke was head coach for the Dallas Burn and the Richmond Kickers. In Richmond, Clarke worked directly with RailHawks president Curt Johnson, GM of the Kickers at that time.

As a player, Colin Clarke played professionally in England for twelve years, including stints with first division clubs Southampton, Portsmouth and Queens Park Rangers. He play for N. Ireland in the 1986 World Cup and appeared in 38 games for the Northern Ireland national team. From the RailHawks:

Appearing 38 times for the Northern Ireland National Team, Clarke recorded a World Cup goal, a hat-trick, and finished his career as the all-time leading goal scorer for Northern Ireland.

First Game is Against the Old Coach

No pressure on the new coach, but the first game is against the old coach, Martin Rennie, and his MLS Vancouver Whitecaps.

It will be the season’s first exhibition match on Sunday March 4, 2012.

“Hosting a high profile Major League Soccer exhibition against Martin Rennie and the Vancouver Whitecaps FC is the perfect way to begin our 2012 season,” said RailHawks President Curt Johnson.  “We want to test ourselves against MLS on the field and continue to showcase our fans, WakeMed Soccer Park, and the new RailHawks organization to soccer fans throughout North America.”

Home Opener April 14

The Hawks also announced that the 2012 home opener will be on Saturday, April 14, 2012 against the Atlanta Silverbacks.

The season opens a week earlier with the RailHawks away against the NASL champion Minnesota Stars.

Stadium Upgrade

In the meantime, work has begun on a ten-month expansion of Wake Med Soccer Park to 10,000 seats.

The $6.3 million project will add 1,500 seats on the north side and 1,500 seats on the east side. The eastern end of the stadium will also get a three-tiered structure including restrooms, concessions, multi-purpose space and new team locker rooms.

Town of Cary graphic from March 2011. Shows east end expansion.

$5.8 million comes from Wake County and the City of Raleigh hotel and food tax, known officially as the interlocal occupancy tax. The stadium was built in 2002 by Wake County on land provided by the state of North Carolina. According to the Town of Cary, 360,000 fans annually visit Wake Med Soccer Park bringing an economic impact of $12 million to the region.

The main impetus to expand the stadium is to stay competitive with other cities for lucrative NCAA matches. Over this last weekend, the UNC Tar Heels won the NCAA College Cup soccer championship over Charlotte by a score of 1-0 in front of 8,777 fans at Regions Park in Hoover, Alabama just south of Birmingham. In the past, Cary has played host to NCAA Div I, II and III men’s and women’s matches.

For RailHawks fans, the expansion means more amenities and more choices for seating and groups. Players, coaches and refs will enjoy the new locker rooms. Construction is scheduled to be completed in the Fall of 2012.

Story by Hal Goodtree. Photos by Tom Mousseau for CaryCitizen.

Cary, NC – In 2011, Cary’s own Carolina RailHawks were the darlings of the North American Soccer League. But the dream of a championship came to an end Saturday night at Wake Med Soccer Park with a loss to arch-rivals the Minnesota Stars.

The Brilliant Season

The RailHawks had it all during the regular season: a league-leading 17-8-3 record, the league’s leading scorer (Etienne Barbara), four first-team all-stars. At one point, the had a 10-game winning streak.

The Early Exit

The NASL has a two-game format for each round of the playoffs. Most total points wins.

The RailHawks received a bye in the first round thanks to their league-leading record.

Their first post-season game was a semi-final match against the Stars in Minnesota. The ‘Hawks lost 1-0 on a late goal.

The RailHawks had a chance to come back at home, but needed to win by two goals.

Saturday night’s game was a hard-fought, high-scoring contest. At the end of regulation time, the ‘Hawks led 4-3.

That left the semi-final series knotted at 4 aggregate goals a piece, sending last night’s match into extra-time.

The teams played two 15-minute extra-time periods without scoring, sending the match into penalty kicks.

Minnesota converted all 5 of its penalty kicks. But the Stars goalie managed to block one of Carolina’s attempts, ending the match, the series and the season.

The Pictures

Contributing photographer Tom Mousseau of All-Star Photo was at Saturday night’s NASL semi-final playoff match for CaryCitizen.

Story by Hal Goodtree. Photos by Karl Fisher.

Cary, NC – The RailHawks might have been shot out of a cannon this season, with a 17-3-8 record, massive crowds at Wake Med Soccer Park and a high level of excitement at the games. But the season is on the line this Saturday, with a must-win game against the Minnesota Stars.

In fact, the ‘Hawks have to win by two goals because of the points system in the playoffs.

All Fired-Up

Expect Etienne Barbara, the Maltese Maelstrom, to come out with guns blazing. He led the NASL in scoring this season with 20 goals and eight assists, a club record.

Team Captain Kupono Low is likely to be fired-up as well – he’s a guy who always gives 110%. Low was named to the NASL Best XI first-team squad this year. Midfielder Matt Watson and goalkeeper Brad Knighton also made the NASL first-team.

The Railhawks have the firepower, but it’s going to be an uphill battle on Saturday night. Coach Martin Rennie, who is moving on to MLS next year, has said that the involvement of the fans is a key to the semi-final game. “We’re looking forward to taking the series back to WakeMed, and playing in front of our fans and having a chance to move on to the final.”

Saturday promises to be a great night in the annuls of Cary sports. Be there for the ‘Hawks. Bring your vuvuzela.

Event Details

Carolina RailHawks vs Minnesota Stars
Saturday October 15, 2011 at 7 pm
WakeMed Soccer Park
Cary, NC

Get tickets

Story from staff reports. Photos by Karl Fisher.

Cary, NC – The RailHawks put away Tampa Bay 2-0 on Saturday night on a pair of goals from the colorful and entertaining Pablo Campos!

I’m Dangerous

Campos was the man on Saturday, dangerous in front of the goal.

His first score came in the 19th minute. A perfect corner kick by Kupono Low put the ball on the head of Campos, who quick-flicked it into the net. At 6’3″, Campos is tough to guard off the header when he’s standing in front of the goal.

In the 38th minute, Campos scored again on a slider. The set-up pass from Brian Farber was perfect, faking at the goalie and slipping it between two defenders to Campos for the score.

Nice video recap of the game on CarolinaRailhawks.com.

In Pictures

Karl Fisher was there with the big lens for CaryCitizen.

More pictures at http://karlfisherphotography.com/.

Football: Green Hope Wins

In the biggest sports news of the week, Green Hope Varsity Football, under new coach Kwame Dixon, decisively ended their multi-year 0-38 drought with a 38-0 win over Smithfield-Selma on Friday.

Also last week, Cary High beat Broughton 14-7 while Panther Creek was fell to Leesville Road 49-0.

Pictorial: Soccer

Cary is a soccer town and our photographers were out in force last week covering the action.

RailHawks vs Minnesota

Maybe it’s the new management. Or maybe it’s the fired up team, leading the NASL by a large margin. But attendance (and excitement) at RailHawks games has skyrocketed this season.

Mike Baranski filed this report:

The Carolina RailHawks hold a seven point lead in the NASL after gaining a point against the Minnesota Stars on Wednesday, tying 1-1.  With 7 games left in the season, Carolina has a strong lead in the league standings.

Minnesota started the game strong and had several good chances, with their best coming in the first 2 minutes of the game.  The RailHawks also had their share of opportunities to score in the first half, but failed to finish and it was 0-0 at halftime.

In the 2^nd minute of the second half, Jonny Steele intercepted a ball in the RailHawk’s half and made a searching run to the top of the Minnesota 18-yard box.  He lofted the ball over the Stars’ defense to Pablo Campos, who managed to beat the Minnesota keeper at the near post, giving the Railhawks a 1-0 lead.

In the 55^th minute, Minnesota scored to tie the game and make the score 1-1. Carolina had the majority of the chances in the second half, but again could not manage to find the back of the net to secure 3 points.  The match finished 1-1, leaving Carolina well ahead in the standings with 3 home and 4 away games left.

Suzie Wolf captured the action on Wednesday as the Hawks fought to a tie with visiting Minnesota.

Falcons vs Durham Jordan

In high school soccer, Green Hope shut down Durham Jordan 5-0 at Falcons Stadium on Thursday. Tom Mousseau photographed the victory.

RailHawks vs Ft. Lauderdale

A massive crowd (maybe 5,000) showed up Saturday night to watch the RailHawks strike down the Ft. Lauderdale Strikers 2-0 on a mild evening in Cary.

Chris Adamczyk was on the field for CaryCitizen photographing the match.

Story and photos by Hal Goodtree.

Cary, NC – The RailHawks have had an amazing season thus far. Add one more accomplishment: Head Coach Martin Rennie is going to the MLS Vancouver Whitecaps at the end of the current season.

Happy for Rennie, Good for the Franchise

The RailHawks (14-3-2) are a lot like a Triple A Baseball club. For the team to be successful, the top talent has to be called up to the majors.

That’s what’s happened to Coach Rennie.

According to Dean Linke, SVP, the ‘Hawks have sent 8 players and coaches up to the majors in N. America and Europe in the recent past including Brad Rusin, Daniel Paladini, Tom Heinemann and Daniel Woolard.

In remarks to the media at the Page-Walker center in Cary on Tuesday, team president Curt Johnson said Rennie would finish the season (and the post season) with the RailHawks. “Everyone’s excited about Martin’s opportunity,” Johnson said.

Team Captain Kupono Low added to Johnson’s sentiment. “The players know people are watching us. It’s exciting for us. It makes us want to win it all that much more.”

Conceivably, the same is true for Coach Rennie.

The RailHawks are certainly in the circle of destiny this season.

RailHawks captain Kupono Low

Next Game

See for yourself how all this plays out for the team next week with Taste of the Triangle on Wednesday, August 17 before a match against Minnesota, and Saturday, August 20 versus Fort Lauderdale. Get tickets.

Photo by Hal Goodtree.

Cary, NC – Taste of the Triangle is set to return to Wake Med Soccer Park on Wednesday August 17, 2011.

Taste of the Triangle

Now in its third year, Taste of the Triangle brings together lots of local restaurants and breweries for a food extravaganza not to be equaled before a RailHawks game.

• Crepes & Coffee
• Tijuana Flats
• Hooters
• The Meat House
• Brio
• Mellow Mushroom
• Moe’s
• Havana Grill
• Backyard Bistro
• Natty Greene’s Brewing Company
• Triangle Brewing
• Carolina Brewing
• Big Boss
• Lonerider

$10 gets you into the party. Select “Game & Party” under ticket options and pick your seating preference.

The food and partying starts at 5:30. The game (against Minnesota) begins at 7. Get tickets to Taste of the Triangle.

Game summary from the Carolina RailHawks. Photos by Chris Adamczyk for CaryCitizen.

CARY, N.C. – The Carolina RailHawks earned their league-leading 14th victory Saturday night after defeating Atlanta 1-0 in a match that was abandoned in the 50th minute at WakeMed Soccer Park.

Three severe weather delays totaling more than two hours forced the match to be called prematurely.

“It was an unusual game,” said RailHawks coach Martin Rennie. “It was disappointing, the fact that it was stop and start. We couldn’t get a rhythm in the game. I felt like we were playing quite well when the first break came. We were up 1-0, and after that, it was stop-start. We knew the way the weather was, it was important to be winning at halftime. Overall, I’m happy. It’s another three points and it keeps us in good forward momentum.”

The RailHawks (14-2-2) stretched their lead at the top of the NASL table to 15 points with Saturday’s win, their ninth straight at WakeMed Soccer Park.

Rain Rain Go Away

The match was first delayed in 22nd minute when lightening was spotted in the vicinity of WakeMed Soccer Park. Play resumed 42 minutes later.

The teams played for nine more minutes until a second cell of thunderstorms parked over the area causing a 62-minute delay.

The teams came back out and completed the first half, then went into their locker rooms for the 15-minute intermission.

In the 50th minute, torrential rains came along with more thunder and lightning, causing a 24-minute delay before both teams’ coaches and the officiating crew agreed to abandon the game.

2,500 Kids

The miserable weather dampened what was shaping up to be a raucous evening at WakeMed Soccer Park. More than 5,000 people were in their seats before being chased away by the delays  2,500 of whom came via the RailHawks’ Kicks for Kids promotion. Through the generous contributions of nearly two dozen Triangle businesses  including Lulu, Performance Automall, Eye Care Center and Wal-Mart  Kicks for Kids afforded 2,500 area children the opportunity to attend Saturday’s match.

Getting a Goal When it Counts

From the opening whistle, fans were treated to the RailHawks attacking flair that has tallied a league-leading 39 goals this season.

Twenty seconds in, Nick Zimmerman fired a shot from inside the 18 just wide of the frame.

In the eighth minute, Etienne Barbara bagged his league-leading 16th goal. Zimmerman played Barbara into the area, and Barbara fought off a pair of Silverbacks defenders before squeezing a shot past goalkeeper Felipe Qunitero.

“On a night like tonight, having someone who can put the ball in the back of the net is key”, Rennie said. “When you’re doing it in short bursts like that, it’s much harder to get a goal. Etienne came up big.”

After the first delay, Atlanta came out on the attack. In the 29th minute, Willie Hunt flicked on a corner kick and Matt Horth had a sitter in front of the RailHawks; goal, but Carolina goalkeeper Brad Knighton smothered the chance. Knighton finished the night with three saves en route to his sixth shutout of the season.

When play resumed after the second weather delay, the RailHawks nearly grabbed two more goals. Barbara led a one-man counterattack into the Atlanta area, only to have his shot deflected away by Hunt. Five minutes later, on a free kick, Jonny Steele spotted Zimmerman near the penalty spot, but Quintero saved Zimmerman’s one-time try.

The weather looked like it would hold off as the teams went into halftime, but rain started to fall just before the players returned to the field. Five minutes into the second half, sheets of swirling rain doused WakeMed Soccer Park, and the sky was illuminated with persistent flashes of lightening for almost a half hour before the decision to abandon the match was made.

“The referee and both clubs agreed that’s what we had to do,” Rennie said. “It just wasn’t going to clear. Even in a couple hours if it did, the field was going to be unplayable and the players were going to be exhausted. There’s nothing we could do.”

Next Home Game

The RailHawks will play their next two matches on the road at Ft. Lauderdale next Saturday and at Puerto Rico on Aug. 10 before returning to WakeMed Soccer Park on Aug. 17 to face Minnesota.

Story and photo by Hal Goodtree

Cary, NC – RailHawks captain Brad Rusin is off to Denmark to play for HB Køge of the Danish Superliga (Denmark’s top league).

Why This Is Good for the Hawks

Rusin, a 6’4″ defender, played two-plus seasons with Carolina. He was voted captain during the off-season and was the mainstay in the middle of the defense.

So what’s so great for Carolina about letting Rusin go to Denmark? A couple of things:

The RailHawks have become a great organization for developing top soccer talent on a global stage. Three players from last season’s team – Daniel Paladini, Tom Heinemann and Daniel Woolard  – now play in MLS. Rusin joins them in the jump to the majors.

It doesn’t hurt that the Hawks are crushing it in the NASL this year. Halfway through the 2011 season, Carolina is 12-1-1 and lead the NASL table by 13 points.

All-in-all, this helps the Hawks attract more young talent to Cary and continues a growing tradition as one of North America’s elite soccer clubs.

Martin Rennie had a nice send off for his former captain:

“Over the last few seasons, Brad developed a lot as a player,” said RailHawks coach Martin Rennie. “The potential he showed when he first joined our club is about to come to fruition. He’s going to play in one of the top leagues in Europe, and we’re looking forward to watching his career progress from afar. I’m excited to see where he’ll go. We wish him all the best and expect him to do quite well.”

What’s Next

With the first half of the season over, it will be interesting to see who steps up to fill the defensive space left by Rusin’s departure. In a young, hungry team, you can bet there are a lot of players eager to get a crack at the spot.

The Hawks are home again for two Saturday night games on July 23 and July 30. For tickets, visit CarolinaRailhawks,.com.

Story by Luke Lohr and photos by Tom Mousseau for CaryCitizen.com.

Cary, NC -  The Carolina Railhawks took on FC Tampa Bay on a Saturday night. The Railhawks were looking for their eighth straight win and continuing dominance of the NASL. Mission accomplished, as were several other noteworthy occurrences. 

Winning Ways

There were over 4,000 fans on hand at WakeMed Soccer Park to witness the Railhawks down FC Tampa Bay by a score of 3-1. The win brings the Railhawks to an impressive record of 10-1-1 on the season and they now sit clearly atop the NASL table.

“These guys want to win every time they step on the field and they’re willing to put in whatever they have to get the result. That showed again tonight,” said Martin Rennie, Railhawks coach.

Rain came down right before kickoff, sending fans to hide under the bleachers. It looked as though there might have been a delay as the radar predicted lightning, however it held off and the game went on as scheduled.

The Railhawks looked disjointed in the early minutes, showing very little rhythm. Carolina paid for their poor start by giving up a goal in the 18^th minute. Warren Ukah of the Rowdies fired a shot by Brad Knighton to give the visitors the lead. It was that goal that awoke the giant that is Carolina.

The Railhawks began to attack Tampa Bay with vigor. The score was equalized by Matt Watson in the 36^th minute. Watson fired an absolute laser from outside the box, giving the goalkeeper little chance. It was Etienne Barbara with the assist on Watson’s goal.

Wanting More

“As long as everyone is winning together, everyone gets their little successes,” said Watson.  Watson has scored two goals in two games and is certainly in form. “It’s a team effort and the more we’ve won, everyone just wants it a bit more.”

Barbara got on the board with a goal of his own in the 69^th minute of play. Barbara took a shot and then followed his own rebound to blast his second shot home. The goal was Barbara’s 13^th in 12 games. Carolina’s third goal, scored by Allan Russell, was assisted by Barbara. His goal coupled with his league leading seventh assist and makes him the most powerful offensive force in the NASL.

On the team’s slow start and his thoughts on the night Barbara commented, “Sometimes we start off slacking. Since we are first in the table and we have a good advantage on points, it is normal to feel overconfident. We have to try to eliminate that as soon as possible. Anything can happen in soccer. If we keep playing like we did in the second half, it’s going to be very difficult to beat us.”

Captain and defender Brad Rusin lead the defense with several crucial tackles on the night, including what looked to be a goal saving slide in the 86^th minute. Rusin’s knee was clearly bothering him, however his determination and work rate kept him stalwart.

As it is the Railhawks are clearly the most dominant team in the North American Soccer League. Martin Rennie’s men have placed a high standard on themselves thus far and will look only to continue their win streak.

“We remind them always the things that make us a good team are staying positive with each other. When you turn on each other, it kills your whole team. And these guys don’t do that. They keep working harder and harder until they get what they want. They keep getting their rewards. It’s exciting and well deserved.”

Luke Lohr writes for MLSReserves.com. He can be reached at LCL1121@gmail.com or followed on Twitter @MLSReserves. See more of Tom Mousseau’s game photos on Flickr.