Thursday, April 17, 2008

As an expansion team, it could be easily argued that the RailHawks exceeded expectations by reaching the postseason as well as the Semifinals of the US Open Cup. Carolina advanced to the playoffs by a single point in a campaign that on paper saw the club finish next to last in scoring (24) and tied for sixth in defense (34) and go into the postseason as the only club with a losing record at 8-12-8.

It was an uphill battle most of the year for the first-year club, starting with a winless first four games (0-1-3) that netted just one goal. But with their first victory coming on the road against Atlanta, the RailHawks seem to find themselves and went on to post a 4-3-4 record as they hit the midway point of the season. A tough stretch in July saw the club drop five straight in league play while also posting a stunning 1-0 win over the Chicago Fire of MLS in the Open Cup.

As August entered the calendar, the team again started to post victories running out the season with a record of 4-3-1, claiming the final playoff spot with a season-ending victory on the road to set up a first-round playoff series against regular season champion Seattle, who dominated the series 3-0 on aggregate en route to their league championship.

The 2008 Season

With former two-time USL-1 Defender of the Year Scott Schweitzer as coach, the club not surprisingly was stronger defensively in their first campaign. The 2007-08 offseason saw the front office make a concerted effort to bring consistent offensive firepower to the fold to compliment Connally Edozien and midfielder Kupono Low. The club signed Scoring Champion Dan Antoniuk from the Atlanta Silverbacks and brought in the Charlotte Eagle’s Jacob Coggins, who has won the USL-2 MVP honor two of the last four years and the USL-2 Scoring Championship three of the last four years.

Although the club lost the leadership of Chris Carrieri from the midfield, the addition of Matt Watson, a USL-2 All-League selection for the Richmond Kickers, and the young prospect Martin Nunez, who initially impressed as a member of the 2006 USL Super-20 League champion West Kendall and spent one year at Georgia Perimeter College, where he led the nation with 30 goals to earn All-American honors.

The roster largely remains unchanged from the 2007 campaign, giving the club an internal familiarity advantage within the back line and midfield heading into its second season in the league.

The First Five

Aside from a pair of fixtures against last year’s fourth-place Atlanta Silverbacks, who went on to reach the final, the RailHawks have a relatively easy schedule to open the season based on last year’s table. Carolina opens in Atlanta April 19 before returning home to host their other Southern Derby rival Charleston Battery (10th) the following weekend. They return to the road a week later to visit Miami (9th) before playing host to Atlanta May 10. They wrap up the first five against at home against Minnesota (11th), whom they played to a 1-1 draw in preseason action.