For the second week in a row, a Carolina RailHawks player has been honored on the USL-1 team of the week. Defender David Stokes was picked for Week 2's Best XI for his role in anchoring the RailHawks' defense in their 0-0 draw against the Silverbacks on Saturday.

Miami’s Sean Cameron took the player of the week honor for Week 2. The rookie, who slotted into the void left by Brazilian World Cup legend Romario's absence from Miami FC, is off to a great start having first scored, then turned provider in Miami's 3-2 victory over the Sounders on Friday night.

>> The full USL Teams of the Week for both First and Second Divisions can be found here.

While the Carolina RailHawks may still be looking for their first on-field result after 2 matches, the franchise is off to a winning start at the box office. The RailHawks have drawn 6,327 and 5,082 in their first couple of matches for an average draw of just north of 5,700 per game, or approximately 80% of the capacity of SAS Soccer Park.

Although only 7 teams have played home matches through 2 weeks, the RailHawks are currently second in the league in average attendance behind only the Portland Timbers who drew 7,805 in their only home match to date. The league average draw through 13 matches is approximately 4,250. Compared to the 2006 USL end-of-season attendance figures, the RailHawks are positioned to be among the league leaders in attendance this season if they can sustain or improve upon the crowds they've drawn so far. In 2006, only the Montreal Impact (11,554) and Rochester Rhinos (10,064) averaged more than 5,700 per match.

Once again, the YCJ Footy Photo Service has posted some great pictures from the RailHawks match. Click here to see Scott Bales' photos from last night.

As the USL First Division season enters its third week, it’s almost unfathomable that a team could face a must-win situation.

But the Carolina RailHawks believe they have painted themselves into such a corner. On Saturday, Carolina earned its second straight tie after a 0-0 draw against the Atlanta Silverbacks before a crowd 5,082 at SAS Soccer Park.

The RailHawks will close out their season-opening three-game homestand on Friday against the Puerto Rico. Though it's early in the year, the RailHawks recognize three points against the Islanders would serve them much better than getting one for the third straight week.

>> Read the full article at CaryNews.com

The Carolina RailHawks notched the first shutout in franchise history, tying the visiting Atlanta Silverbacks, 0-0, Saturday night at SAS Soccer Park. In front of 5,082 fans, the two teams battled
in a defensive match that had a flurry of scoring chances late in the game.

Neither team had a quality scoring chance in the first 45 minutes of action, but the action picked up late in the second half as the teams were looking for the victory. The RailHawks (0-0-2) had the only two shots of the first half. Both McColm Cephas and Chad Dombrowski each had a crack at the net, but their shots went wide.

We're going to try live updates from the Park tonight. I make no promises that this experiment will work, but it's worth a try.

• kickoff set for 7:30
  
• 25' no score
  
• HT scoreless
  
• FT 0-0
  
  

Photo: 2000 Raleigh Capital Express, Inaugural Winners of the Southern Derby
At tonight's match against Southern Derby rival Atlanta Silverbacks, during the RailHawks radio broadcast on WSHA-FM 88.9, Dean Linke chatted with Fred Medlin, one of the Raleigh Capital Express supporters who helped found the fan-based cup competition. Fred now calls the RailHawks his home club and was instrumental in getting Carolina included in the 2007 edition of the derby.


During their discussion, Fred mentions several other fan websites besides this one that RailHawks fans might want to check out (Thanks Fred for the shout out!). They include A-League.com (which has since changed it's name to USLFans.com) and USLDiscussions.com.

Before the Atlanta match on Saturday, RailHawks play-by-play announcer Dean Linke had a chance to sit down with RailHawks inaugural goal scorer Kupono Low and his coach Scott Schweitzer. These interviews were part of the pre-game show broadcast on Carolina's flagship radio station, WSHA-FM 88.9 in Raleigh.


Remember you can listen to every RailHawks game either over the air on 88.9 FM or streaming over the internet via their website.

As we plan to do before every home match this year, Triangle Soccer Fanatics will be tailgating from 2 hours before kickoff (5:30pm) Saturday night. Our rally point will be the shady area just to the north and east of the large sculpture by the main entrance. Click here for a map of SAS Soccer Park showing the precise location.

TSF will provide non-alcoholic beverages and picnic supplies for all premium members of Triangle Soccer Fanatics. All you need to do is bring any food you wish to consume and some lawn chairs to sit in if you like. We'll have a small hibachi-style grill if you need some where to prepare your dinner.

The general public is encouraged to join us for the tailgate, all that we ask is you bring your own supplies.

For the second week in a row, RailHawks fans, coaches, and players can get an up-close look at our competition as the RailHawks' Saturday night opponent, the Atlanta Silverbacks, squares off Friday night on Fox Soccer Channel at 8pm against last week's opponent, the Minnesota Thunder.

The Friday night matchup in Atlanta means the Silverbacks will have to wait until Saturday morning to make the 5.5 hour trip up I-85 to the Triangle. But it's a trip that Atlanta's head coach is excited about. "I’m looking forward to playing at SAS again – it’s a great facility. We played there last summer in a friendly against Rochester, so we know it’s a great place to play. Hopefully it will bring us great results for our first game on the road,” said Atlanta Head Coach Jason Smith.

Jonny Steele has tweaked a hamstring and is unlikely to start. Joey Worthen is likely to get the call in Steele's stead on Saturday night for the match against Atlanta. It is expected that all other players will be available for Schweitzer's selection.

The Carolina RailHawks, Triangle Grille, and Triangle Soccer Fanatics invites all RailHawks fans to join us post-match on Saturday night to (hopefully) celebrate the RailHawks first victory over Southern Derby rivals the Atlanta Silverbacks.

The Triangle Grille has an excellent food menu (Oh, the Carbonara! Hmmmm) and a wide bar selection. We invite you to come meet players, coaches, and front office staff after the match and help the supporters celebrate the return of men's professional soccer to the Triangle.

The Triangle Grille is located on the Northwest corner of Chatham and Maynard in Cary, less than a mile from the stadium.

Carolina fans could not have asked for a better first goal in franchise history than Kupono Low's 24 yard blast against Minnesota last Saturday night. And it seems the quality of his left-footed strike has not gone unnoticed by the league. Low, who earlier this week was named to the USL's team of the week has been honored again as his goal against the Thunder has been named Goal of the Week by USL.

>> Click here to download a clip of his goal from the USL's website or here to watch a slightly longer clip via YouTube.

Andy Mead and Scott Bales have published some excellent photos from last Saturday's inaugural match over at their Yellow Card Journalism site.

This weekend, as part of the Southern Women's Show being held at the North Carolina State Fairgrounds, RailHawks captain Frankie Sanfilippo and starting defender Caleb Norkus will be Dancing Like the Stars.

The event, which starts at 1:00pm Sunday, April 29th is modeled after ABC's hit series Dancing With the Stars and series alum Mario Lopez will be on hand as one of the competition judges

Tickets for the show, which includes a full slate of events beyond the dance competition, are $7.00 in advance and $8.00 the day of the show. In addition, a $1 off coupon can be downloaded from the show's website. Proceeds benefit The North American Andy Transplant Foundation, an association whose mission is to promote contributions and education for transplant patients and their families across North America.

A few of the RailHawks were on 96 Rock last Friday morning before opening weekend and the morning crew put together a special Fight Song for the RailHawks on the occasion.



It probably won't replace "Ole Ole" as a supporters favorite, but it's fun nonetheless.

Over last year or so, I've been asked many times why I'm so excited about the Carolina RailHawks coming to Cary. After all, our minor league soccer team would never be able to compare to the likes of the EPL or the UEFA Champions League that has now become so readily available to American soccer fans via satellite dish.

There's something about the local nature of football that has always struck me as extremely romantic. While many may follow a super club the likes of Manchester United or Barcelona, most football fans first true love is their local side.

This video I found on YouTube posted by an Irish football supporter does a great job of capturing the difference between local football and international super clubs. While the skill and talent may not be the same between the two, the authenticity of the passion for the local club can never be questioned.

This video does a great job of summing up why I'm so excited about the RailHawks becoming a permanent fixture here in the Triangle.

For the last couple of months, Jonathan Hart, myself, and a couple of other users have spent quite a bit of time building the Wikipedia pages regarding the Carolina RailHawks. We've created or modified about 35 pages or more on Wikipedia related to the club, the players, the stadium, and other aspects of the team.

As with any wiki project where you quickly create a large number of pages, there are certainly errors, oversights, and plenty of room for additional information, particularly on the player bios (which for the most part are simple stubs at this point). We'd like to invite those of you that are interested in doing a little research to take some time to look around and help us improve (and edit) the Wikipedia entries we have created. We'd like to leverage the collective knowledge of the RailHawks fans to help us build upon this detailed resource.

The club page is a great place to start your wiki work. Feel free to adopt a favorite player, coach, or other aspect of the club and take ownership of making that page a thorough reference on the topic.

Clever TSF Readers, I need your help. I'd like for the supporters club to come up with unique songs for each of our players so we can serenade them individually when they do something remarkable on the pitch. So far, I've come up with a couple of ideas myself. Use the comments section below to help me fill out the canon.

Player: Kupono Low
Tune: Oh, U-S-A (Sam's Army members will know this one)

Oh, Ku-po-no
Ku-po-no
Ku-po-no
Kupono Low

Player: Jonny Steele
Tune: Johnny B. Goode

Go go
Go Jonny go
Go
Go Jonny go
Go
Go Jonny go
Go
Go Jonny go
Go
Jonny be good!

What are your ideas?

The fact that the Cary News only publishes once a week is a huge disappointment for soccer fans that have to wait until midweek to get the top-notch coverage of the RailHawks that Tim Candon (and others at the Cary News) have been providing so far this season.

Candon's match report on Saturday night's home opener is up on the web now as well as a feature called RailHawks Notebook. Let's hope that the Notebook, which is filled with factoids and brief news items, like the details of Carolina's shirt sponsor Novozymes, becomes a regular weekly column in the paper.

Kupono Low has been honored for his left-footed golazo on Saturday against the Thunder with a place in the USL's first Team of the Week. Low, the Hawaiian-born midfielder, joined the RailHawks during pre-season when his current club, the Virginia Beach Mariners folded just before the start of the USL season.

Atlanta's Dan Antoniuk took player of the week honors in USL-1 for his 2 goals in the Silverbacks 2-2 draw with Montreal. Click here to see the full USL Team of the Week selections.

The Carolina RailHawks have signed 22 year old midfielder Marcio Leite. The Brazilian playmaker joins the RailHawks on loan from the Milwaukee Wave of Major Indoor Soccer League where he recently completed a season alongside current RailHawks Chad Dombrowski and Anthony Maher.

Leite, who scored 15 goals and 19 assists for the Wave, was the team's 3rd leading point scorer and finished the season among the MISL league leaders in both goals and assists. Now that Leite's loan is complete, he should be eligible to make his first appearance in orange & white when the RailHawks take on the Atlanta Silverbacks on Saturday, April 28th at 7:30pm

TSF has learned that the Carolina RailHawks are on the verge of announcing a marquee exhibition match against Club Deportivo Chivas USA at SAS Soccer Park on Tuesday, May 8th. The third year MLS franchise features 100-goal scorer Ante Razov, Mexican National Team star Claudio Suarez, and 2005 MLS rookie of the year and rising US National Team standout Jonathan Bornstein.

The MLS side has regular seasons matches at DC United on May 6th and Columbus on May 12th, so it looks like they'll be making an east coast week of the trip by squeezing an exhibition match into the schedule in Cary.

Tickets to the match, which will kick off at 7:30pm EDT, are included with the RailHawks full season ticket package and individual match tickets are set to go on sale at Ticketmaster on Tuesday morning. Look for both an official announcement about the match from the RailHawks as well as details here on supporters club seating for the match within the next 24 hours.

UPDATE 4/23: Here's the official press release

Video highlight of Kupono Low's 24-yard blast to register the first goal in Carolina RailHawks history.



Video of all RailHawks games not televised on Fox Soccer Channel are available via subscription to USL Live.

Carolina RailHawks 1 - 1 Minnesota Thunder
SAS Stadium, April 21, 2007, 7:30pm EDT
Weather: Sunny, warm Attendance: 6327

Summary:
CAR: Kupono Low (Stuart Brightwell) 8
MIN: Ansu Toure (pen.) 70

Cautions
MIN: Derek Smith 33, Brian Farber 35, Freddy Juarez 53
CAR: Connally Edozien 14, David Stokes 72

Referees: Niko Bratsis, Saeed Mohammed, Tacettin Cancel, Charles Mitchell

Full box score including player stats available at USLSoccer.com.

As far as debuts go, the Carolina RailHawks' introduction to the Triangle was almost perfect.

They couldn't have ordered better weather and the crowd was substantial for the franchise's inaugural USL First Division soccer match at SAS Soccer Park. As for the actual result, perfection proved elusive. The RailHawks led for the first 70 minutes but ended up in a 1-1 tie with the Minnesota Thunder.

Not as bad as a loss, but after the build-up -- the expansion club was awarded 18 months ago -- and the fast start -- Kupono Low's brilliant goal in the eighth minute put them up 1-0 -- the RailHawks didn't get the preferred result.

>> Click here to read the full story at News & Observer's website.

Post-match interviews with RailHawks coach Scott Schweitzer and goal-scorer Kupono Low courtesty of WRAL.

I just wanted to give a quick shout out to all the old friends that showed up in the supporters section tonight as well as all the new folks that I met this evening. It was a fantastic, historic night for pro soccer in the Triangle. We'll have full coverage of the RailHawks opening night 1-1 draw with Minnesota tomorrow.

According to this press release on the RailHawks site, it appears that "Swoops" is the winner of the name the mascot contest. I wonder which lucky fan suggested that one? TSF has managed to get our hands on a few "backstage" photos of Swoops shortly after she hatched.

Looks like the N&O finally caught up with the rest of our local media in realizing that there is a soccer game tonight :)

It really is a shamed that their sibling paper, the Cary News, is providing so much better coverage than our flagship paper.

Charleston and Minnesota played to a 0-0 draw Friday night in a game televised live on Fox Soccer Channel. The Thunder shared the spoils with the Battery who seemed to have the better of play on the course of the evening. It looked like Charleston would win their home opener when they scored midway through the second half only to see their lone goal reversed on an offside call.

The Thunder are still looking for their first goal of the season as they come calling at SAS Soccer Park tonight at 7:30pm

As I mentioned in the recent Cary News article, I've waited a LONG time for a men's pro soccer team in my hometown. The last couple of years have been filled with eager anticipation, excitement, anxiety, and a whole boatload of other emotions. At long last, the wait is over as the RailHawks are set to kick off their inaugural season in about 24 hours.

I thought it might be fun to look back at the long road to kick off through some of the news stories we've covered here at Triangle Soccer Fanatics over the last 1.5+ years that have lead us to opening night.

Tim Peeler's got a great article on Dario Brose and how the desire to drop 40 pounds and get back in shape inspired the former US National Team player, Olympian, and MLS All-Star to come out of retirement to play for the RailHawks. Too bad Super Dario is on the injured reserves for Saturday night's match. We'll have to wait another week to see his triumphant return to the game:

Kids can be so cruel, saying such mean and hurtful things. Especially when they are true.
When former NC State All-America soccer player Dario Brose heard his 8-year-old son call him “Chubby Daddy” and “Big Heinie” he thought it was about time to shed the 40 pounds he had gained since retiring from the MLS’ San Jose Earthquakes back in 2001.

And, he figured, if he was going to get in shape, he might as well get into playing shape.

So, it wasn’t long that the two-time All-America, the three-time All-ACC and one of only two players in NC State soccer history to play for the U.S. Olympic team moved back to Raleigh from Michigan last fall that he contacted his former Wolfpack teammate, Scott Schweitzer.

>> Read the full article at GoPack.com

RailHawks fans are encouraged to wear Orange on opening night to support our new squad. The team will be decked out in white tops, orange shorts, and white socks for the home opener. Orange is great color if you want to stand out in the crowd. Just check out these various pictures of Holland and Houston Dynamo supporters, who both wear orange as their color of choice.

• Dutch supporters at Euro 2004 (1)
  
• Dutch supporters at Euro 2004 (2)
  
• Houston supporter at MLS Cup 2006
  
• Dynamo supporters waving orange/white flags at MLS Cup 2006
  

If you don't have any orange in your wardrobe, Premier Soccer has orange inaugural season T-Shirts at their stores in Cary and Raleigh and will be selling them Saturday night at the match for $15.

Episode 9 is a quick and dirty episode of the Underground. I haven't got much time but I wanted to get this interview with Kevin Jeffrey I did on Tuesday out to you guys before opening night. There is a lot of background noise during the interview, so my apologies in advance. But I think it's worth the listen.

ABC 11 TV interviewed a few players today and shot some video as the RailHawks worked out on the main stadium field at SAS Soccer Park for the first time this season. Click here to watch the video interviews.

Best quote: "When we are holding up the trophy at the end of the year, I don't think anybody's going to remember an 0-5 preseaon," -- Coach Scott Schweitzer.

It's always easier to deride your opponent if you know a little something about them. In the interest of preparing the supporters for Saturday night, here's some quick facts on the Minnesota Thunder:

The club, which calls James Griffin Stadium in St. Paul, Minnesota home, was founded in 1990 as an amateur American men's soccer team. The Thunder became a professional team in 1994 joining the United Soccer Leagues where they currently plays in the 12-team First Division. The Thunder won the 1999 A-League championship, but lost in the finals in 1998, 2000 and 2003. In 2004 Minnesota advanced to the quarterfinals of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup and in 2005 made it to the semifinals. In 2006, Minnesota finished the season level on points with Portland at 27, but took last place on the tiebreaker.

The team is coached by "Famous" Amos Magee. According to Bill Fetty's season preview on USLFans.com, the Thunder players to watch this season will be Joe Warren (GK), Godfrey Tenoff (MF), Ansu Toure (MF), Sasha Gotsmanov (FW), and Keisuke Ota (MF).

On Friday night, Minnesota opens their USL campaign against Charleston at Blackbaud Stadium. The game will be televised on Fox Soccer Channel at 8pm and will give both the RailHawks and their fans a chance to get a close look at what we can expect at SAS Soccer Park less than 24 hours later.

Dario Brose and Anthony Maher will both be unavailable for Saturday night's season opener against Minnesota due to injury. Brose is nursing a groin injury while Maher left the 2nd leg of Milwaukee's MISL semifinal this past Sunday with an unspecified injury. All other rostered RailHawks players, including Chad Dombrowski who has now joined the team after the Wave's MISL season ended Sunday, should be available for Schweitzer's selection this weekend.

The Carolina RailHawks are looking for children interested in escorting the team onto the field Saturday night for their opening match. If you're planning to be at the match and your kids (suggested ages 5-15) are interested in being a part of the pre-match festivities, please assemble by the top of the staircase leading down to Field 2 (the practice field behind the West stand) beside Building D no later that 6:45pm on Saturday night.

Terrace songs are a great tradition in football and one of the things I love about supporters sections. As we look forward to opening night on Saturday, I thought I might share some tips for singing with the Triangle Soccer Fanatics.

1) Bone Up on Popular Chants. FootballChants.org is a great resource. You can also check out Sam's Army song list for further inspiration.

2) Be Spontaneous. While it's great to peruse the references listed above, the best terrace songs are those that are spontaneous and situational to what's going on in the match at the moment.

I've got mine. Do you have yours yet?

The updates are coming fast and furious as opening day approaches. This article will stay at the top of the page and provide quick link directory to all the important information you need for opening night:

• Kickoff time: 7:30pm on Saturday, April 21
  
• Wear ORANGE!
  
• Matchday Weather Forecast: Pleasant with Sunshine, High of 72 F
  
• Parking Lot Opens at 5:30pm
  
• Ticket information
  
• Directions to SAS Soccer Park
  
• Latest Roster Update
  
• Tailgate Info
  
• Terrace Songs
  
• Children Mascots Needed
  
• Injury Report
  
• Minnesota Thunder Preview
  
• Post-Match Party Info (TBA)
  

Every time I turned the page in today's Cary News, I found another article that had something to do with soccer and RailHawks opening night. I was so excited about the cover story and Arnold's piece, that I completely missed the fact that Tim Candon's editorial was also all about soccer. I doubt very many readers of this blog require a soccer terminology primer, but it is good to see a sports editor in this town that knows enough of the lingo to actually write such a primer.

SAS Soccer Park: A little piece of Heaven on Earth in Cary. Big Props to Keith Jenkins and all his Town of Cary staff that have the entirety of SAS Soccer Park, especially the pitch, sparkling like an emerald ahead of opening night on Saturday

Triangle Soccer Fanatics will be tailgating opening night (Sat Apr 21) before the Minnesota Thunder game. The parking lot will open at 5:30p and we'll be there from the start. Our rally point will be the shady area just to the north and east of the large sculpture by the main entrance. Click here for a map of SAS Soccer Park showing the precise location.

TSF will provide non-alcoholic beverages and picnic supplies for all premium members of Triangle Soccer Fanatics. All you need to do is bring any food you wish to consume and some lawn chairs to sit in if you like. We'll have a small hibachi-style grill if you need some where to prepare your dinner.

The general public is encouraged to join us for the tailgate, all that we ask is you bring your own supplies.

Stay tuned for details of our post-match meetup.

Tim Candon has a HUGE front page article in today's Cary News entitled Meet the RailHawks which includes headshots of all the players currently on the RailHawks roster. The article and brief bio info on each player is online here, but it looks like you'll have to pick up the print edition for the photos.

The pictures are the same ones made available here in PDF yesterday.

There is also a second article on fans of the RailHawks by Adam Arnold in today's edition, which actually quotes your humble blogger quite liberally. Click here to read Soccer Fans Eager for Season on CaryNews.com.

WRAL has posted video of various conversations with RailHawks players David Stokes, McColm Cephas, and Kevin Jeffrey as well as head coach Scott Schweitzer and VP of Marketing & Sales Brad Myers.

The players and staff talk about opening night, the preseason, and SAS Soccer Park, among other topics during the 15 minute video interview session.

The RailHawks held a media event today for members of the local press. The luncheon at Ragazzi's in Cary was designed as an event to give the local media a chance to meet the players, coaches, and staff before opening day on Saturday. Everyone from the RailHawks was great and they even won over at least one new fan, as Beth Hatcher writes in her blog on the N&O's website.

Most importantly from the day, here's the latest roster update. Click here for a low-resolution PDF scan of the RailHawks roster that was released today to the media. The PDF file is rather large (2MB) so if you'd prefer, the Wikipedia entry for the RailHawks has been updated to reflect the current roster.

Salt and Demetri from 96 Rock showed up this morning at SAS Soccer Park to challenge a few RailHawks to a penalty shootout. Trust me, it wasn't pretty. Here's the photographic evidence to prove it.


More interested in what the RailHawks are doing to prepare for Saturday night's home opener against Minnesota, here is a full photoset (Salt and Demtri included) from this morning's practice.

Over the last year-and-half or so of running this blog, I've met (at least by email) quite a number of other soccer bloggers from around the USA that write about their favorite sport in a similar manner as I do here on Triangle Soccer Fanatics. One such writer is Josh over at Throughball.com, a blog written (as Josh puts it) with unabashed favoritism for the Minnesota Thunder, the U.S. Men’s National Team and the English Premiership.

Josh threw down some smack my way the other day when he suggested to me that his mighty Minnesota Thunder were going to make mincemeat of my RailHawks on opening day. You know, I hated to tell him that the rumor is the Thunder are nothing but a lot of loud noise, but I guess Carolina will just have to prove it on the field Saturday night.

So Josh and I have settled on a friendly wager. When the RailHawks win on opening night, Josh owes me a Minnesota Thunder scarf for my football scarves collection. In the unlikely event that Minnesota manages to squeak by Carolina, I'll be sending Josh his very own Carolina RailHawks scarf, like the one pictured below.



These scarves will be on sell at the match on Saturday and then after that at Premier Soccer stores in the Triangle.

Want a free RailHawks scarf too? You don't even have to make a wager with me to get one. Just become a premium member of TSF and you'll get a free scarf along with a bunch of other great benefits.

And Josh..like all Minnesotans I'm sure you know...nothing gets the taste of fear and humiliation out of your mouth like Beebopareebop Rhubarb Pie.

For over 16 years, Soccer Dome America has been the leading venue in the Triangle area for indoor soccer leagues and instructional classes for kids and adults alike. Many local players have plied their skills on Soccer Dome's two full-size indoor fields or their mini-field for younger ages.

Now TSF is proud to announce that Soccer Dome America is showing its support for local area soccer fans by offering 10% discount registrations for all premium members of Triangle Soccer Fanatics who play in Soccer Dome America leagues or take instructional classes at the facility. To qualify for the discount, members must register in person at Soccer Dome and show their TSF membership card.

In addition, soccer fanatics are reminded that Soccer Dome's "Corner Kick" concession area sports a big screen TV capable of receiving Setanta Sports, Fox Soccer Channel, and GolTV if you're ever looking for a place to catch a televised game.

>> Click here for more information on joining TSF and the additional benefits of membership.

Greenville, NC native and recent UNC graduate Michael Harrington wasted no time in sending out a warning to MLS defenses that the defending position he played at UNC wasn't necessarily his most dangerous. Inside 3 minutes into his MLS debut for the Kansas City Wizards, the #3 draft pick, playing left midfield, used his speed to get around DC United defender Facundo Erpen and then nutmegged Troy Perkins from an extremely tight angle for his first career professional goal. The goal was the first of 6 in a wild affair that saw visiting KC down DC United 4-2 on Saturday night at RFK Stadium.

>> Here's a video clip of Harrington's goal courtesy of MLSNet.com

Cooper Friend joins the RailHawks from the Maine Black Bears. As Friend gets set to start his first professional season, he's been getting some good press in his home state of Maine. Here's a few articles on the young RailHawks defender/midfielder.

• The Ellsworth American.
  
• The Bangor Daily News
  
• GoBlackBears.com
  

When the MISL semifinal matchup between Milwaukee and Detroit kicks off today at 4pm, several future RailHawks will be vying to position their current squad for an MISL championship. Both Chad Dombrowski and Anthony Maher, who will join the RailHawks as soon as their indoor season is over, should play for Milwaukee in the match televised nationally on Versus (formerly OLN).

In addition, it is rumored that a third member of the Wave, yet to be named by the club, has completed a loan deal with the RailHawks. With our opening day just a week away, would it be wrong for RailHawks fans to hope for a Detroit win and an end to the Wave's season after Sunday's semifinal second leg?

The Carolina RailHawks closed out their preseason friendly schedule with a 1-0 loss to Duke Friday night at Koskinen Stadium in Durham. The match, which saw 3 players sent off over the course of the hotly contested affair, was decided when Mike Grella scored on a counter for Duke as the RailHawks were pressing for a game winner in the 69th minute despite being down 2 players at the time.

Coach Scott Schweitzer, shuffling his squad one last time, went with his now familiar 4-3-2-1 lineup. With McColm Cephas finally available after nursuing a foot injury, he got the start up top fronting Connally Edozien and Chris Carrieri who nestled in behind the front-runner. Jonny Steele started on the left side of midfield, Stuart Brightwell patrolled the right, and Kupono Low anchored the defensive center. Caleb Norkus took up his familiar left back role, Phillip Kutsu was on the right, and Frank Sanfilippo and David Stokes anchored the back line. Chris McClellan got the nod in net.

A few of us are going to get together at my place on Saturday evening (4/14) from 6pm to paint some banners for the RailHawks opening match next weekend. If you'd like to join us, drop me an email for directions to my place in western Cary (near High House Rd. and Davis Rd intersection).

Triangle Soccer Fanatics will provide the food/beverages as well as all the craft supplies. All you need to do is provide the creative impulses. We'll have the Saturday evening MLS games on to keep us entertained while we work.

If you can't make it, but have an idea for a good banner/slogan, use the comments section to send us your ideas!

RailHawks' coach Scott Schweitzer has one last chance to experiment with his new squad before the USL-1 season starts for Carolina on April 21st. The RailHawks play their final tuneup of the preseason on Friday, April 13th when they travel to Durham to take on the Duke Blue Devils. The game, which kicks off at 7pm at Koskinen Stadium on the Duke campus is free to the public. Carolina is still looking for their first win in preseason play after dropping previous exhibitions against Wake Forest, UNC, Richmond Kickers, and the Charlotte Eagles.

The RailHawks exhibition is one of two matches for the 2006 ACC Champion Blue Devils this weekend. The Duke men's squad wraps up their spring exhibition schedule on Saturday in the annual Duke Alumni game. The match is set to start at 10 a.m. and will pit the current Duke team against former players.

Given the number of former Rochester Rhinos in Carolina (Chris Carrieri, GM Chris Economides, Connally Edozien, Frankie Sanfilippo, head coach Scott Schweitzer, Jonny Steele), its only natural that a rivalry is going to grow between the two sides. It seems that the first jab has been thrown by Rhinos head coach Laurie Calloway after the Rhinos drubbed Colgate 5-0 in a preseason friendly:

If you lose to a college team at this stage, to me it means you have some warning signs.

Was Calloway referring to the RailHawks 0-4 preseason which includes two losses to ACC teams? The Democrat & Chronicles' Jeff DiVeronica thinks so.

Note to Rochester...Colgate is NOT in the same category as the ACC college programs we have here in North Carolina. Be sure you compare apples to apples!

The Vancouver Whitecaps are doing a team-by-team pre-season preview of all their competition for the upcoming 2007 season. Here's a quick link to their preview of the Carolina RailHawks. So far, they've also profiled Atlanta Silverbacks and California Victory. Stay tuned to the Whitecaps website for more to come.

United Soccer Leagues and Fox Soccer Channel announced that Fox Soccer Channel has acquired the exclusive English-language television rights to select Friday night USL First Division matches and all USL League Championship games, a projected 27-game schedule annually, through the 2009 season. The deal also includes the broadband and mobile rights for USL on FSC matches.

As part of the partnership, three matches during the Carolina RailHawks inaugural season will be televised nationally. Those matches include:

• Jun 15 - Seattle at Carolina
  
• Jul 6 - Carolina at Rochester
  
• Aug 3 - California at Carolina

The new partnership continues a long-term relationship between USL and Fox Soccer Channel following the conclusion of their recent five-year deal. USL broadcasts will also be available on Fox Soccer Channel sister networks Fox Sports en Español, Fox Sports World Canada and Fox Sports Middle East/Africa.

A few weeks ago, USL Live, the new broadband channel for the USL First Division announced an early-bird special for a VIP season pass. Now today, with the official launch of the new service, the full pricing structure for the internet streaming video channel comes into focus.

Fans can expect to pay:

• VIP Annual Pass: $49.99/12 months (limited time offer available only until May 1)
  
• All Event Pass: $9.99/month (unlimited monthly access to live and on-demand matches)
  
• Single Event Pass: $3.99/match

USL Live will provide exclusive coverage of more than 150 USL-1 regular season matches and playoff action during the 2007 season. The first live match, which will feature the Rochester Raging Rhinos vs. the Puerto Rico Islanders, will be broadcast on the site Friday, April 13at 8 p.m. ET.

The Richmond Kickers made the most of an unseasonably cold spring evening Saturday with a 3-1 victory over the Carolina RailHawks of the USL First Division. Despite temperatures in the mid-30’s, Richmond was able to deliver an action-packed second half with goals by newcomer Trey Alexander, 2006 USL2 MVP Robert Ssejjemba and second-year pro Trevor McEachron. Past Kickers forward Kevin Jeffrey marked his return to Richmond with the RailHawks only goal against his former team.

Jeffrey opened the scoring after a series of shots inside the box in the 25th minute. RailHawks midfielder Johnny Steele made a run down the left channel, deep into the box and shot point blank; however, Kickers netminder Ronnie Pascale made the block. The deflection found forward Connally Edozien who forced Pascale to make a second save, but the rebound fell to Jeffrey who was able to finish.

After the second-half restart, Richmond tallied the equalizer when Mike Burke’s left-footed shot ricocheted off the post, finding midfielder Trey Alexander six yards out who tapped the ball into an open net in the 59th minute.

Later, Ssejjemba notched the game-winner when Matt Watson carried the ball to the top of the box, connecting with Ssejjemba on the right side who buried a 15-yard shot in the back of the net.

Eight minutes later, defender Trevor McEachron added the final tally of the night with a header at the penalty spot off of a corner kick by rookie Charlie Howe.

>> Full match report & statistics at RichmondKickers.com

This is a few days late but I'd be remiss if I didn't link to this great summary of the RailHawks v. Eagles match last Wednesday by Tim Candon at the Cary News.

The most interesting note is that the ref offered to let Schweitzer replace the red-carded Mupfudze since it was a scrimmage but he declined wanting the team to play down a man for the second half, to learn a lesson. “They played with a lot of heart and courage. And we got a lot better today. We could’ve said, ‘That’s a preseason game, I’m going to give up.’ But not one of our guys gave up. That’s exactly what you want as a coach," Schweitzer said.

Just a quick reminder that as usual, the first weekend of the MLS season is a free preview for the MLS Direct Kick PPV package. Whether you are on Dish Network, DirecTV, or a cable system with InDemand PPV, Direct Kick should be available to you today regardless of whether or not you've signed up for the PPV package. The price this year has gone up to $79 (from $69) but it is still a fantastic deal with 3-4 games not televised nationally being shown on the PPV package each week. The one disappointment for me this year is that it looks like MLS will have one game a week on Telefutura in Spanish that will not be broadcast anywhere nationally nor on Direct KIck package in English. I guess I could always add DirecTV Para Todos if I really need that one extra game a week!

This week's DirectKick Schedule is as follows:

• FC Dallas v. Real Salt Lake, 6pm
  
• NY Red Bulls v. Columbus Crew, 7:30pm (also shown nationally on HDNet)
  
• NE Revolution v. Chicago Fire, 8pm
  

Those games complement the national TV schedule which has Colorado Rapids v. DC United at 3:30pm on ABC and Chivas USA v. Toronto FC at 10:30pm on FSC. On Sunday, the Houston Dynamo v. LA Galaxy match will be shown at 7pm on Telefutura.

The Carolina RailHawks have now officially announced Santiago Fusilier, Kupono Low, and Kevin Jeffrey as members of the 2007 inaugural squad.

A USL Rookie, Santiago Fusilier is a graduate of N.C. State University where he played as a strong central midfielder. He was recognized by the ACC as one of the top freshmen of the year in 2003 and in his senior year he started all 16 games he played scoring 1 game winning goal and 1 assist. He is a native of Buenos Aires, Argentina. “RailHawks assistant coach Damon Nahas and I coached Santiago in the PDL” RailHawks Head Coach Scott Schweitzer said “He has a unique ability to run at players and he will definitely put some fear in the hearts of some defenders when running towards them. He will definitely make an impact in his Rookie year”

Midfielder Kupono Low spent last season with the recently disbanded Virginia Beach Mariners. He played 27 games and was ranked 4th in played minutes. In 2005 he was RailHawks Goalkeeper John O’Hara’s teammate in Ireland with the Sligo Rovers where he helped the team claim their division 1 title with 3 goals scored. “I played with Kupono a couple of years ago in Syracuse” Scott said “The first time I saw him I thought he was one of the top talent in the United States. When the chance came to get him we went after him hard and are very excited to have him. He will solidify the midfield and make us that much better of a team”

Kevin Jeffrey comes to the RailHawks from the USL division 1 Toronto Lynx. Prior to the Lynx, Kevin spent five seasons with the Richmond Kickers and one with the San Francisco Bay Seals. In his six years in the USL’s First Division Kevin has scored 61 goals with 33 Assists for a total of 155 points. A strong forward Kevin was born in Trincity in Trinidad & Tobago.“Kevin is a veteran who played for many teams in the League” Coach Schweitzer said “He plays well up top and has good skills. He’s another good veteran that will help us learn to be winners.”

MLS kicks off its 12th season on Saturday when the Colorado Rapids unveil the new Dick's Sporting Goods Park as they host DC United live on ABC at 3:30pm EDT and several local Triangle area players are geared up to get their first taste of professional soccer. Unfortunately for Justin Hughes, the Wake Forest, NC native and former UNC goalkeeper, a finger injury has him on the Rapids injured reserve list for opening day.

While most of the local area players will start their careers in MLS Reserves, a few have had an immediate impact on their new sides. Most notably, UNC's Michael Harrington, a native of Greenville, NC and a former CASL Elite and Raleigh elite star, has played himself into a starting position for the Kansas City Wizards during their preseason. "Michael has done an excellent job as of late. He scored three goals in the preseason at left midfield; he's proven to be pretty dangerous," Harrington's coach Kurt Onalfo said. Joining Harrington in Kansas City will be his former Raleigh Elite teammate Willy Guadaramma who signed a developmental contract with MLS last week.

Another local player looking to make his mark in MLS will be Raleigh native Steve Curfman, who also signed a developmental contract last week with MLS. Curfman looks to rejoin former U17 National Team teammate Freddy Adu and U17 coach John Ellinger when Real Salt Lake hosts Dallas on Saturday. Other players with ties to North Carolina area schools signed to MLS rosters include Duke's Chris Loftus and Wake Forest's Wells Thompson and Ryan Solle, all three with New England Revolution as well as UNC's Corey Ashe (Houston). Ashe is listed as questionable for Houston's home opener on Sunday vs. Los Angeles due to a left knee strain.

While anyone paying attention to the pre-season scrimmages already knew this, the RailHawks officially unveiled the signing of four defensive players to their official roster. Defenders Chad Dombrowski, Cooper Friend and David Stokes, and goalkeeper Chris McClellan have signed up for the RailHawks Inaugural campaign.

Chad Dombrowski comes to the RailHawks after a stellar season with the Minnesota Thunder where he played 16 games with 2 goals and one assist. Chad is also a member of the MISL Milwaukee Wave indoor soccer team. A Wisconsin Native, he is a graduate of UW – Milwaukee where he earned All-American honors his Senior Year from the National Soccer Coaches of America Association.

“Chad is veteran who knows the League’s style of play,” said RailHawks Head Coach Scott Schweitzer. “He’s a hard worker who will be able to give us some leadership in the back.”

After 3 preseason friendlies, the RailHawks are still looking for their first positive result after dropping tonight's contest against the Charlotte Eagles 1-3. Both of the Eagles' decisive goals came after the RailHawks' Richard Mupfudze was sent off just before halftime for denying an obvious goal scoring opportunity on a Charlotte breakaway with the Eagles up one from a goal two minutes earlier from Herrera.

The RailHawks attacked well with 10 men in the second half and equalized in the 57th minute through Connally Edozien. But the Eagles stretched the weary, short-manned defense for the game winner in the 77th minute from Coggins on a shot which tooked an unlucky deflection off the RailHawks defense to beat second half keeper John O'Hara. Coggins added his second goal in the second minute of stoppage time on a quick counter as the RailHawks were pouring forward looking for a late equalizer.

>> Pre-game photos from tonight's match are available on Flickr.

Within seconds of the final whistle of Saturday’s exhibition match against the UNC men’s soccer team, Carolina RailHawks players Caleb Norkus, Chris Carrieri, David Stokes and Marcus Storey walked up to Elmar Bolowich and offered the Tar Heels coach a handshake and a hug.

That’s because all four played for Bolowich in Chapel Hill and helped the program rebound from several down years in the mid-1990s.

>> Please visit CaryNews.com to read the complete article.

I'll be coming straight from soccer practice Wednesday night so I won't be dragging out the grill, but I plan to take up a spot on the hill behind the North goal Wednesday night for the RailHawks match. Please bring your picnic items and folding chairs and join us. We'll be sitting directly behind the TSF flag hanging on the chain link fence.

As always, we'll provide non-alcoholic beverages for premium TSF members.

The Carolina RailHawks have partnered with 50,000-watt WSHA FM 88.9 as the flagship play-by-play radio station for the team’s inaugural season.

As part of the flagship agreement, WSHA will broadcast a 15-minute pre-game show and a 15-minute post-game show that will include inside interviews with the RailHawks coaches and players. Every game on the Carolina RailHawks schedule, both home and away, will be broadcast not only on the Triangle's airwaves but also will be streamed live over the internet.

Curtis Media Group General Manager Dean Linke (pictured above), who served as the play-by-play voice of the WUSA’s Carolina Courage (2001-03) and Major League Soccer’s Colorado Rapids (1996-99), will handle play-by-play duties for all of the RailHawks games, including exhibition games and postseason matches. Linke's call will also be used as the commentary for streaming video feeds from SAS Soccer Park on USL Live.

WSHA FM 88.9 is a public radio station licensed to Shaw University in Raleigh. The station has been broadcasting a mix of contemporary jazz and blues as well as Shaw University’s sporting events in the Triangle for more than 35 years.

Not only is SAS Soccer Park home to a great soccer-specific stadium, but it also features a nationally-renowned cross-country course. To add to the RailHawks' opening day festivities, Impact Athletics will be hosting a 1 mile and 5K cross-country run at SAS Soccer Park on the morning of April 21st.

All race participants will receive a RailHawks T-shirt as well as a voucher good for a ticket to any RailHawks regular season game. The 5K run steps off at 9am on the morning of opening day, with the 1 mile run following at 9:45am. An award ceremony to honor the winners will be held during halftime of the RailHawks inaugural match with the Minnesota Thunder which kicks off at 7:30pm that Saturday evening.

You can learn more about the event by downloading the registration form, or register online here.

Coach Scott Schweitzer continued to experiment with his new RailHawks side as Carolina dropped their second pre-season scrimmage of the season to the UNC Tar Heels Saturday night by a lone goal coming from a first half penalty. A crowd of close to 1,000 watched as Schweitzer re-arranged his lineup quite a bit from last week's loss to Wake Forest -- shifting Caleb Norkus from LB to RB, Frank Sanfilippo from RB to CB, Chris Carrieri from RM to F, and dropping Kevin Jeffrey into the central midfield role, just to name a few.

The tinkering almost paid dividends immediately when Jeffrey sprung Carrieri through the central channel inside a minute from the start but Chris' effort only found the outside of the netting. The Tar Heels, looking quite a different side from the 2006 team which graduated 5 starters and 7 seniors, played much more centrally without the wing play of Corey Ashe. The quick midfield movement paid off when the RailHawks' David Stokes tried to cut out a give-and-go just inside the 18 and was judged to have committed a penalty. UNC's Scott Campbell calmly finished from the spot to give the Tar Heels the eventual game winner.