The North American Soccer League announced that RailHawks goalkeeper Akira Fitzgerald has earned Defensive Player of the Week honors.  Fitzgerald started his second consecutive NASL match Saturday night in Atlanta. The young goalkeeper showed great form and composure to earn his first NASL shutout. His strong play in goal gave the RailHawks three valuable points on the road as teams fight for playoff position.

Fitzgerald made 3 saves and helped lead the RailHawks defense to their first shutout in the month of August.  In his second season, Fitzgerald has started two NASL games and one U.S. Open Cup match. Saturday’s shutout was his second of the season with the first coming in a 6-0 rout of PSA Elite in the second round of the U.S. Open Cup.

The 25-year old goalkeeper played college soccer at Wake Forest University alongside current RailHawks teammates Austin Da Luz and Zack Schilawski. He was part of the 2007 NCAA National Champions and throughout his career he was regarded as one of the best goalkeepers in the ACC.  He played in two summer sessions with the RailHawks U23’s.

The RailHawks will again be on the road on September 1st when they will travel to Puerto Rico to take on the Islanders. The match will be shown live at www.CarolinaRailHawks.com/live. The match will kickoff at 7:30 PM. The RailHawks will return to WakeMed Soccer Park on Saturday, September 8th at 7:00 PM when they take on the San Antonio Scorpions. Tickets for the match are available online at www.CarolinaRailHawks.com. For information about upcoming games and events, contact the Cruizers Box Office at 919-459-8144 or tickets@CarolinaRailHawks.com.