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 defender Caleb Norkus. 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 Mark 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 »
RailHawks midfielder Joseph Kabwe plays the ball as Ansu Toure defends. (photo by Rich Bostwick)
WAKEMED SOCCER PARK/ CARY—Bummer. It was a lovely evening for soccer, sunny and mild in early fall. Just as it’s a little early for the leaves to change color and drop from the trees, it was a little early for the RailHawks’ remarkable season to end.
But end it did, as an exhausted and increasingly desperate squad failed to put the ball in the net against the seventh-seeded Vancouver Whitecaps, finishing with a nil-nil draw. The RailHawks needed a 1-0 victory just to get to penalty kicks, but the Cary XI closed their season by failing to score in 180 minutes and two home-and-home legs against a bigger and more experienced, playoff-hardened Vancouver side.
By the end, the RailHawks were in a 4-4-2 and throwing everyone forward. “We had chances in the first half and didn’t take them,” coach Martin Rennie said. “It made it a little more difficult. We started to go more direct.
“When you go more direct, you need the ball to bounce your way and it didn’t—which usually isn’t the way we play,” Rennie said. “We’re usually much more thought-through, much more precise. But once we weren’t getting the goal, I think maybe we began to panic a little bit, which made it more difficult to break them down.”
“You’ve got to credit Vancouver,” center back and captain Mark Schulte said. “They knew what they had to do: They had to shut us down—they sat in [on us].”
In truth, the RailHawks showed little of the squad that scored 43 goals in USL-1 league play. They launched 12 shots, but Whitecaps keeper Jay Nolly only needed to make four saves.
It was one save in particular that would prove to put the kibosh on the season. Continue reading »
Daniel Paladini, seen Sept. 18 against the Montreal Impact, will need to be on form this afternoon. (photo by Rich Bostwick)
After the RailHawks lost 1-0 Thursday night at Vancouver, they’re in the unenviable position of needing a two-goal victory margin to move on in the USL-1 playoffs without throwing themselves into the crapshoot of a penalty-kick finish. Kickoff is at 5 p.m. at WakeMed Soccer Park. Tickets here.
Against the Whitecaps on Thursday, the RailHawks attack was notably punchless despite having Matthew Delicâte in the striker role for much of the game. Of the seven shots mustered, only a second-half look from close range by John Cunliffe posed any real danger to Whitecaps keeper Jay Nolly.
However, the RailHawks would likely have shown more pace and threat in the final third if Joseph Kabwe and Gregory Richardson had been selected for the match. Although the USLLive.com commentators speculated that Richardson, a Guyanese international, had encountered visa problems, he did not make the trip (nor did Kabwe, Sallieu Bundu or Amir Lowery).
What’s apparent, then, is that coach Martin Rennie decided to keep some of his best legs in reserve for this afternoon’s return leg. He’ll need all the pace he can put on the field: The RailHawks have only been in one PK tiebreaker this season, and it was a dismal one, the sour finish at the end of Wilmington’s shocking equalizer at the last gasp of extra time in the U.S. Open Cup second round.
Prior to Thursday’s match, I looked at the RailHawks’ record of scoring goals on the road against the six other playoff teams. I discovered that the ’Hawks had been notably unprolific in this regard, notching only four goals in 10 games (although they extracted 10 points from those contests).
Unhappily, the RailHawks would not change this pattern against Vancouver last Thursday.
However, I got an interesting note from Tim Candon, RailHawks blogger and a far more astute observer than I am, in which he argued that I was paying insufficient attention to the quality of the RailHawks’ performances on the road. With his permission, I’m publishing his response here:
I like your deeper look at the RailHawks road record, but I will counter by saying look at more than just the results. Look at the performance, too, because that’s the focus for Martin. If the performance is up to snuff, the result takes care of itself.
Of the road matches against the other USL-1 playoff teams:
1. PORTLAND: The RailHawks got screwed in the first game. Josh Gardner was pulled down in the box in the 2nd minute. Not only was a penalty not awarded, but the ball was cleared off the line as it was about to trickle into the goal. If that call goes the other way, it’s a completely different game. Continue reading »
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 »
The story of the first half: Gregory Richardson leaves Christian Arrieta behind. Photo by Jeremy M. Lange
WAKEMED SOCCER PARK—It was the most exciting league game of the year. Fast, furious and creative, the RailHawks brought their A-game against the rugged, battle-hardened and extremely adept Puerto Rico Islanders. It was also a road-weary Islanders lineup that put most of its regulars out on the field despite a looming, critical CONCACAF Champions League match against Mexican powerhouse Cruz Azul. The 2-1 result put the RailHawks back in second place ahead of the Islanders, which they can clinch with a win against Montreal Friday (although Charleston can tie them with two final victories).
The first 12 minutes were enough to win the game, as the RailHawks’ left winger Gregory Richardson waltzed at will past the Islanders’ star right back Christian Arrieta in the first half. In the second minute, Richardson broke into the box and took a ball from Joseph Kabwe, and put it past PR keeper Justin Myers at the far post. It was Richardson’s fifth goal of the season.
It was the fastest goal of the season for the RailHawks—and many fans were still arriving through the main gate. There was plenty of first-rate football left for them, however. In the 11th, Richardson left Arrieta flailing in a spectacular jinking operation, but the Islanders’ Sean Fraser came in to help. The ball came back upfield and Richardson uncorked from distance. It was on-frame, but the ball deflected off Andriy Budnyy on its high-speed way and the Ukrainian got his fourth goal of the season.
In the first half, the RailHawks put on their most fluid, creative and dazzling display of the season—an even more impressive performance than the 9-0 result against the hapless Miami, because Colin Clarke’s Islanders are no Miami. Continue reading »
Enough about the sale of the USL for now. The RailHawks, presumably refreshed from a couple of days of blissful francophilia (or would that be quebecoisophilia?), return to Saputo Stadium for a rematch of Sunday’s 1-1 draw. (Stat box here.)
At stake: Both teams are trying to solidify their spots in the playoffs. The RailHawks have sole possession of second place while Montreal, thanks to the recent collapse of Miami, seem safely in the playoffs. They’re in sixth place, but they’re fighting to stay ahead of Vancouver to avoid a first-round matchup with the RailHawks.
Sunday’s 1-1 tie was a tale of two halves. Those of us watching at home on usllive.com couldn’t help but notice the 12,000+ fans who were in attendance, but fortunately, that impressive turnout wasn’t enough to urge the Impact to victory. Montreal dominated the first, with Adam Braz exploiting a gap in the RailHawks defense to cross to the head of Tony Donatelli for their goal. John Cunliffe pulled one back in the second half on one of the season’s more dazzling displays of individual effort. After his 63rd-minute strike, he put his finger to his lips just like Arsenal’s Andrei Arshavin and there actually was a critical mass of fans to be gratifyingly silenced.
The crowd will surely be smaller tonight, as even French-speaking people with superior health care need to work during the week. Eric Reed should be in the goal, but, aside from Mark Schulte and Jeremy Tolleson in the central defense, all bets are off on the rest of the lineup. Game time is 7:45 p.m.; watch it on usllive.com.
Notes:
Forward Aaron King, who struggled to find traction in the RailHawks lineup this season, transferred to Miami over the weekend. He logged 195 minutes in six appearances, and also spent part of the season on loan to USL-2 Wilmington.
Yesterday, Joseph Kabwe was named USL-1 player of the week, thanks to his hat trick in the 9-0 shellacking of Miami. John Cunliffe also made the team of the week after scoring two goals—one in the Miami game and one against Montreal Sunday.
Edwin Miranda leaves the field under the glare of the Cary law. photo by David Fellerath
WAKEMED SOCCER PARK/ CARY—The 1,597 fans who showed up on the relatively mild evening saw an extraordinary sight: a soccer game with the preposterous score of 9-0.
That’s right. 9-0. The RailHawks’ match against playoff contender Miami FC Blues wasn’t a baseball game, but a soccer game.
But the lopsided result has us reaching for non-soccer comparisons: Perhaps the time the Chicago Bears won the NFL Championship (in pre-Super Bowl days) with a 73-0 win. Or perhaps if one were to go fishing and have fish hit your lure on every single cast.
But if we stick to soccer analogies, the RailHawks’ absolute dominance was reminiscent of some of Barcelona’s games last season, particularly the first half of their return leg against Real Madrid last May. Like Barça, so dominant were the RailHawks that the goal seemed to be a magnetic field for the ball, and on a couple of occasions the RailHawks nearly walked the ball into the back of the net.
Joseph Kabwe led all scorers (there’s a basketball construction) with three goals, while Sallieu Bundu chipped in a late brace. Also scoring: Daniel Paladini, John Cunliffe, Andriy Budnyy and Gregory Richardson. Continue reading »
It’s Tuesday, and again the white-hot Carolina RailHawks are a little underrepresented on the USL-1 team of the week. This afternoon, word came from league HQ that Joseph Kabwe, who’s seen a resurgence of form after being largely absent from the lineup, would be so honored. The citation is chiefly for his goal against Austin Saturday, but it’s also perhaps a bit of a makeup for leaving him off last week’s team after his two assists in the 4-0 rout of Miami. Announcement here.
Not the weekly honors matter all that much, of course. The team would surely much rather have that Wilmington game back, for the RailHawks in their present form would be making a good show of it in the U.S. Open Cup. Including two friendlies, the RailHawks have won seven of their last eight games (five out of six without the exhibitions), and they’ve played those eight with an aggregate score of 18-4.
Today, the RailHawks released this highlight reel from Saturday’s 3-0 romp over Austin, from the USLLive.com feed. You’ll see (and Kabwe surely doesn’t need to be reminded) that the Zimbabwean midfielder shoulda-coulda had a hat trick, going 1 for 3 on lay-offs from Gregory Richardson.
Wednesday night, the RailHawks visit the Rochester Raging Rhinos at Marina Auto Stadium. The Rhinos have been nipping at the heels of the league’s top four all season and this game will be no picnic. (Well, that’s what I said in advance of the Miami game.) The RailHawks will have midfield mainstays Amir Lowery and Daniel Paladini available again, after the duo served suspensions during the Austin game. Kickoff is 7 p.m. and you can watch on USLLive.com.
WAKEMED SOCCER PARK/CARY—One can always gauge the attendance figures by looking at the “kids tunnel” that forms to welcome the referees and players onto the field. Last night there were 40 kids and an official attendance of 2,138. On the bright side there were two pantomime cows, Swoops, and several dozen dogs, as it was “Bark in the Park Night,” a howler of an idea. I am looking forward to explaining this to my students in Brazil. The hilarious bit was that the cows put their hands over their hearts for the national anthem, though I’m not sure they got the anatomy right.
The Austin Aztex are in their first year of USL-1 competition and are having a rough go of it. This young team has lost a number of close games, given up leads late in games, been docked points for ineligible players and been hit by a spate of injuries that have kept them floating at the bottom of the table. The RailHawks, coming off a 4-0 thrashing of Miami and a week of rest, took full advantage of the Texan debutantes. Continue reading »
One, two, three for Gregory Richardson, the hottest thing happening on a scorching afternoon. (Photo by Rich Bostwick)
WAKEMED SOCCER PARK—It was bloody hot, 2 p.m. on a Sunday. It took effort to get to the stadium. Surely, there were cooler things to do. When I sat, the backs of my legs burned until they absorbed the heat of the plastic. It hurt but I consoled myself with the realization that I was watching, not playing. Expectations were low. Miami FC and the RailHawks had both played on Friday night. It was hot. Hot like Mexico 1986, like USA 1994. Who chose this time of day in this month in the dang South? The game would be slow. I hoped the sweat running down my back would make it into the seat so I could sit in a puddle. Tweet!
Ten minutes of running industry produced a few good chances for the RailHawks before physiology trumped psychology. Everyone squinted at the emerald field for the next half an hour, wondering how much one would have to earn to run around a stadium wearing an oversized bird head. Swoops is probably receiving an intravenous drip in his cage. In the 39th minute, just as I felt the sweat reach my buttocks, Joseph Kabwe sliced through midfield, laid off to Gregory Richardson charging into the box on his left and the lad from Guyana slotted home from 12 yards. Luke Kreamalmeyer turned good fortune into a great goal with a sweet left-footed, lobbed volley four minutes later. The referee mercifully did not add any time. Tweet! We ran for the shade, 2-0 to the good.
In football, as in NASCAR, there is no substitute for skill and pace. Richardson has bags of both and he’s brought them with him to Cary. Twenty minutes into the second half, as the back of my neck changed hue, Daniel Paladini orchestrated Richardson’s second. His 30-yard run finished with a crashing left-footed drive that left the ‘keeper swatting at flies. Four minutes later, coach Martin Rennie gave Richardson the ball for a penalty (taking it from a clearly miffed Paladini), and Richardson notched his first hat trick in a RailHawks kit. 4-0. Tweet! The kid is hot.
Carolina had a shocking outing in Charleston on Friday night and missed a great chance to pick up some valuable points on the three points leaders. With this victory, however, they become the first team in USL-1 to reach 10 victories this season and have surpassed their victory total from last year. When the Austin Aztex come to visit next weekend, the Hawks will be without Amir Lowery and Paladini, but have the depth on the bench to cover for them. Richardson is the real deal and is supported by a solid defense and creative midfielders who can get him the ball in dangerous positions. 4-0 was a fair score today. Rennie’s side look deep, strong and organized. Kudos for a blistering show on a scorching day.
Big Honking Image on "Ward leads Hurricanes to fourth in a row against Blackhawks, 4-2": I've noticed a recurring theme with this blog are the _giant_ images in the posts. The image in this post is 1646x1225 but it is forced into a box that is 498x371.
This is bad for four reasons:
1) On slower connections, they take a while to download.
2) It is big waste of server bandwidth, which costs
Ben Wilson on "After a tough 25 minutes, N.C. State goes cold in loss to UNC": LOL, like UNC is ANY different than NC State or any other school for that matter when they are losing at home. Do I have to remind you that NC State fans VASTLY outnumbered UNC fans at Kenan 2 years ago in the 42-10 blowout?
Get off your high horse and REALIZE that UNC is NO
Last night there were 40 kids and an official attendance of 2,138. On the bright side there were two pantomime cows, Swoops, and several dozen dogs, as it was “Bark in the Park Night,” a howler of an idea. I am looking forward to explaining this to my students in Brazil. The hilarious bit was that the cows put their hands over their hearts for the national anthem, though I’m not sure they got the anatomy right.
