CARY, N.C. – The Carolina RailHawks wrapped up their preseason Saturday night with a 1-0 win over the Wilmington Hammerheads at WakeMed Soccer Park.

Carolina forward Allan Russell scored the game’s only goal in the 29th minute.

The RailHawks finished the preseason 4-1-2. They outscored the opposition 9-3 and posted five shutouts. On Saturday, Brad Knighton and Caleb Patterson each played 45 minutes in goal to combine for the clean sheet. Knighton was largely untested, while Patterson made two saves in the second half.

“I’m excited about what the team is going to be like,” said RailHawks coach Martin Rennie. “We’ve got a lot of really good players. We’ve got a lot of work to do to gel as a group. … We’ve defended well in the preseason. We’ve only lost one goal in all the proper games, and we’ve won most of the games. So it’s been a good preseason.”

In the 29th minute, defender McKenney and forward Nick Zimmerman connected on a series of short passes outside the Hammerheads’ penalty area. Zimmerman snuck in behind the defense then played a centering pass for Russell, who volleyed the ball in for the RailHawks’ first goal in four preseason matches.

“We’ve not scored a lot in preseason matches, so it was good to get a goal,” Russell said. “It was great build-up, a great team goal. Martin touched on that at halftime. It was lovely, flowing passing and all I had to do was finish it. It was a great ball from Nick Zimmerman.”

Patterson, in his first action of the preseason, turned away a left-footed rifle from Wilmington’s Andriy Budnyy in the 53rd minute, then denied Luke Mullholland’s try from 10 yards out shortly thereafter.

Cory Elenio nearly doubled the RailHawks’ tally in the 74th minute. Following a corner kick, the ball bounced out to him and he struck a 25-yard half volley that was cleared off the line by Wilmington defender Dylan Riley.

Now the RailHawks turn their attention toward the start of the inaugural NASL season. They open the regular season next weekend against reigning league champion Puerto Rico, in a rematch of the 2010 USSF D-2 Pro League championship. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. at WakeMed Soccer Park.