FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The Carolina RailHawks suffered just their third defeat of the 2011 season Saturday night, falling 2-1 to the Ft. Lauderdale Strikers at Lockhart Stadium.

Like their previous two losses, Saturday’s defeat came on a goal in added time.

Less than a minute from full time, Ft. Lauderdale’s Martin Nuñez hammered a 20-yard volley into the RailHawks’ goal for the game winner.

“Tonight was a disappointing performance for us, and it was a good performance for Fort Lauderdale,” said RailHawks coach Martin Rennie. “They deserved to win. We didn’t perform to the standard we’ve set for ourselves, and if we don’t do that, it’s going to hard to beat a good teams. At the same time, we’re in the middle of an excellent season. This is one of the few games we haven’t performed to our potential, so there are lessons to be learned. We’ll put them into practice next week and we’ll focus on doing better in our next game.”

The match was headed toward a draw after Carolina defender John Krause netted the equalizer for the RailHawks (14-2-3) in the 72nd minute. Following a scrum in front of the Ft. Lauderdale goal after a RailHawks corner kick, Krause was able to slip the ball into the net for his first goal of the season.

Krause’s goal came shortly after Ft. Lauderdale’s Abe Thompson was shown his second yellow card of the match and was sent off in the 66th minute. But the RailHawks were unable to put away the Strikers (5-9-5) with the man advantage.

The RailHawks, the NASL’s highest scoring team (2.10 gpg), had difficulty all evening trying to break down Ft. Lauderdale’s defense. The RailHawks took just six shots overall, and three belonged to Etienne Barbara. They had none on target in the first half and finished the night with only two attempts on goal.

RailHawks goalkeeper Brad Knighton, last week’s NASL Defender of the Week, made a strong case for consideration for the award next week. He came up with three saves on the night, including a pair in the final five minutes trying to preserve the point. Ft. Lauderdale rifled 14 shots in Knighton’s direction, and with Nuñez’s last-second stunner, the Strikers became just the second team to score more than one goal against the RailHawks this season.

Carolina went down a goal in the 38th minute on Ft. Lauderdale midfielder Walter Restrepo’s 30-yard golazzo. Like they had done on the previous five occasions when facing a one-goal deficit, this year, the RailHawks came back to tie the game. However, they were unable to keep Saturday’s match level, bringing to an end their three-match unbeaten streak.

The RailHawks, who remain on top of the NASL table by 15 points, stay on the road for their next match. They’ll travel to Bayamon, Puerto Rico, next Saturday to face the Islanders at Juan Ramon Loubriel Stadium at 7:30 p.m. They’ll return to WakeMed Soccer Park and play two games in four days, first on Aug. 17 against Minnesota and then against Ft. Lauderdale on Aug. 20.

FT. LAUDERDALE 2, CAROLINA 1

LINEUPS

CAR: GK Brad Knighton, D Kupono Low, D Devon McKenney, D John Krause, M Floyd Franks, M Matt Watson, M Chris Nurse, M Jonny Steele, F Pablo Campos, F Etienne Barbara, F Nick Zimmerman (Brian Farber, 84)
FTL: GK Matt Glaeser, D Toni Stahl, D Cristian Arrieta, D Martyn Lancaster, M Lance Laing, M Bryan Arguez, M Mike Palacio (Paulinho Le Petit), M Gerson Mayen (Martin Nuñez, 82), M Walter Restrepo (Adam West, 75), M Abe Thompson, F Brian Shriver

SCORING SUMMARY

FTL: Walter Restrepo, 38
CAR: Pablo Campos, 72
FTL: Martin Nuñez , 90+

CAUTIONS

CAR: Chris Nurse, 84
FTL: Walter Restrepo, 19; Lance Laing 25; Abe Thompson, 49; Cristian Arrieta, 60; Martin Nuñez , 90+

EJECTIONS

FTL: Abe Thompson, 66

SHOTS

CAR: 6
FTL: 14

FOULS

CAR: 12
FTL: 10