WAKEMED SOCCER PARK/CARY—The first thing we saw last night was a red-clad team that looked like the N.C. State Wolfpack. Then we saw a team that was neither the Wolfpack nor the Carolina RailHawks. Closer observation revealed that the New England Revolution were in town, finishing up a light workout on their first day of training in Cary in advance of next week’s friendly versus the RailHawks.
The Revolution left the field and soon RailHawks began showing up in twos and threes. Warmups began. It was good to see Matt Watson on his feet again after that broken leg from last September. We overheard team captain Mark Schulte introducing himself to an unfamiliar teammate who would turn out to be Thomas Stewart, late of Derry City in the Irish First Division. Amir Lowery strolled up midway through warmups, howdying the onlookers like the celebrity he should be someday. Brian Plotkin, still recuperating from a groin injury, jogged on the adjacent field until he was informed by a RailHawks staff member that the field was closed (and perhaps toxic).
Off in the distance, someone who looked like goalkeeper Caleb Patterson-Sewell—who we thought was training with the New York Red Bulls—watched the proceedings for a few minutes before disappearing.
A light drizzle and overcast skies portended an unpleasant viewing experience, but the water went away and we were left with wind and a gloomy, unlit and pocky field. The RailHawks eventually played a game, spanking the fiesty Wolfpack by a score of 4-1. Although the Wolfpack—a solid, above-average team in the nation’s best college soccer conference—fought for every ball and enjoyed a fair amount of possession, they never seriously challenged the RailHawks defense.
“If it hadn’t been for the penalty, we defended well tonight and probably should have had a clean sheet,” RailHawks coach Martin Rennie said after the game. “We were working on a couple of set plays, defensively, which I felt we did quite well on. Generally speaking, there were guys getting 90 minutes for the first time. They got tired but that’s part of this process. We’re training twice every day and then playing games.”
The first two RailHawks goals were scored in the first half by an unnamed “Trialist No. 16″ playing up top, who turned in balls delivered from the Gregory Richardson side of the field. The third goal also came in the first half, on a Daniel Paladini free kick from 20 yards that he casually dinked into the lower left corner—completely ignoring the “wall” that was in front of him. The fourth came in the second half, when Stewart, fresh off a transatlantic flight, tapped in a cross from the left. Continue reading »
Kate Shefte couldn’t catch tonight’s Hurricanes game, so Jeff Hamlin stepped in to file this report. Kate will return when the Hurricanes next play at home, March 11 versus the Pittsburgh Penguins.
RBC CENTER/ RALEIGH—There was some scoreboard watching among Carolina Hurricanes fans at the RBC Center on Thursday night. Not for playoff implications, mind you, but to see how some familiar names fare in their new towns and uniforms.
Certainly, there was enough to enjoy from the home team. Tom Kostopoulous and Rod Brind’Amour opened with consecutive goals in the first period, and the Canes cruised past Ottawa 4-1 for their seventh straight win. Manny Legace turned back 26 shots to improve to 8-5-2.
Yet the franchise’s past was every bit as prominent across the National Hockey League on Thursday as the present. There was Scott Walker, who was dealt to division-rival Washington on Wednesday, scoring twice in a span of 2:58 in the third period, including the game-winner, in leading the Capitals past Tampa Bay 5-4. Or Joe Korvo, also dealt to Washington Wednesday, piling up over 20 minutes of ice time in his first game with his new team.
Out in Phoenix, veteran forward Stephane Yelle was back in Colorado, where he helped the Avalanche to the 1996 Stanley Cup, their first season in Denver. It didn’t help on Thursday, as the Coyotes topped the Avalanche 3-1.
Tonight, Andrew Alberts will make his debut in a Vancouver uniform at Chicago. Aaron Ward, also traded Wednesday, will skate Saturday against Phoenix.
Overall, General Manager Jim Rutherford dealt away seven players over the span of a month, many of whom were instrumental in the Hurricanes’ run to the Eastern Conference Finals last season.
Heck, even the only glimmer of offense from Ottawa against Rutherford’s own team Thursday came from a player he traded three weeks ago. Matt Cullen, dealt on February 12th for Alexandre Picard and a second-round draft pick, scored on a wrap-around at 11:55 of the third period to ruin Legace’s attempt to notch the ‘Canes first shutout of the season.
Cullen, who was dealt before the two-week Winter Olympic break, felt that a few weeks off after the trade served as a help more than a hindrance.
“I was expecting the trade,” said Cullen, whose pregnant wife remains in Minnesota. “I was thrilled when Jim sent me to Ottawa. I was thankful. Now, I’m just trying to find my role on this team. The break helped me. It helped my family get settled in back home. And I can get used to a new system. Hopefully, it will pay off.”
Curiously, despite all the player movement, the Canes continue to play their most consistent hockey of the season. They’ve now won seven straight games, 11 of their last 13, and remain seven points behind Atlanta for the eighth and final playoff spot in the East with 19 games remaining.
Defenseman Brian Pothier, dealt from Washington in the Corvo trade, was in uniform for his Carolina debut Thursday. He was credited with five blocked shots. The other player obtained in the Korvo trade, Finnish forward Oskar Osala, is expected to dress for Saturday’s game at Florida.
OTHER NOTES: Zach Boychuk had two assists in Thursday’s game, the first multi-point game of his career…Legace has now earned a victory over all 30 NHL teams in his career. Ottawa was the last team on the list…Forward Jussi Jokinen had his ten point scoring streak come to an end…The ‘Canes have outscored their opponents 29-12 during their seven-game winning streak.
“Don’t count us out just yet,” seems to be the message from the United Soccer Leagues today. As anticipated by early media reports, the USL-1 upped the ante in the ongoing struggle over the future of Division 2 soccer in North America.
The league announced that Orlando will operate a USL-1 franchise beginning next season, as part of its plan to “re-establish” its first division, which is currently playing under the auspices of the U.S. Soccer Federation along with teams from the rival NASL.
The new franchise will be operated by NY Empire Lacrosse, LLC and will be called the Titans. NY Empire Lacrosse brought professional lacrosse to the Orlando market in January and appears to have settled on outdoor soccer as the best way to diversify its pro sports operations.
“We looked at several different options, including indoor soccer and hockey, but in the end, professional outdoor soccer made the most sense in terms of being able to utilize our staff on a year-round basis without a lot of overlap in the seasons,” NY Empire president Steve Donner said in a USL press release.
The Titans have no playing facility yet, but the organization is “exploring options on a home facility and hope to make an announcement in the near future,” according to the release.
There are currently three USL-1 teams: Portland, Puerto Rico and Austin. Portland will begin play in the MLS next season, so the introduction of Orlando means the number of USL-1 teams slated to play in 2011 remains at three. It’ll be interesting to see if the USL has more such announcements up its sleeve, as there’s purportedly a required minimum of eight clubs for sanctioning by the U.S. Soccer Federation (notwithstanding this season’s six-team USL-2).
It’s also more than a little interesting that there are now three D2 soccer franchises in Florida (Miami FC and the Tampa Bay Rowdies are committed to the NASL).
The “NY Empire” moniker for the company might raise some eyebrows. Turns out that Steve Donner’s sports background includes an ownership stint with the Rochester Rhinos. For background, see Jeff DiVeronica’s post on the blog of the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. (He’s rather skeptical of this Florida venture.)
Fans of Dashiell Hammett’s The Maltese Falcon know that, in the end, the prized statuette turns out to be a forgery. After a couple of weeks of hints that a major Maltese international striker was on the way (how many MMISs can there be?), the RailHawks finally have produced a parcel containing said prize.
Meet Etienne Barbara, a 6-foot-1, 27-year-old striker from Pietà, Malta. There are high hopes for him indeed: Martin Rennie, having been tipped to Barbara’s availability, traveled to the Mediterranean island specifically to scout him. In a team press release, Rennie says:
‘I saw his videos and I was real impressed, and I spoke to some people who also told me, This guy is really, really good. I made the decision to go watch him play, and I was blown away by what he did. I’m hoping that will translate to our league, and I believe it will. He’s got pace, power and he can finish and he’s just an all-around player. He’ll add a lot to our squad.’
Barbara will bring a solid record of accomplishment to Cary, with 70 goals since 1999, a period he mostly spent in the Maltese Premier League. Barbara has 30 caps with Malta’s national team, although he is not currently listed on the roster. He also had a short stint with the German fourth-tier semipro side SC Verl, a tenure that apparently ended with his dismissal for disciplinary reasons (the source cited on Barbara’s Wiki page is a German news site, where it appears that further browsing in Deutsch is necessary).
Following the Internet trail of Barbara’s career is fascinating. We realize just how ubiquitous soccer is elsewhere on the planet—where a country as tiny as Malta can have a multi-tiered league system, and, correspondingly, where there can be excellent prospects toiling away that require diligence, pavement-pounding and international connections to locate.
It appears, too, that last summer Barbara merited a close look by English Championship side Sheffield Wednesday when that club was in preseason training in Malta. According to this report, then-coach Brian Laws (now the coach of Burnley) ultimately determined that Barbara, though “definitely a talented player who has trained very hard with us this week,” wasn’t quite good enough to aid in Sheffield Wednesday’s push for the upper echelon of the Championship. (Wednesday is currently in 21st place, one point above the relegation zone.)
This isn’t to suggest that Barbara won’t be a key ingredient for the RailHawks—it’s unlikely that Rennie would have gone to such lengths merely to add a little squad depth—but that this information gives us an idea of where the RailHawks and American D2 soccer fit into the global soccer matrix (somewhere around England’s League One, perhaps).
It’s an encouraging signing for the RailHawks, who needed another striker option. Last year’s team scored 43 goals, third-best in the league, but 21 percent of those goals came in a single game. Returning forwards Sallieu Bundu and Andriy Budnyy had their moments last season, and Matthew Delicâte, on a late-season loan from USL-2 Richmond, provided spark and creativity, but RailHawk attack has lacked a consistently ruthless presence inside the box. Clearly, Rennie hopes Barbara can bring that finishing touch.
Barbara is currently playing for the Maltese side Hibernians, where he will remain until late March.
It’s been a disappointing season for Sylvia Hatchell and the UNC women’s basketball team. Perennially among the nation’s elite, they’ve dropped out of the top 25 and currently suffer the indignity of a losing conference record.
Things didn’t get better on Sunday; they lost by a 73-64 margin to cross-town rival N.C. State and its first-year coach, Kellie Harper. N.C. State now sports a .500 conference record (6-6) to go with its overall record of 16-11. With this loss, the Tar Heels drop to 5-7 in the ACC, and 17-9 overall.
Fortunately for all concerned, there was a more important cause: The game was a part of the WBCA “Pink Zone” games to raise awareness about the Kay Yow/WBCA cancer fund, a nonprofit created to raise money to support the search for a cure to breast cancer. Each team warmed up in pink tees with the fund’s logo and UNC played in special pink uniforms. Fans were even encouraged to attend the game wearing pink.
For N.C. State, Bonae Holston and Marissa Kastanek led the effort, with 20 and 17 points, respectively. Kastanek, a freshman guard, carries the distinction of being the last recruit of the late Yow, who died last Jan. 24 of breast cancer. Cetera DeGraffenreid and Italee Lucas were the dominant performers for UNC, scoring 22 and 15 points, respectively. The box score is here.
Triangle Offense photographer Arianna Hoffmann attended the game and took these images.
Just in: The Carolina RailHawks have signed Matt Bobo, who was first-team USL defender in 2009 with the Charleston Battery. The arrival of the central defender ensures a strong partner for RailHawks captain and All-League second-teamer Mark Schulte.
The Charleston Battery elected to stay out of this winter’s dispute over the future of second-division soccer by self-relegating to USL-2. One has to wonder whether the Battery’s seclusion in a lower-revenue, six-team league is related to the fact that two of its highest-profile players have departed the club this week: Bobo and former RailHawk back Frankie Sanfilippo, who returned to his original club, the D2 Rochester Rhinos, yesterday, after playing only one year of what was reportedly a multiyear contract.
The RailHawks' Aaron King fights for possession in last year's game versus New England.
For the second year in a row, the Carolina RailHawks will open its season with a friendly versus the MLS New England Revolution at WakeMed Soccer Park. Next month’s game will be played on Saturday, March 20, at 7 p.m.
Last year’s contest was played in the middle of a winter monsoon but got the season off to a propitious start for the RailHawks. The 1-0 victory came courtesy of a 16th-minute goal from Mark Schulte, and the victory was saved in the second half on a sensational Caleb Patterson-Sewell open-field stop.
The press release notes several local connections to the game:
In coming back to the Triangle in 2010, the Revolution will be bringing several players with ties to the area and the RailHawks. Defender Darrius Barnes is a Southeast Raleigh High alum, played at Duke and played for the RailHawks’ PDL team for two summers. Midfielder Michael Videira played alongside Barnes at Duke, as well as the RailHawks’ U-23s. And forward Zack Schilawski, the Revs’ first-round pick in last month’s MLS SuperDraft, is a Cary High alum and also played for the RailHawks’ PDL squad for two summers.
Item No. 1.: No new news from the RailHawks front office on signings, but there is, nonetheless, a fresh tidbit about RailHawk winger Josh Gardner, who is trialling with the Seattle Sounders. In a piece published today in The Seattle Times, we learn that Gardner, by his own assessment and others, has matured since he played with the USL Sounders in 2007 and 2008.
Currently training with the team in Arizona, Gardner has been reunited with Sounders gaffer Sigi Schmid, who coached him with the Los Angeles Galaxy from 2004-06. We also learn that Gardner’s trial with the Sounders is partly a result of a close relationship between Schmid and RailHawks coach Martin Rennie, and that Schmid “respects” the Scotsman’s opinion of players.
According to the dispatch by José Miguel Romero, Gardner is on a two-year contract with the RailHawks and expects to return to North Carolina should he not win a place with the Sounders. With his left foot and pace, he should enjoy a good hard look by the Sounders. For the RailHawks in 2009, Gardner saw action in 20 games and notched three assists.
Item No. 2: A few days ago we noted the retirement of defender Jeremy Tolleson, who decided to pursue Christian mission work in Honduras. This morning, we learned a bit more about his new calling: He will be working with an outfit called The Micah Project to assist boys off the street in Tegucigalpa, the country’s capital and one of the more impoverished cities in the Western hemisphere (readers of soccer writer Grant Wahl will recall that he was mugged in that city at gunpoint in broad daylight last October). In this post on The Micah Project’s blog, Tolleson gets a mention.
The roster updates from the Cary offices of the Carolina RailHawks have been trickling in. There have been heartening re-signings, most notably that of quicksilver Guyanese winger Gregory Richardson. Also back for another season: stalwart defensive midfielder Amir Lowery, goalkeeper Eric Reed, the aggressive midfielders Brian Plotkin and Joseph Kabwe, and defenders Caleb Norkus and Mark Schulte. Right back Greg Shields—currently on loan to Partick Thistle of the Scottish second division (according to the gratifyingly transparent Web site of the Glaswegian club, we know that his loan expires March 31)—seems to be slated for a return, as well.
Today brought two pieces of news. First was the surprising retirement of 2009 team defender of the year Jeremy Tolleson. Only 27 years old, the Atlanta native has elected to hang up his boots and become a missionary in Honduras. Tolleson began last season on the sidelines, recuperating from a foot injury. His return came at a fortuitous time, however, when central defender Jack Stewart was lost for the season with a broken leg. Tolleson subsequently partnered with Schulte to anchor the league’s best defense; despite being only 5-foot-9, he effectively positioned himself to snuff out attack after attack, and also proved to be a dangerous attacking weapon with his long balls forward (3:18).
It’s disappointing to lose a player of his caliber, but one can’t help but be impressed by his willingness to walk away from a sport that has surely dominated his life for 20 years. Although it’s true that Division 2 soccer players in America are paid little more than missionaries (and perhaps D2 soccer players are secular missionaries, spreading love for a game that pays them less than they could make doing almost anything else), it still comes as a start to fans that an athlete could have a calling above playing sports for a living. Our hat is off to you, Mr. Tolleson, and Godspeed.
Tolleson’s departure will intensify interest in whether Stewart will return to the club. Continue reading »
From the camera of Indy photographer D.L. Anderson: Duke forward Miles Plumlee is fouled hard by Georgia Tech’s Gani Lawal in the second half of Thursday’s game, won by the Blue Devils 86-67. Read Grayson Currin’s account of the game here.
Kyle on "UNC holds off pesky NCCU with big second half, awaits selection committee": Mike Potter does Triangle sports fans a wonderful service by providing a unique perspective of events that may not otherwise receive media coverage. Thanks Mike for all you have done and continue to do in your outstanding career as a journalist and an ambassador for the Triangle.
caniacgirl on "Peters and pipes pickpocket a peck of prickly Penguins": I absolutely love the headline! Games like this one definitely reignite the little bit of playoff hope I have left in me. It should be an interesting few weeks that's for sure.
Greg Nccu Student on "Miller leads NCCU to 11th victory": There are a lot of Rumors on Campus about Joanna Miller leaving NCCU next year. Please Coach Robinson, We need to keep this player from gong to another College.
