INDIANAPOLIS, IND. – The Carolina RailHawks posted a 1-1 draw with the Indy Eleven in front of a sold out crowd of 10,524 at Michael A. Carroll Stadium on Saturday.
Defender Blake Wagner provided the offense the RailHawks needed to avoid a second consecutive loss on the season.
“We are pleased about the way we handled adversity,” RailHawks head coach Colin Clarke said.
“We did a much better job handling the ball in the second half and the team never gave up. This was a very difficult match but we managed to finish strong and rescue a point on the road.”
Carolina fell behind early as a crossed ball deflected off RailHawks’ defender Daniel Scotts’ cleat into his own goal.
Faced with a 1-0 deficit for the majority of the game, the RailHawks kept working to even the score.
Indianapolis didn’t make it easy and pressed to add to its lead, but Carolina goalkeeper Hunter Gilstrap and his backline maintained their stand until Wagner tallied his second goal in as many games in the 85th minute.
Now sitting in sixth place in the NASL table at 1-2-1 with five points, the RailHawks return home to host the Tampa Bay Rowdies at WakeMed Soccer Park on May 2nd.
Notes: Earlier in the week, Carolina announced the signing of striker Bradlee Baladez. The 23-year-old joined the RailHawks from Arizona United (USL Pro) to help provide more options on the front line. Baladez made his first appearance with the RailHawks in the 27th minute of play against Indy.
Highlights – Indy Eleven (YouTube)
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LINEUPS:
CAR: Gilstrap; Knight, Scott (C), Danso (Tobin 33rd), Low; Albadawi (Shipalane 58th), Osaki, Anderson, Hlavaty, Wagner; Bracalello (Baladez 27th)
IND: Nicht; Franco, Norales , Janicki, Frias; Smart (Stojkov 66th), Ring, Mares (Pena 74th), Melgares (Brown 84th); Rugg, Wojcik
GOALS: CAR: Wagner (84th); IND: Scott -OG- (7th)
CAUTIONS: CAR: –; IND: —
EJECTIONS: CAR: –; IND: —