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Coming off a 3-1 quarterfinal round victory over the Fort Lauderdale Strikers last week, the Carolina RaiHawks face a familiar opponent in Tampa Bay. The RailHawks and the Rowdies faced off in the final two regular season games and tied both. Tampa Bay recieved a quarterfinal round bye. The NASL Semifinals will each be a 2-game series with each team playing at home once and the team with the greater number of aggregate goals in both games winning each series.

All four of the previous meetings between the two sides in the regular season failed to produce a winner. After losing all four matches against the RailHawks in the 2011 season, the Rowdies did well to earn a point in the first meeting of the season, a 1-1 draw at Al Lang Stadium on April 18. The teams played to another 1-1 draw in St. Petersburg on September 19, and produced another stalemate—this time scoreless—just three days later in Cary, North Carolina.

A thrilling 3-3 draw at WakeMed Soccer Park on August 4^th was the highlight of the series. A virtuoso display from Carolina midfielder Nick Zimmerman had the hosts comfortably up 3-1 until a late goal from Luke Mulholland sparked the Rowdies on a comeback. Ray Burse saved a stoppage-time penalty, but was left helpless as veteran defender Takuya Yamada redirected the ensuing corner kick into the back of the net for the equalizing goal, completing a memorable comeback for Tampa Bay.

Carolina RailHawks vs. Tampa Bay Rowdies

Saturday, October 6, 2012— 7:00 P.M. EDT

WakeMed Soccer Park

Cary, NC

Webcast: NASL on ustream

2012 Series:  Tied, 0-4-0, 4 points

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

                                              Carolina                           Tampa Bay

Head Coach                        Colin Clarke                     Ricky Hill

2012 Records                     4^th: 10-10-8, 39 points   2^nd: 12-9-7, 45 points

Last Five Games               T W T T W                          W T W T T

Goals Leader                     Nick Zimmerman (15)     Daniel Antoniuk (7)

Assists Leader                 Mike Palacio (6)                 Mike Ambersley (8)

Carolina

• Defeated Fort Lauderdale 3-1 in quarterfinal match
• Undefeated against Tampa in last nine meetings (5-4-0)
• Riding a five-match-unbeaten streak
• Suspended: None
• At risk: None

Tampa Bay

• Received bye to semifinals following second place finish
• Haven’t defeated Carolina since May 14, 2010
• Unbeaten in last six regular season matches
• Suspended: None
• At risk: None