Wednesday, Mar. 16, 2011

RailHawks coast in early matches

While coach Martin Rennie still tries to finalize his roster for the 2011 season, the Carolina RailHawks sport a 3-0 record through three preseason matches against Wake Forest University, UNC-Wilmington and the CASL Elite adult amateur team.

The RailHawks dispatched both college teams by 2-0 scores, then defeated CASL Elite 4-2 on Friday.

Rennie, who is entering his third season, returns at least six players from last year's team in captain Brad Rusin, original RailHawks member Kupono Low, defender Devon McKenny and midfielders Cory Elenio, Floyd Franks and Matt Watson.

Original RailHawks member Jonny Steele, who played last season with Tampa Bay, is also back with the club this season.

Goalkeeper Sean O'Connor, who did not play a league match last year, and forward Gregory Richardson, are currently competing with the team but have not been formally announced as returning players by the club.

The team will play its first preseason game at WakeMed Soccer Park on Saturday against the Charleston Battery of USL Pro. Admission is free for all preseason matches.

The new signings that have been announced by the club, in addition to Steele, are: striker Kithson Bain; former New England Revolution player Khano Smith; former Newcastle player Stephen Glass; Chris Nurse from the Puerto Rico Islanders; John Krause from the Rochester Rhinos; and Brian Farber from the Portland Timbers.

Hoping to join the team and currently on trial is Cary native Michael Callahan. Callahan, who played for Green Hope High School and later at UNC-Chapel Hill, was with the now-defunct Austin Aztex last season. The Aztex were a league rival of the RailHawks but moved to Orlando and became USL Pro members.

The RailHawks' 2011 North American Soccer League season is set for April 9 against Puerto Rico in a re-match of last year's championship series.