ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Carolina RailHawks forward Etienne Barbara scored two goals to break the club’s club scoring record and led the RailHawks to a 3-1 win Saturday night against FC Tampa Bay at Al Lang Stadium.

Barbara’s two goals give him a league-leading six for the season and 14 for his RailHawks career, surpassing the previous club record of 13 that was shared by Connally Edozien and  Daniel Paladini.

“I could’ve scored a hat trick, but I missed a few chances at the end,” Barbara said. “Two goals tonight, I’m very happy. I want thank all my teammates. They played very good. They gave me good distribution, and without them I could not do my job. I’m very happy with the team’s performance.”

In addition to his two goals, Barbara also assisted Brian Farber’s 52nd-minute goal, which gives him an NASL leading 13 points through five games.

The RailHawks are now unbeaten (3-1-0) since their season-opening defeat to Puerto Rico on April 9, and they have pulled even with Islanders atop the NASL table with 10 points.

“Tampa Bay made it difficult, they pressed us hard,” said RailHawks coach Martin Rennie. “I’m really proud of the players for digging in and coming back after we lost a goal. Right now, we’ve got a striker who’s hot, and that makes big, big difference.”

Barbara scored his fifth goal of the season in the 23rd minute. He took a ball from Floyd Franks and buried a left-footed shot in the corner on a counterattack.

Similar to last week’s draw at Minnesota, the RailHawks allowed the equalizer a short time later. Tampa Bay’s Pascal Millien scored on an 18-yard blast just three minutes after Barbara opened the game’s scoring.

“We were disappointed,” Rennie said. “We had enough bodies around the ball, but we didn’t close it down. It was a good strike, too. Away from home, you have to dig deep, and we showed a lot of character to come back.”

FCTB nearly went ahead in the 37th minute on a Mike Ambersley breakaway, but RailHawks goalkeeper Brad Knighton saved the try to keep the match even at 1-1.

Knighton kept the match even again in the 49th minute when he turned away a 23-yard free kick from Tampa’s David Hayes.

The RailHawks found the go-ahead goal a short time later.

In the 52nd minute, Barbara kept possession alive down the left flank. After fighting through a pair of Tampa defenders, he slipped a centering pass to Farber, who tucked the ball in at the far post for his first goal of the season.

“That was a key goal,” Rennie said. “Since it was tied, we knew the next goal was crucial for the game. Etienne caused a lot of problems. The ball found its way back to him, and he found Brian to get him his first goal of the season.”

Barbara put the game away – and his name atop the club’s scoring record book – in the 76th minute. After receiving a pass from Chris Nurse, Barbara took a shot from 20 yards out. It took a deflection of a FCTB defender and caught Tampa goalkeeper Jeff Attinella flat-footed, allowing the ball to sneak into the goal.

The RailHawks (3-1-1, 10 points) return to WakeMed Soccer Park on Wednesday, when they will face the Ft. Lauderdale Strikers at 7 p.m.