2007 Carolina RailHawks FC season explained

The Carolina RailHawks launched their inaugural season on April 21, 2007, in front of a crowd of 6,327 at SAS Soccer Park in Cary, North Carolina 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 a 24-yard left-footed shot past Thunder keeper Joe Warren in the 8th minute of the inaugural match.[1] 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.

2007 Competitions

CompetitionRecordResultHome MatchesHome AttendanceAvg. Home Attendance
USL First Division Regular Season8-12-88th Place1471,7355,124
USL First Division Playoffs0-2Quarterfinals1923923
U.S. Open Cup4-1Semifinals413,4473,362
Southern Derby3-0-1Champion29,5874,794
Exhibitions1-1-0N/A213,7056,853
All Competitions13-16-8N/A2199,8104,753

2007 squad

Transfers: OUT - Sola Abolaji to Vancouver Whitecaps (7/27/2007); IN - Joel John Bailey from Vancouver Whitecaps (7/27/2007)

2007 Staff

Coach - Scott Schweitzer
Assistant Coach - Damon Nahas
Assistant Coach - Mark Girard Oldest coach in the usaGoalkeeping Coach - David Noyes
Equipment Manager - Steven Economides
Trainer - Elise Caceres

2007 Schedule

Date Opponent Location Time (ET) Result
Sat, Mar 24 Wake Forest University (exhibition) SAS Soccer Park, Field #2 7:00 PM 1-3 L
Sat, Mar 31 North Carolina Tar Heels (exhibition) SAS Soccer Park, Field #2 7:00 PM 0-1 L
Wed, Apr 4 Charlotte Eagles (exhibition) SAS Soccer Park, Field #2 7:00 PM 1-3 L
Sat, Apr 7 Richmond Kickers (exhibition)7:00 PM 1-3 L
Fri, Apr 13 Duke University (exhibition)Koskinen Stadium, Durham, NC 7:00 PM 1-3 L
Sat, Apr 21 SAS Soccer Park, Cary, NC 7:30 PM 1-1 D
Sat, Apr 28 SAS Soccer Park, Cary, NC 7:30 PM 0-0 D
Fri, May 4 SAS Soccer Park, Cary, NC 7:30 PM 0-0 D
Sat, May 5 Silverbacks Park, Atlanta, GA 7:55 PM 0-2 L
Tue, May 8 Chivas USA (exhibition) SAS Soccer Park, Cary, NC 7:30 PM 2-0 W
Sat, May 12 Atlanta Silverbacks^^ Silverbacks Park, Atlanta, GA 7:55 PM 1-2 W
Sat, May 19 SAS Soccer Park, Cary, NC 7:30 PM 1-0 W
Wed, May 23 Qwest Field, Seattle, WA 10:00 PM 0-1 L
Fri, May 25 Swangard Stadium Burnaby, BC 10:00 PM 0-1 W
Sun, May 27 PGE Park, Portland, OR 9:00 PM 0-0 D
Fri, Jun 8 SAS Soccer Park, Cary, NC 7:30 PM 2-2 D
Tue, Jun 12 RWB Adria^^^ SAS Soccer Park, Cary, NC 7:30 PM 4-1 W
Fri, Jun 15 Seattle Sounders^ SAS Soccer Park, Cary, NC 8:00 PM 0-1 L
Sat, Jun 23 Charleston Battery^^ SAS Soccer Park, Cary, NC 7:30 PM 2-0 W
Tue, Jun 26 Bavarian SC^^^ SAS Soccer Park, Cary, NC 7:30 PM 4-0 W
Tue, Jul 3 SAS Soccer Park, Cary, NC 8:00 PM 0-0 D
Fri, Jul 6 Rochester Raging Rhinos^ PAETEC Park, Rochester, NY 8:00 PM 1-2 L
Sun, Jul 8 Sherbrooke University Stadium, Sherbrooke, QC 4:00 PM 2-2 D
Fri, Jul 13 SAS Soccer Park, Cary, NC 7:30 PM 0-1 L
Sun, Jul 15 Chicago Fire^^^ SAS Soccer Park, Cary, NC 7:30 PM 1-0 W
Fri, Jul 20 Tropical Park Stadium, Miami, FL 7:30 PM 1-2 L
Sun, Jul 22 Estadio Juan Ramón Loubriel, Bayamon, PR 5:00 PM 1-3 L
Wed, Jul 25 Cruz Azul (exhibition) SAS Soccer Park, Cary, NC 8:00 PM 0-2 L
Sat, Jul 28 SAS Soccer Park, Cary, NC 7:30 PM 1-4 L
Wed, Aug 1 Complexe sportif Claude-Robillard, Montreal, QC 7:30 PM 1-4 L
Fri, Aug 3 California Victory^ SAS Soccer Park, Cary, NC 8:00 PM 2-0 W
Tue, Aug 7 Richmond Kickers^^^ SAS Soccer Park, Cary, NC 7:30 PM 1-0 W
Fri, Aug 10 PAETEC Park, Rochester, NY 7:35 PM 0-2 L
Tue, Aug 14 Charleston Battery^^ Blackbaud Stadium, Charleston, SC 7:30 PM 3-0 W
Fri, Aug 17 Atlanta Silverbacks^^ SAS Soccer Park, Cary, NC 7:30 PM 0-0 D
Sun, Aug 26 SAS Soccer Park, Cary, NC 6:00 PM 1-0 W
Sat, Sep 1 SAS Soccer Park, Cary, NC 7:30 PM 0-1 L
Tue, Sept 4 New England Revolution^^^ Veteran's Stadium, New Britain, CN 7:30 PM 2-1(aet) L
Thu, Sep 6 James Griffin Stadium, St. Paul, MN 8:05 PM 0-5 L
Sat, Sep 8 Kezar Stadium, San Francisco, CA 10:00 PM 0-2 W
Fri, Sep 14 Seattle Sounders^^^^ SAS Soccer Park, Cary, NC 7:30 PM 0-2 L
Sun, Sep 16 Seattle Sounders^^^^ Qwest Field, Seattle, WA 6:00 PM 0-1 L
^ Televised nationally on Fox Soccer Channel

^^ Southern Derby fixtures

^^^ U.S. Open Cup fixtures

^^^^ USL-1 Playoffs fixtures

References

  1. Web site: Carolina RailHawks 1:1 Minnesota Thunder (Box Score) . 2007-04-22 . https://web.archive.org/web/20070514153014/http://www.uslsoccer.com/stats/2007/385591.html . 14 May 2007 . dead .