RailHawks Advance to NASL Semifinals
Story and photo from Carolina RailHawks.
Cary, NC – The rain came down all day on Saturday in Cary. But things cleared off enough in the evening for the Carolina RailHawks to dispatch the Ft. Lauderdale Strikers 3-1 and earn a trip to the NASL Semifinals.
RailHawks Advance to Sem-Finals
The RailHawks advanced into the Semifinals with a commanding 3-1 win over the Fort Lauderdale Strikers. The start of the match was delayed 45 minutes due to a thunderstorm that affected the Triangle area. Tiyi Shipalane scored twice and Amir Lowery scored his first NASL goal of the season to punch the RailHawks ticket into the next round of the NASL Playoffs. Abe Thompson scored for the Strikers. The RailHawks will now host a Semifinal match on Saturday, October 6th at 7:00 PM at WakeMed Soccer Park.
“Today we played a very good game,” said Head Coach Colin Clarke. “The team definitely played playoff soccer tonight and we got the result we needed. Now we need to focus on our next opponent and hopefully we will have another loud, passionate crowd to get us off to another good start next Saturday.”
First Half
The first half got off to a fast start with both teams recording shots on goal in the first 90 seconds of play. The RailHawks quickly began to control the ball and started their attack. After several scoring chances for the team, Jason Garey intercepted a pass in the box by the Strikers and played a ball back to Lowery who placed his shot in the upper 90 to score the first goal of the match. The RailHawks went into the break with a one-goal lead.
Second Half
The RailHawks started the second half on the offensive and quickly found the second goal of the game. A great play by Brian Shriver down the left side of the field was capped off by a great finish by Tiyi Shipalane to push the lead to 2-0 in the 52nd minute of play. Thompson cut the lead for the Strikers in the 61st minute. Shipalane scored his second goal of the game after a great through ball from Shriver left him with a 1-on-1 against the Strikers keeper. Shipalane put the ball on the side netting to make it 3-1.
Semifinal Match Next Saturday in Cary
The RailHawks will now host a Semifinal match on Saturday, October 6th at 7:00 PM at WakeMed Soccer Park. The opponent will be known at the conclusion of Sunday’s Quarterfinal match between Puerto Rico and Minnesota.
$11 Ticket Deal Through Monday
Tickets for the Semifinal match are available now and fans can take advantage of $11 premium tickets by entering code “11” when checking out. The special promotion in honor of tonight’s two-goal scorer, Tiyi Shipalane, will be available until Monday at midnight.
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