CARY, N.C. – The Carolina RailHawks stand atop the North American Soccer League (NASL) standings coming into Saturday’s matchup against the Atlanta Silverbacks at WakeMed Soccer Park.
After recently picking up a point in Edmonton and beating the Ottawa Fury in their home opener back on Apr. 4, the RailHawks are feeling good of their early work to start the Spring Season, but understand that there is much work to do week in and week out.
“We are looking forward to this match,” RailHawks head coach Colin Clarke said.
“We played a tough game in Edmonton last week. Securing a point keeps us at the top of the table, but the goal is to come away with three, and we’ll fight to earn those points this Saturday.”
Forward Nacho Novo leads the team with two goals, and will need help from Nazmi Albadawi, Mark Anderson, and Ty Shipalane to keep Atlanta’s backline busy.
The last time the two sides met, Novo was the difference-maker, scoring a PK in the match that eventually ended in a 2-0 road victory for Carolina.
The Silverbacks currently sit with two draws on the season and are in the middle of the pack in the league table.
Defenders Simon Mensing and Paul Black and midfielder Jon Okafor are notables to keep Novo and crew in check, while up front Shaka Bangura (1g, 1a) and Kyle Porter (1g) are more than capable of doing some damage against the home side.