Wednesday, Sep. 16, 2009

RailHawks leap over Islanders

Carolina wins 2-1, assumes second place in the USL-1

Two shots, two goals in 12 minutes was all the Carolina RailHawks needed to defeat Puerto Rico 2-1 in a battle for second place.

Forward Gregory Richardson found himself all alone in the box when he netted a goal in the 2nd minute, thanks to a Joseph Kabwe through ball. Ten minutes later, Richardson fired a shot that deflected off Andriy Bundyy, who was flashing through the box, and into the goal.

"We have to get into the game from the first whistle and throw everything we have," Kabwe said. "... Fortunately we got some goals."

With the win, the RailHawks (14-5-10) move into second place in the USL-1, with 52 points. They trail only Portland, which has 55 points. The RailHawks have one game remaining in the regular season.

It marked the 10th home win for the RailHawks, the first time a Carolina team has reached that mark.

"That was a strong team we played against, and in the first half we played really, really well," Rennie said. "We've played really well [at home] all season. ... We've got a chance to win 11 games at home. If we do that, it'd be amazing."

The win was the franchise's first-ever over Puerto Rico. The Islanders got a goal in the 66th minute from Nick Addlery, who also nearly tied the game in stoppage time, but whiffed on an uncontested header.

Matt Delicâte, who was loaned to the team before the August's USL-1 roster freeze, nearly had a goal in his first RailHawks game.

Delicâte, who led the USL-2 in goals and is coming off a USL-2 championship with the Richmond Kickers, was denied by goalkeeper Justin Myers. "The goal at the beginning of the year is to win a championship," Delicâte said. "And Carolina has put themselves in position to do that."

Delicâte's debut was shortened to only 11 minutes after leaving with a cut above his eye, but he will be with the team for the rest of the season.

Puerto Rico (50 points) drops to third place with the loss and Charleston (49 points) is also in position to claim second before the year runs out. Charleston owns a tiebreaker in head-to-head match-ups with Carolina and has two games remaining.

The RailHawks' season finale is on Friday, at home versus Montreal.