2008 May 28

Carolina RailHawks  2 - 1  Seattle Sounders
WakeMed Soccer Park, Cary, NC

Carolina: Chris McClellan; Mauricio Segovia, David Stokes, Frankie Sanfilippo, Chris Lemons; Martin Nuñez (Richard Perdomo 90'), Kupono Low, Matt Watson (Joey Worthen 68'), Steven Curfman (Phillip Long 83'), Connally Edozien (Jamil Walker 73'), Dan Antoniuk (Jacob Coggins 84').

Seattle: Chris Eylander; Taylor Graham, Zach Scott, Kevin Sakuda (Jason Cascio 73'), Noah Merl; Kenji Treschuk, John Fishbaugher, Hugo Alcaraz-Cuellar, Josh Gardner; Roger Levesque (Andre Schmid 15', Craig Tomlinson 83'), Sebastien Le Toux.

Goals:
9' CHA: Edozien (Nuñez)
14' SEA: Le Toux (PK)
45' CHA: Merl own goal

Additional match reports: RailHawks, Cary News, Seattle Times, Seattle P-I.

Match report based on the Sounders' report:

The Seattle Sounders fell to the Carolina RailHawks 2-1 on a cold and rainy night in North Carolina.

A goal from Connally Edozien and an own goal from Noah Merl offset a Sebastien Le Toux penalty as the Sounders suffered their second defeat of the season.

The two sides already have some history together in Carolina's short time in the league. Seattle played the RailHawks in the first round of the 2007 USL-1 playoffs and beat them 3-0 on aggregate. Carolina had revenge on their mind and came out of the gates with confidence.

A penalty kick, a red card, and an own goal highlighted a wild first half between the two sides.

The RailHawks jumped on the board early when Martin Nuñez received a pass running down the right side, got into the box and shot on goal. Chris Eylander's made the save, but the ball squirted through his hands and was picked up by Connally Edozien who found the back of the net, just beating a defender to the ball at the goal line.

But Carolina wouldn't lead for long as Mauricio Segovia shoved Taylor Graham to the ground as a Sounders corner was being taken; the referee pointed to the spot as a shocked RailHawks side protested to no avail. Sebastien Le Toux stepped up to take the kick and buried it for the equalizer.

On level terms, Seattle gained in confidence and built a steady pressure towards the Carolina goal; but their attacking play would only last a couple of minutes. In the 16th minute Zach Scott went in hard on a loose ball with his studs showing and caught Railhawks midfielder Kupono Low in the back. Scott was shown red immediately and the Sounders were down a man for the remainder.

Seattle defended well, despite the disadvantage. The RailHawks couldn't find the key to unlocking the Sounders backline and Seattle looked set to cruise into the half at 1-1.

But in the 45th, a miscommunication between Chris Eylander and Noah Merl led to Merl heading a loose ball back to Eylander, who had come up to retrieve the ball. Merl's header glanced off the fingertips of an outstretched Eylander into goal.

Seattle went into the half down a goal and a man.

The second half was mostly slow as the Sounders held a majority of the possession but couldn't get on the end of combinations.

In the 54th, Seattle earned consecutive corner kicks but failed to find a goal.

The last great chance for the Sounders was in the 83rd minute when Sebastien Le Toux took a pass from Josh Gardner, with a beautiful touch and spin for an open shot on goal, but keeper Chris McClellan reached low to stop the effort.

The loss was the second of the season for Seattle, the first in six games. The Sounders turn around and play Puerto Rico on Friday at Juan Ramon Loubriel Stadium at 5:00 pm. Seattle's next home game is June 7th against the Minnesota Thunder at the Starfire Sports Complex.

Statistics:
          Carolina  Seattle
Shots:        8         7
Saves:        2         3
Corners:      7         7
Fouls:        9         9
Offsides:     3         2

Misconduct:
16' SEA: Scott sent off for a studs-up tackle
31' SEA: Merl cautioned
72' SEA: Alcaraz-Cuellar cautioned

Referees: Roni Canales; Daniel Burak, Mohamed Najih; Ahmed Mohamed

Attendance: 2,592