David Fellerath ·
30 Sep 2009, 2:43 PM ·
3 Comments
Daniel Paladini, RailHawks midfielder, team MVP and now first-team all-USL-1 (Photo by Rich Bostwick)
The RailHawks’ stellar midfielder Daniel Paladini was named to the All-League USL First Division’s first team, the USL announced today.
Yesterday, the RailHawks’ defender Mark Schulte was named to the second team.
Here’s the complete first team:
- GK: Steve Cronin (Portland Timbers)
- D: Nelson Akwari (Charleston Battery)
- D: Cristian Arrieta (Puerto Rico Islanders)
- D: Matt Bobo (Charleston Battery)
- D: David Hayes (Portland Timbers)
- M: Daniel Paladini (Carolina RailHawks)
- M: Ryan Pore (Portland Timbers)
- M: Ricardo Sanchez (Minnesota Thunder)
- F: Charles Gbeke (Vancouver Whitecaps)
- F: Mandjou Keita (Portland Timbers)
- F: Johnny Menyongar (Rochester Rhinos)
Last night, I posted a forecast of this first team. I got eight (or maybe 7.5) of 11 correct, including the 4-3-3 formation, but my three misses were all RailHawks-related: Cronin was named, not Caleb Patterson-Sewell; two Charleston Battery defenders were named instead of one-plus-Jeremy Tolleson; and finally, Paladini instead of Gregory Richardson. No complaints on the last one—Richardson put up juicier numbers and would have been a league POY candidate had he been in Cary for a full 30 games, but Paladini was the man in the middle all season long and was voted most valuable RailHawk by his teammates.
After Sunday’s season-ending draw versus Vancouver, I spoke to both honorees about their off-seasons plans. Paladini said he hopes to do some training overseas while Schulte dropped a hint about considering retirement. Congratulations to both, and let’s look forward to having them back in orange next spring.
Carolina RailHawks, Soccer all-league team, All-USL honors, Daniel Paladini, Mark Schulte
David Fellerath ·
18 Sep 2009, 3:32 PM ·
1 Comment
Mark Schulte and Sallieu Bundu celebrate earlier this season in a game against the Minnesota Thunder (Photo by Rich Bostwick)
We’re coming to the sad realization that the RailHawks’ regular season is drawing to a close. It’s been a real treat to see such a quality team this year. In reflecting on the season in advance of tonight’s regular season finale against the Montreal Impact, we find ourselves thinking about the issue of year-end league honors.
Team honors, selected by the players, will be announced prior to the playoff game Sept. 27—and you can vote, too, for “fan favorite.”
We’re thinking about the league: The USL will recognize a first and second team all-USL-1 lineup, and there should be citations for best goalkeeper, best defender, and most valuable player. A recent speculative press release from the league office, after reviewing the top performers from other squads, acknowledged the difficulty of recognizing the RailHawks, who are unique in their dependence on a revolving lineup of 20+ quality players, rather than four or five aces.
To take the most obvious example: The league leaders in goals scored (Johnny Menyongar of Rochester, Mandjou Keita of Portland, Charles Gbeke of Vancouver) all have 11 goals. The RailHawks’ leading goal scorers, however, have only six (Gregory Richardson and Sallieu Bundu), yet collectively the team is the second in the league in scoring goals, with 41.
However, if one looks at goals-per-game, one RailHawk in particular becomes one of the league’s best scorers. Richardson’s six goals have come in 11 games, a rate that would put him in first place in the league if it were sustained over the season. (Then there’s Joseph Kabwe and his five goals and four assists in 15 games and 806 minutes; production that’s good enough to place him in the the league’s top 20 in points.)
Richardson is probably the RailHawks’ best candidate among the scorers, with Bundu also a strong second-team possibility, but we’d like to make a case for Daniel Paladini for post-season honors. Continue reading »
Carolina RailHawks, Soccer All-USL honors, Amir Lowery, Caleb Patterson Sewell, Daniel Paladini, Eric Reed, Gregory Richardson, Jeremy Tolleson, Joseph Kabwe, Kupono Low, Mark Schulte, Montreal Impact, Sallieu Bundu
