News

A day after being named interim head coach of the Atlanta Silverbacks, former U.S. Men’s National Team star Eric Wynalda takes charge of his first game for the struggling Silverbacks with a trip to WakeMed Soccer Park to take on the Carolina RailHawks, Tuesday night.

Wynalda replaces Alex Pineda Chacón at the helm of the Silverbacks, with the side last place in the standings, having collected just one win and eight points from the first 14 games of the season.

Chacón’s final game in charge of the Silverbacks was Saturday’s 3-0 loss to the first -place San Antonio Scorpions in the Scorpions International Challenge, a double-header that saw Mexican Primera División sides Monterrey and San Luis play in San Antonio. Scorpions’ forward Pablo Campos scored his league-leading seventh and eighth goals of the season to lift the Scorpions to their second 3-0 win against the SIlverbacks, and into first place in the standings.

The Carolina RailHawks ended the month of June with a 2-1 loss to the Fort Lauderdale Strikers, the only slip-up in an otherwise excellent month that saw the RailHawks record four straight victories. Two goals down to the Strikers thanks to a brilliant individual performance by Mark Anderson, Nick Zimmerman’s 82nd minute goal was nothing more than a consolation as Carolina failed to find the equalizer.

The two teams have polar opposite form coming into this match. The Silverbacks won their first game of the season early in the month, but have since lost four straight. The RailHawks won the first four matches of the month, and only tripped up in the final match against the Strikers in Fort Lauderdale. Despite occupying sixth and eighth in the standings, the RailHawks are nine points clear of Atlanta.

The last time these two sides met was on June 16th at Silverbacks Park. The RailHawks ran out 2-0 winners, with Zach Schilawski and Brian Ackley scoring the goals for Carolina. The result means that the Silverbacks are now 0-1-5 against the RailHawks since 2011.

With Wynalda as the coach, the Silverbacks will hope to have found the right man to get out of last place and fight for a spot in the playoffs after missing out last season. Winless on the road, the first test for Wynalda and the Silverbacks is a tricky fixture to WakeMed, where the RailHawks have lost just once all season.

Carolina RailHawks vs. Atlanta Silverbacks

Tuesday, July 3, 2012— 7:30 P.M. EDT

WakeMed Soccer Park

Cary, NC

Webcast: NASL on ustream

TV: WRAL 5.2, Time Warner Ch 106

2012 Series: Carolina, 1-1-0, 4pts

2011 Series: Carolina, 4-0-0, 12pts

                                     Carolina                                 Atlanta

Head Coach               Colin Clarke                       Eric Wynalda

2012 Records            6^th: 4-5-5, 17pts                8^th: 1-5-8, 8pts

Last Five Games       W W W W L                        W L L L L

Goals Leader             Nick Zimmerman (7)        Reinaldo Navia (6)

Assists Leader          Austin Da Luz (3),             Ciaran O’Brien (4)

                                       Ty Shipalane (3)

QUICK FACTS

Carolina

• Saturday’s loss to the Strikers ended a four-match-winning streak for Carolina.
• The RailHawks have scored more goals than any other team this season with 23 goals from 14 games.
• Team captain Kupono Low has played every minute for the RailHawks in 2012.

Atlanta

• Eric Wynalda takes charge of his first professional game against the RailHawks.
• Atlanta have picked up just eight points from a possible 42 this season.
• The Silverbacks have conceded 30 goals from 14 matches.