ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The RailHawks golden finishing touch of
late was in danger of losing its luster Wednesday night, but Kupono Low broke
through as the match neared full time and the RailHawks snatched a 1-0 win from
the clutches a scoreless draw with the Rhinos at Marina Auto Stadium.
After seeing nearly a half dozen scoring chances miss their
mark – including a couple from Low – the RailHawks made the most of their final
one. Andriy Budnyy was sprung free down the right side, but once he gained
control of the ball, he didn’t have a shot on goal. He pulled it back and
drifted away from the goal, pulling a pair of Rhinos defenders with him. Then
he quickly turned a flung the ball toward the near post, and Low redirected it
in.
“We came in with a bit of a different game plan,” said
Carolina coach Martin Rennie. “Sometimes away from home, you need to stay in the
game. Sometimes we’ve looked to get on the ball and dictate too much. After we
weathered the initial phase, I thought we got position and moved the ball. We
created some chances and were deserving of the win.”
The win, Carolina’s third straight and eighth in nine
matches, gives the RailHawks (12-5-3, 39 points) sole possession of first place
in the USL First Division, the first time they’ve been at the top of the table
since May 29. Their 12 wins are also most in the league, and the 39 points in
the table sets a new club record for the third-year RailHawks.
It’s also Carolina’s first win in four visits to Rochester
and second straight in the series after failing to win any of the first six
(0-2-4).
The elation of the
final minutes wouldn’t have been possible if not for the Rhinos’ similar
troubles finishing early. With the RailHawks’ midfield lacking cohesion early,
the Rhinos nearly scored twice in the first three minutes.
In the second minute, Rochester midfielder Tiger Fitzpatrick
served a ball to forward Errol McFarlane, who headed it high from six yards out.
A minute later, McFarlane got another chance from Fitzpatrick, but Carolina
goalkeeper Caleb Patterson turned away his try from 12 yards out.
“I think it took us a while to find our men in midfield,”
Rennie said. “Fitzpatrick was in good position, but once we came to grips with
that, I thought we handled it well.”
Low had a pair of strong chances in the first half. In the
12th minute, Luke Kreamalmeyer made a dashing run down the right
side and centered to Low. Wide open, Low took his time but sent the shot with
the outside of his left foot inches wide of the frame.
Five minutes later, again Kreamalmeyer did all the work down
the right side to set up Low. This time, Rochester defender John Ball slid in
front of Low and blocked his shot. The ball appeared to glance Ball’s arm as he
lay on the turf, but no penalty was awarded.
The closer to the goal the Rhinos (8-7-5) got, the harder
they made it on themselves. In the 39th minute, a quick long ball
unbalanced the Carolina backline and created an opening for Mike Ambersley. He
walked into the area with Tolleson marking closely but pushed the shot from
about eight yards out wide of the goal.
That was one of the Rhinos’ last chances for a while, and
the RailHawks started getting forward with more ferocity.
In the 41st minute, Mark Schulte got on the other
end of a Kreamalmeyer corner kick, but Rochester goalie Scott Vallow smothered
Schulte’s header at the far post.
In the 50th minute,
Rochester gave the ball away to Sallieu Bundu in their own penalty area, but
Bundu responded in kind by mishitting the ball and giving it right back to the
Rhinos.
In the 54th minute,
Brad Rusin sprang Kreamalmeyer free down the middle, but Vallow came way out
and denied Kreamalmeyer the chance to score one on his former team.
In the 69th minute,
Rochester again shanked a chance from close range. After Carolina knocked down
the initial ball, it bounced right to McFarlane waiting at the edge of the
six-yard box, but he hit the shot way over the goal.
In the 81st minute,
Shields, making his first start for Carolina, played a spectacular long ball
down the right side to Budnyy. Budnyy played it off a short hop and hit a
wicked knuckler just over the goal.
In the 84th minute, Patterson denied McFarlane
once again, this time on a header from 10 yards away. That saved ensured
Patterson’s seventh shutout of the season and the RailHawks’ 12th,
and it pushed the RailHawks’ shutout streak to 310 minutes.
Budnyy nearly got one again in the
89th minute. On a 2-v-1, Daniel Paladini laid the ball off to
Budnyy, but his shot went right at Vallow.
A minute later, Budnyy erred on
the side of caution when another potential look at the goal presented itself.
That decision proved to be the difference between taking a point from Rochester
and returning to Cary with three.
“It’s always a good to get a win, but especially right at
the end,” Rennie said. “It’s a big confidence boost.”
The RailHawks look to stay atop
the USL-1 and put some space between themselves and the rest of the league on
Saturday, when they meet the last-place Cleveland City Stars on Saturday at
WakeMed Soccer Park at 7 p.m.
LINEUPS
CAR: GK Caleb Patterson, D John Gilkerson, D Jeremy Tolleson,
D Mark Schulte, D Greg Shields, M Brad Rusin, M Amir Lowery, M Daniel Paladini,
M Kupono Low, F Luke Kreamalmeyer, F Sallieu Bundu (Andriy Budnyy, 73rd)
ROC: GK Scott Vallow, D John Ball, D Kenney Bertz, D Brent Sancho, D Steve
Kindel, M Tiger Fitzpatrick, M Michael Ambersley (Andrew Lorei, 46th),M
Danny Earls (Kwame Sarkodie, 79th)M Errol McFarlane (Warren Ukah, 72nd),
F Johnny Menyongar, F Ryan Heins
