Carolina RailHawks FC

Football club infobox
clubname = Carolina RailHawks


fullname = Carolina RailHawks Football Club
nickname = The RailHawks
founded = 2006
ground = WakeMed Soccer Park
capacity = 7,130
chairman = flagicon|USA Chris Economides
manager = flagicon|USA Scott Schweitzer
league = USL First Division
season = 2008
position = in progress

pattern_la1=
pattern_b1=_white_right_shoulder
pattern_ra1=
leftarm1=D15B05
body1=D15B05
rightarm1=D15B05
shorts1=FFFFFF
socks1=D15B05

pattern_la2=
pattern_b2=
pattern_ra2=
leftarm2=FFFFFF
body2=FFFFFF
rightarm2=FFFFFF
shorts2=D15B05
socks2=FFFFFF
American = true

Carolina RailHawks is an American professional soccer team, founded in 2006. The team is a member of the USL First Division, the second tier of the American Soccer Pyramid.

They currently play at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, North Carolina. The team's colors are orange, white and blue.

The team has a development team, Cary Railhawks U23's, which plays in the USL Premier Development League, and a sister organization, Carolina RailHawks Women, who play in the women's USL W-League.

2008 Roster

"as at September 9, 2008"

Transfers:
* OUT: Jamil Walker to Rochester Rhinos (7/9/2008); Connally Edozien to Miami FC (9/1/2008)
* IN: Hamed Diallo from Rochester Rhinos (7/9/2008); Ronald Cerritos from Real Maryland Monarchs (8/1/2008); Eddie Gutierrez from Miami FC (8/1/2008); Rey Ángel Martínez from Rochester Rhinos (8/21/2008)

Previous Seasons' Rosters: 2007

Club History

The expansion of the USL to Cary, NC was announced on January 26, 2006 at a press conference at SAS Soccer Park (since renamed WakeMed Soccer Park). Managing Partner Chris Economides of Triangle Professional Soccer announced that he and an ownership group consisting of Frank DuRoss, Steve Donner, and Boris Jerkunica had purchased a USL-1 division expansion franchise and intended to begin play in the Spring of 2007. On October 31, 2006, F. Selby Wellman and his son Brian Wellman joined the team's ownership group. [cite web|url=http://carolinarailhawks.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=39&Itemid=40|title=Local Father and Son Join RailHawks Ownership Team|accessdate=2007-05-30]

The team's official name was announced on July 19 2006 at the halftime interval of the 2006 USL All-Star Match. The RailHawk is a fictitious bird of prey that combines the speed and power of the locomotive with the aggressive and fierce nature of a hawk. Cary originally grew out from a depot on the New Bern, NC - Hillsborough, NC rail line and the CSX and Amtrak lines run directly across from the team's grounds. Hawks are indigenous to the area. The name "RailHawks" was chosen as part of a name-the-team contest which was won by W. Jarrett Campbell, a soccer blogger and founder of the Triangle Soccer Fanatics, the team's independent supporters club [cite web|url=http://trisoccerfan.com/nucleus/index.php?itemid=255|title=The Hatching of the RailHawks|accessdate=2007-04-23] . Campbell received two lifetime season tickets as his prize.

On October 11 2006, former Rochester Rhinos defender Scott Schweitzer was named the first head coach of the Carolina RailHawks. Schweitzer played collegiately at North Carolina State University and retired from play prior to the 2006 season.

On December 5, 2006, the RailHawks named the first players to sign with the franchise. Among the signings were two former UNC Tar Heel players, Chris Carrieri and Caleb Norkus, as well as several other players with Major League Soccer, United Soccer Leagues, and foreign playing experience.

On March 6, 2007, the RailHawks formed a parternship with the Next Level Academy (NLA) and the Capital Area Soccer League (CASL) to develop the youth system in the Triangle Area of North Carolina. Youth teams that currently participate under the CASL name in the Super Y-League (boys and girls 13-16) would play under the name CASL RailHawks. Also, the Raleigh Elite, who was operated by the NLA as a member of the USL Premier Development League, became the U23 team of the RailHawks program. Their name was changed to the Cary RailHawks U23's. In the future, two Super-20 League teams will be launched (one for men, one for women) in 2008. [cite web|url=http://carolinarailhawks.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=65&Itemid=40|title=RailHawks Unveil Major Youth Soccer Partnership|accessdate=2007-03-06] .

The club launched their inaugural season on April 21, 2007 in front of a crowd of 6,327 at SAS Soccer Park in Cary, NC when they drew 1-1 with the Minnesota Thunder in their first official regular season match. Midfielder Kupono Low scored the first goal in franchise history when he blasted 24-yard left-footed shot past Thunder keeper Joe Warren in the 8th minute of the inaugural match. [cite web|url=http://www.uslsoccer.com/stats/2007/385591.html|title=Carolina RailHawks 1:1 Minnesota Thunder (Box Score)|accessdate=2007-04-22] On May 8, 2007, the RailHawks earned their first franchise victory 2-0 against Chivas USA in an exhibition match.

On August 14, 2007, with a 3-0 victory over the Charleston Battery, the Carolina RailHawks secured their first piece of silverware, the 2007 Southern Derby Cup, with one match remaining in the contest. The RailHawks finished their first USL-1 season in 8th place in the league table, securing the league's final playoff spot on the last day of the regular season with a 2-0 victory away over fellow expansion franchise the California Victory. The RailHawks were eliminated from the playoff quarterfinals by the eventual league champion Seattle Sounders.

Year-By-Year

Club Rivalries

Charleston Battery and Atlanta SilverbacksUpon entering the USL First Division, the RailHawks also joined the Southern Derby, renewing a rivalry first started in 2000 between supporters of the Charleston Battery, Atlanta Silverbacks, and the Raleigh Capital Express. By winning the Southern Derby Cup in their inaugural season, the RailHawks became the first Triangle-area team to hold the Cup since 2000 when Raleigh won the cup 3-1-0 over the Silverbacks and Battery in the Derby's first season.

The rivalry between the three clubs is further fueled by the fact that current RailHawks coach Scott Schweitzer earned a reputation among Battery supporters as the defender they love to hate during his time as a player for Rochester Rhinos and current Atlanta Silverbacks owner Boris Jerkunica has a partial ownership stake in the RailHawks franchise.

Rochester RhinosA rivalry developed between the RailHawks and Rochester Rhinos due to the close financial and player ties between the two organizations. Current RailHawks GM Chris Economides held the same position with the Rhinos before departing for Cary, and former Rhinos President Frank DuRoss and CEO Steve Donner were part of the original ownership group. In addition, RailHawks coach Scott Schweitzer was a captain and fan favorite of the Rhinos, and RailHawks captain Frank Sanfilippo and forward Connally Edozien are former Rhinos players.

Puerto Rico IslandersThe Carolina RailHawks and Puerto Rico Islanders have a rivalry brewing among the two clubs. Although Islanders supporters were not pleased when the RailHawks revealed orange and blue kit colors (selected because the combination isn't used by any other Triangle area sports teams, although coincidentally the same colors sported by the Islanders), the rivalry begun in earnest when Islanders President Andrés Guillemard-Noble accused the RailHawks of piracy [cite web|url=http://trisoccerfan.com/nucleus/index.php?itemid=480|title=Pirates of the Caribbean?|accessdate=2006-12-19] in the signing of Islanders' free agent Caleb Norkus. While the club executive insists that the Islanders had a verbal agreement with Norkus to return to Puerto Rico for the 2007 season, the player refutes that accusation [cite web|url=http://trisoccerfan.com/nucleus/index.php?itemid=485|title=Norkus Refutes Islanders' Piracy Claims|accessdate=2006-12-19] , saying the two sides never reached terms and cites the lack of an offered written contract as evidence of their lack of agreement.

Current Staff

Assistant Coach - flagicon|USA Damon Nahas
Assistant Coach - flagicon|USA Mark Girard
Goalkeeping Coach - flagicon|USA David Noyes
Equipment Manager - flagicon|USA Jeff Morsch
Trainer - flagicon|USA Elise Caceres

Current Schedule

*Previous Seasons' Fixtures & Results: 2007
*Previous Seasons' Fixtures & Results: 2008

External links

*en icon [http://www.carolinarailhawks.com/ Official Site]
*en icon [http://www.uslsoccer.com/teams/2007/6188067.html Team Page on USLSoccer.com]
*en icon [http://www.trisoccerfan.com/ Triangle Soccer Fanatics, an independent supporters club of the Carolina RailHawks]
*en icon [http://www.trisoccerfan.com/RailhawksIntro.mp3 Audio presentation of the team's name announcement]
* [http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/railhawks Photos tagged with 'railhawks' on Flickr]
* [http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=railhawks&search=Search Videos tagged with 'railhawks' on YouTube]

References