The Carolina RailHawks dropped their first match of their young 2010 campaign on Friday night at Wake Med Soccer Park at the hands of first-year franchise Minnesota Stars one-nil.

Minnesota came into the game with a determination to come out of WakeMed with three points to their name and that’s exactly what they did.

The first half was dominated by the Stars, comfortably handling the possession in the midfield, with crisp switches, on-cue runs down the flank, and productive shots in the RailHawks attacking third of the field.

“Last week we won the game in the first half. Tonight, we lost it in the first half. That is not even close to the standards that we have set for ourselves and a long way from where we want to be,” said a frustrated Martin Rennie, Manager of the Carolina RailHawks.

He couldn’t have been more right. The Stars pounded strikes at goalkeeper Eric Reed all night and eagerly pounced on the rebounds he conceded. Just 9 minutes in, Stars striker Warren Ukah had a powerful strike on goal which just missed the left post. Moments later in the 21st minute, midfielder Andrei Gotsmanov took brilliant right footed rip which soared wide and over the bar by a matter of inches, but beating keeper Reed again.

The RailHawks continued to play choppy tentative defense out of the back and continuously sent their clearances back to the feet of Stars players. Carolina’s luck finally ran out when they conceded their first goal of the game from the boot of Stars defender Daniel Wasson in the 37th minute. Midfielder Leilei Gao sent the curling corner kick into the box, and after a number of desperation clearances from Carolina, Wasson pounced on the rebound and powerfully struck the ball down the middle past Reed to put his visiting squad up 1-nil.

The RailHawks best chances came at the boot of midfielder Josh Gardner who received a sneaky through ball carved past two Stars defenders. After he beat his man, he took a well-driven, far post shot that skidded past the far post of Minnesota backup goalkeeper Joe Warren and resulted in another missed opportunity for the home side.

“We just started slow, it happens. We got down a goal and had to play catch up. We regrouped with a good halftime talk but we just didn’t get it done tonight,” Rennie later added.

The RailHawks come out in the second half with fire in their bellies, putting deep pressure on the Stars defenders, giving them little time to react, and showing glimpses of the team they are expected to be.

The second half soon became a shooting barrage for Carolina, a sign that maybe they can turn around their 0-29-5 record after conceding the first goal in a match.

In the 58th minute Gardner was at it again, producing a screaming strike on goal off a dangerous corner kick which the keeper was unable to hold onto, but later tracked down by a Stars defender.

Again in the 66^th, a stunning powerful strike came off the laces of Daniel Paladini’s boots which just flew wide of the net. The rip beat a diving keeper but just went inches wide of the right goal post. It was one of the best chances of the game for Carolina.

Other quality goal-scoring chances came from midfielder Etienne Barbara, Matt Watson, and Matt Bobo in the latter stages of the second half, although none were able to cash in and find the equalizer.

The best chance of the game for the Railhawks came off another dangerous curling left-footed corner kick from Gardner which found the head of a streaking Bobo who flailed himself in desperation at the ball, redirected the cross powerfully on goal, but goalkeeper Warren brilliantly got his fingertips on the ball to keep it off the goal line and secure the three points for his club. It was a game defining moment that shot the life out of the RailHawks players and fans as they made their last gasp at a late game desperation equalizer.

“I thought we started off the second half better than the first, but a one nil loss is always very bitter. If we learn from our mistakes from next week, we will do much better,” Paladini said after the conclusion of the match.

The RailHawks know they have much to improve on before they face the Mexican Olympic National Team next Sunday night before a projected sell out crowd. Carolina knows what they are capable of, and how they need to progress before they return to league play on May 1st at Rochester.

“We need a solid performance for 90 minutes and tonight showed us how much we need to work on. We will get better at it. I have no doubt in my mind,” said Matt Bobo.

When asked about the new orange RailHawks kits, Bobo humorously said, “Right now, I’m liking the blue kit, but it will look much better once we start winning in it.”

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Nick Cioffi is a freelance journalist covering sports in the Cary area.  This article also appears on The Cary Citizen.  For more information about the author, please visit his blog.