ATLANTA – The Carolina RailHawks extended their winning streak to nine matches Saturday night after roughing up Atlanta 5-1 at Silverbacks Stadium.

The RailHawks (11-1-1) trailed 1-0 after 10 minutes before scoring three unanswered goals before halftime from Etienne Barbara, Nick Zimmerman and Chris Nurse to take over the game. Zimmerman added a second goal in the 63rd minute, and Brad Rusin scored the final one of the night in the 88th to secure the RailHawks’ fourth come-from-behind win of the season and extend their unbeaten streak to 12 matches.

“It’s another great win for us. That’s nine a row,” said RailHawks coach Martin Rennie. “We’re disappointed we lost the first goal. We were playing well at the time and could have defended better, but it came against the run of play. We kept our composure and the team fought back as it’s done all season. It keeps us on a roll, and now we’ll get focused on what we have to do get to 10.”

For the second straight game, the RailHawks allowed their opponent to strike first. Matt Horth finished off an Atlanta counterattack in the 10th minute to put the RailHawks down 1-0. But as they’ve done on each of the previous occasions they found themselves in a hole this season, they didn’t wait long before striking for the equalizer.

Just 11 minutes after Horth’s goal, Barbara evened the match. Matt Watson sprang Barbara free with a long ball over the top of Atlanta’s defense in the 21st minute. Atlanta (1-2-10) recovered in time to slow Barbara’s foray forward, but he kept the play alive, cutting the ball back to his left foot before burying the try at the far post for his league-leading 14th goal of the season.

In the 29th minute, Zimmerman put the RailHawks ahead for good with a 25-yard firecracker. He took a pass from Floyd Franks on the right flank, and with acres of space in front him, he took a few touches forward before crushing a shot to the far post. It was his third goal of the season and gave Franks his fourth assist.

Seven minutes later, Nurse opened his RailHawks scoring account. The ball popped out to Jonny Steele near the top of the area, and he dropped it back to Nurse. Nurse hit a half volley that kissed the crossbar and dipped into the goal, cementing Steele’s fourth assist of the season.

The RailHawks continued to dictate the match throughout the second half and finished the night outshooting Atlanta 20-10.

Zimmerman tallied his second of the night in the 63rd minute. Again on the right side, he collected a pass from Nurse, set the ball up on his left foot and hammered a shot on goal. Atlanta goalkeeper Jimmy Maurer got his hands on the ball, but it had too much pace and made its way into the net.

Captain Brad Rusin finished off the scoring for the RailHawks near full time. He rose above the defense and headed in Allan Russell’s corner kick in the 88th minute for his first-ever regular-season goal.

The five goals the RailHawks scored are the most ever in a road match in club history, and its the second most goals they’ve ever scored in any contest.

“To score five on the road is a hard thing to do,” Rennie said.

The RailHawks look to build on their nine-match winning streak and lead at the top of the table when they return to WakeMed Soccer Park on Sunday July 3 to square off against the Montreal Impact.

CAROLINA RAILHAWKS 5, ATLANTA SILVERBACKS 1

LINEUPS

CAR: GK Brad Knighton, D Brad Rusin, D Devon McKenney, D John Krause, M Floyd Franks, M Matt Watson (Nick Thompson, 84th), M Chris Nurse, M Jonny Steele, F Pablo Campos, F Etienne Barbara, F Pablo Campos(Allan Russell, 79th), F Nick Zimmerman (Cory Elenio, 74th).
ATL: GK Jimmy Maurer, D Tyler Ruthven, D Willie Hunt, D Patrick Robertson, D Shane Moroney (Jose Parada, 63rd), M Mattias Schnorf, M Jordan Davis, M Ciaran O'Brien (Jon Cox, 79th), M Raphael Cox, F Matt Horth (Junior Sandoval, 62nd), F Conor Chinn 

SCORING SUMMARY

ATL: Matt Horth (Conor Chin), 10th
CAR: Etienne Barbara (Matt Watson), 21st
CAR: Nick Zimmerman (Floyd Franks), 29th
CAR: Chris Nurse (Jonny Steele), 36th
CAR: Nick Zimmerman (Chris Nurse), 63rd
CAR: Brad Rusin (Allan Russell), 88th

CAUTIONS

CAR: Chris Nurse, 3rd; John Krause, 55th; Brad Rusin, 55th 

SHOTS

CAR: 20
ATL: 10

FOULS

CAR: 10
ATL: 12