Showing posts tagged “U.S. Open Cup”
David Fellerath ·
1 Jul 2009, 8:15 AM ·
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Caleb Norkus and Sallieu Bundu celebrate Brian Plotkin's goal. (photo by Rich Bostwick)
WAKEMED SOCCER PARK/ CARY—The RailHawks fielded a reserve-heavy lineup and beat a Panamanian national squad composed of same, 1-0, on a Brian Plotkin strike in the 59th.
I wasn’t there for the goal. I was at the office late, and only caught the last 20 minutes. Here’s Rachel Ullrich’s account in the N&O.
I wasn’t the only one who wasn’t there—about 2,000 other WakeMed regulars were missing, too. In truth, the party was elsewhere. Round 3 of the US Open Cup was being held, and MLS teams were going down in flames to teams from the USL:
- USL-2 Wilmington, which defeated Carolina two weeks ago, beat the Chicago Fire 1-0
- The Harrisburg City Islanders, also of USL-2, defeated New England Revolution 2-1
- The USL-1 Rochester Rhinos defeated the Columbus Crew 1-1 (5-3)
- The USL-1 Charleston Battery beat Chivas USA 3-1
Only D.C. United and Kansas City avoided defeat last night, and KC did so just barely, beating the Minnesota Thunder 3-3 (4-2). And tonight, the USL-1 has two more opportunities to knock out MLS sides. Both are regional matchups: USL-1 Portland Timbers versus the brand-new MLS side Seattle Sounders, and the expansion USL-1 Austin Aztex versus the MLS Houston Dynamo. The Portland-Seattle one will be a battle royale, and we plan to watch it tonight (DirecTV subscribers may even want to try hunting around on your back channels for the feed from local television in Portland). [UPDATE: The indefatigable Jarrett Campbell has tweeted: The game will be on channel 687, Fox Sports NW, at 10 p.m. ET] Continue reading »
Carolina RailHawks, Soccer Brian Plotkin, Chicago Fire, MLS, Panama, U.S. Open Cup, upsets, USL-1, USL-2, Wilmington Hammerheads
David Fellerath ·
30 Jun 2009, 10:48 AM ·
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Tonight’s game in Cary was supposed to be against the Chicago Fire. The Wilmington Hammerheads forced a change in those plans two weeks ago.
Now the Fire are in Wilmington for the third round of the U.S. Open Cup while the ’Hawks play a recently scheduled friendly versus the Panama national team at 7 p.m. tonight. This will be the first time, team officials say, that the RailHawks have played a national team.
The Panamanians are coming off a 2-0 defeat to Honduras in a game that was played Sunday at WakeMed. Attendance for that game was modest, at 3,766, according to the RailHawks office, but still greater than the 2,783 who turned out to see the RailHawks-Puerto Rico game Saturday. (Attendance on Sunday surely would have been better had it not been scheduled on the heels of the U.S. men’s national team’s heartbreaker against Brazil in South Africa.)
Coach Martin Rennie faces an interesting dilemma in tonight’s game. On one hand, he has a struggling team that could use a quality opponent in a friendly to continue to work out kinks, both in the back and the front.
On the other hand, this is an opportunity to give certain performers some badly needed rest, while taking a look at other players—including, possibly, players that are training but not on the roster.
One could see it going either way: The RailHawks don’t play another league game until July 11, thus giving regular players plenty of time to recover even if they’re in the lineup tonight. We’re guessing new players, but we shall see.
The RailHawks play another friendly July 3 at 7 p.m. in Cary, against their good friends, the Wilmington Hammerheads.
Carolina RailHawks, Soccer attendance, Honduras, Martin Rennie, Panama, U.S. Open Cup, Wilmington Hammerheads
David Fellerath ·
18 Jun 2009, 8:21 AM ·
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Mark Schulte's throw-ins resulted in two extra-time goals. (photo by Rich Bostwick)
WAKEMED SOCCER PARK/ CARY—What happened Tuesday night? That’s the question. The U.S. Cup dream—an important priority for the RailHawks organization—is dashed for this season, thanks to the gutsy, irreverent and opportunistic play of the Wilmington Hammerheads. There’s no doubt that the RailHawks took Wilmington seriously, but still—no one thought they’d actually lose this second-round game.
And now the only way the Chicago Fire will come near Cary is if they have to connect to Wilmington at RDU.
The game itself was a wild one that featured 33 shots, with at least three that clanged off the cage. Wilmington scored first, and after the RailHawks equalized, Wilmington again took the lead in extra time. But after the RailHawks rallied for the second time—on a Gavin Glinton goal from an Amir Lowery flick of a Mark Schulte throw-in—and went ahead 3-2 in the 118th minute, fans and media began packing it in.
I folded up my notebook and walked down to the field to wait for the final whistle. I wasn’t the only one: Aside from the moans of the 50-strong contingent of blue-clad Wilmington supporters, the atmosphere was one of relief that the home side had survived this second-round scare. An unexpectedly long Tuesday night seemed to be drawing to a close with the rightful winner prevailing.
But there was one problem: The Hammerheads were still playing. Continue reading »
Carolina RailHawks, Soccer Austin Aztex, Caleb Patterson, Daniel Paladini, David Irving, Jamie Watson, John Cunliffe, Martin Rennie, U.S. Open Cup, Wilmington Hammerheads
David Fellerath ·
16 Jun 2009, 4:30 PM ·
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It’s Round 2 of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup and the opponent is I-40 USL-2 rival Wilmington. To the winner the spoils: the opportunity to host the Chicago Fire on June 30.
The RailHawks’ Tim Candon has the pregame report here. Although the RailHawks knocked off the Richmond Kickers 2-1 in Round 1 a week ago, they’ve been struggling. They haven’t scored in the last 222 minutes of league play; however, they’ve got a way to go before the offensive futility matches the defensive excellence of earlier this season, when the clean sheet streak reached 416 minutes (including the non-league Richmond game).
Here’s another forecast: the weather.
The RailHawks take the field tonight at WakeMed Soccer Park, Field 2. Kickoff is 7 p.m. We’ll be there, provided that the paper has gone to press and I don’t have to ride on my motorcycle in the rain.
Carolina RailHawks, Soccer Chicago Fire, clean sheet, U.S. Open Cup, Wilmington Hammerheads
David Fellerath ·
9 Jun 2009, 6:02 PM ·
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No time to post in advance today, but RailHawks’ opening round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup begins tonight at 7 p.m. The opponent is the USL-2 Richmond Kickers, who managed to beat the ’Hawks 1-0 in a preseason friendly earlier this spring.
The work here is finally done, so I’m off to WakeMed Soccer Park.
Be sure to pick up an Indy tomorrow, as there’s a profile of the RailHawks midfield, written by yours truly.
Carolina RailHawks, Soccer Richmond Kickers, U.S. Open Cup
