Carolina RailHawks FC
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| Full name | Carolina RailHawks Football Club |
| Nickname(s) | RailHawks |
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| Short name | RailHawks FC, Hawks |
| Founded | 2006 |
| Ground | SAS Stadium |
| Capacity | 7,000 (seated) |
| Chairman |  Chris Economides |
| Coach | Scott Schweitzer |
| Asst. Coach | Damon Nahas |
| Asst. Coach | Mark Girard |
| Goalkeeping Coach | David Noyes |
| Equipment Mgr. | Steven Economides |
| Trainer | Elise Caceres |
| League | USL First Division (2007) |
Carolina RailHawks Football Club is a professional soccer team located in Cary, North Carolina set to play in the USL First Division in the 2007 season.
The expansion of the USL to Cary, NC was announced on January 26, 2006 at a press conference at SAS Soccer Park. Managing Partner Chris Economides of Triangle Professional Soccer announced that he and an ownership group consisting of Frank DuRoss, Steve Donner, and Boris Jerkunica had purchased a USL-1 division expansion franchise and intended to begin play in the Spring of 2007.
The team's official name was announced on July 19, 2006 at the halftime interval of the 2006 USL All-Star Match. The RailHawk is a fictitious bird of prey that combines the speed and power of the locomotive with the aggressive and fierce nature of a hawk. Cary originally grew out from a depot on the New Bern, NC - Hillsborough, NC rail line and the CSX and Amtrak lines run directly across from the team's grounds. Hawks are indigenous to the area. The name "RailHawks" was chosen as part of a name-the-team contest which was won by W. Jarrett Campbell, a soccer blogger and Cary resident. Campbell received two lifetime season tickets as his prize.
On October 11, 2006, former Rochester Rhinos defender Scott Schweitzer was named the first head coach of the Carolina RailHawks. Schweitzer played collegiately at North Carolina State University and retired from play prior to the 2006 season.
On December 5, 2006, the RailHawks named the first players to sign with the franchise. Among the signings were two former UNC Tar Heel players, Chris Carrieri and Caleb Norkus, as well as several other players with Major League Soccer, United Soccer Leagues, and foreign playing experience.
On March 6, 2007, the RailHawks formed a parternship with the Next Level Academy (NLA) and the Capital Area Soccer League (CASL) to develop the youth system in the Triangle Area of North Carolina. Youth teams that currently participate under the CASL name in the Super Y-League (boys and girls 13-16) will play under the name CASL RailHawks. Also, the Raleigh Elite, who was operated by the NLA as a member of the USL Premier Development League, will become the U-23 team of the RailHawks program. Their name was changed to the Cary RailHawks U23's. In the future, two Super-20 League teams will be launched (one for men, one for women) in 2008, and a new women's pro team will begin playing in 2009, either in the current W-League of the USL, or in a new women's pro league currently in development.[1]
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[edit] Club Rivalries
Charleston Battery and Atlanta Silverbacks
The Carolina RailHawks are set to join the Southern Derby in 2007, renewing a rivalry first started in 2000 between supporters of the Charleston Battery, Atlanta Silverbacks, and the Raleigh Capital Express. A Triangle-area team has not held the Southern Derby Cup since its inaugural competition in 2000 when Raleigh won the cup 3-1-0 over the Silverbacks and Battery.
The rivalry between the three clubs is further fueled by the fact that current RailHawks coach Scott Schweitzer earned a reputation among Battery supporters as the defender they love to hate during his time as a player for Rochester Rhinos and current Atlanta Silverbacks owner Boris Jerkunica has a partial ownership stake in the RailHawks franchise.
Rochester Rhinos
It is anticipated that a rivalry will develop between the RailHawks and Rochester Rhinos due to the close financial and player ties between the two organizations. Current RailHawks GM Chris Economides, as well as current Rhinos President Frank DuRoss and Rhinos CEO Steve Donner all have financial stakes in both clubs. In addition, current RailHawks coach Scott Schweitzer, as well as current RailHawks players Chris Carrieri, Jonny Steele, and Connally Edozien have all played for the Rochester Rhinos.
Puerto Rico Islanders
Even though the Carolina RailHawks and Puerto Rico Islanders have yet to play a match against each other, a fledgling rivalry is brewing among the two clubs. Although Islanders supporters were not wild about Carolina's choice to mimic their blue and orange kit colors, the rivalry begun in earnest when Islanders President Andrés Guillemard-Noble accused the RailHawks of piracy[2] in the signing of Islanders' free agent Caleb Norkus. While the club executive insists that the Islanders had a verbal agreement with Norkus to return to Puerto Rico for the 2007 season, the player refutes that accusation[3], saying the two sides never reached terms and cites the lack of an offered written contract as evidence of their lack of agreement.
[edit] Current squad
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[edit] Year-By-Year
| Year | League | Reg.Season | Playoffs | Open Cup |
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| 2007 | USL First Division | N/A | N/A | Qualified |
[edit] External links
- (English) Official Site
- (English) Triangle Soccer Fanatics, an independent supporters club of the Carolina RailHawks
- (English) Audio presentation of the team's name announcement
[edit] References
- ^ RailHawks Unveil Major Youth Soccer Partnership. Retrieved on 2007-03-06.
- ^ Pirates of the Caribbean?. Retrieved on 2006-12-19.
- ^ Norkus Refutes Islanders' Piracy Claims. Retrieved on 2006-12-19.
| Current Stadiums in the USL First Division |
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| Silverbacks Park | Kezar Stadium | SAS Soccer Park | Blackbaud Stadium | Tropical Park Stadium | James Griffin Stadium | Complexe sportif Claude-Robillard | PGE Park | Juan Ramón Loubriel Stadium | PAETEC Park | Qwest Field | Swangard Stadium | Virginia Beach Sportsplex | ||
