Showing posts tagged “Chris McClellan”

Miami FC no pushover as RailHawks try to salvage weekend this afternoon

David Fellerath · 26 Jul 2009, 7:47 AM · 1 Comment

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Miami FC visits WakeMed Soccer Park this afternoon at 2 p.m. The temperature is forecast to be 91 degrees at kickoff, and Miami will be no pushover. This month, they’ve begun a march out of the bottom of the table: They’ve won two games, drawn two and lost just once. One of their draws was against the undefeated Portland Timbers (although the Timbers returned two days later to hammer the Blues 3-0).

The RailHawks need to win today to salvage the weekend and stay near the top of the table. If they lose, they will be five points off the pace set by Portland, with each having played 18 games. Puerto Rico and Charleston are tied with Portland with 35 points apiece, but they’ve played 22 and 20 games, respectively.

Friday night was not so hot for the ’Hawks as the Charleston Battery fired two artillery shots past Eric Reed in the first half, and held on for a 2-1 victory. Luke Kreamalmeyer scored in the 87th off a long free kick from Kupono Low Daniel Paladini. *

Particularly worrisome was an apparent reversion to the defensive form of June: Both Battery goals originated as corner kicks.

Aside from failing to pick up any points (and handing three more to a injury- and suspension-plagued, but first-place Charleston side), the RailHawks saw midfield stalwarts Amir Lowery and Daniel Paladini each pick up their fifth yellow cards of the season, meaning that they will have to serve a one-game suspension. According to Tim Candon, the suspension will likely be served next Saturday, a home game against cellar-dwelling Austin.

In other USL news this weekend:

  • USL-2 Wilmington clinched a playoff berth with a 2-1 victory over the Harrisburg City Islanders, thanks to the help of goalkeeper and former RailHawk Chris McClellan, who had six saves.
  • How good are the Portland Timbers? Yesterday they played Burnley FC, newly promoted to the English Premier League, to a 2-2 draw. Burnley visited WakeMed Soccer Park a year ago and lost 2-1 to the RailHawks’ U-23 PDL team (which they don’t maintain anymore). Here’s a recent Times story (h/t Tim Candon) on the vastly different West Coast preseason tours being undertaken by Burnley and Chelsea.

*Corrected July 27

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    Ex-RailHawk update: Chris McClellan now backup to league’s best goalie

    David Fellerath · 3 Apr 2009, 9:14 AM · Comment

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    Jarrett of trisoccerfan.com spotted this one: Chris McClellan, the two-year starting goalkeeper who left town to make room for new goal management, has signed with the Puerto Rico Islanders.

    The Islanders, of course, are the pride of the USL-1, having marched to the semifinals of the CONCACAF Champions League—where they are presently ahead of Cruz Azul 2:0 after the first leg. Colin Clarke’s side is also home to ex-RailHawks Jonathan Steele (who was last year’s league MVP with the Islanders) and Martin Nuñez (who was a finalist for league rookie of the year with the RailHawks). 

    However, don’t expect to see too many minutes from McClellan: The Islanders have one of the better keepers in North America and the Caribbean in Bill Gaudette, who was last year’s USL-1 goalie of the year.

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    Stokes, McClellan dropped from RailHawks roster

    David Fellerath · 26 Feb 2009, 7:46 PM · Comment

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    Defender David Stokes and goalkeeper Chris McClellan, both two-year veterans of the RailHawks, are no longer on the roster. As recently as yesterday, both players were still listed as part of the team lineup.

    McClellan played every minute of every league game last year, and recorded six clean sheets.

    Here’s his stat line, copied from the USL Web site:

    # Name Pos  GKGP   GAA   GKM   GA   GKW   GKL   GKT   SO   Saves   SHFC 
    0 McClellan, Chris GK 30 1.433 2700 43 9 11 10 6 109 258
                             

     

    Stokes had a more erratic record with the club. He saw a lot of minutes, and had a memorable draw-saving goal against the Seattle Sounders last July 3, in the 87th minute off a Steve Curfman corner. But he also had a penchant for picking up cards, particularly red ones: He was sent off three times last year. A native of Virginia, Stokes played for three seasons with UNC-Chapel Hill before being drafted by D.C. United in 2003, the fifth player taken.

    The RailHawks roster is now down to 19. A team official said that the final roster would be about 24-26 players. The maximum roster size under USL rules is 26. 

    The team official had no comment on the departures of McClellan and Stokes.

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