Match Preview: Fort Lauderdale Strikers vs. Carolina Railhawks

Webcast: NASLLive.com

Radio: FTL – Sofloradio.com

The Fort Lauderdale Strikers return to action to take on the visiting Carolina RailHawks at Lockhart Stadium.  The RailHawks, who are currently fourth in the NASL Combine Standings, are coming off their third consecutive victory last week after topping the host Indy Eleven, 1-0.  Meanwhile, the Strikers, whose road game against the Tampa Bay Rowdies last week was rescheduled due to the weather, trail Carolina by four points for the last qualifying berth to The Championship.  Fort Lauderdale is unbeaten against Carolina at Lockhart Stadium, however, the Strikers have dropped their last two overall encounters to the RailHawks.  The last time both teams met was this past Spring Season, when two goals each from forward Zack Schilawski and midfielder Enzo Martinez gave the host RailHawks a 4-1 win over the Strikers at WakeMed Soccer Park on April 19.

Last Five Games:  FTL – L W L L W           CAR – L T W W W                

Recognition:

FTL-N/A

CAR-Nazmi Albadawi, Connor Tobin (Team of the Week-12)

Stats leaders:

FTL-Goals – Fafà Picault (9); Assists – Ivan Guerrero, Darnell King (3)

CAR-Goals – Zack Schilawski (9); Assists – Enzo Martinez (4)

Series:

NASL Head-to-Head: (13 meetings): RailHawks 5 wins, 3 ties, 5 losses – 22 GF/20 GA (+2 GD)

At Strikers: (6 meetings): Strikers 5 wins, 1 tie, 0 loss— 8 GF/3 GA (+5 GD)

This Year: (1 meeting) RailHawks 1 win, 0 ties, 0 losses— 4 GF/1 GA (+3 GD)

Last Meeting: April 19, 2014 at WakeMed Soccer Park — RailHawks 4-1 Strikers

Suspensions:

CAR-Kupono Low

Coaches quotes:

“As I have stated before, all of our remaining matches are vital.  This match against Carolina, along with our upcoming games at Tampa and at Carolina, are the most important ones.  If we want to capture the final spot in The Championship, we must win these games.  Our team will be ready for a big challenge on Saturday night against a team that also recognizes the importance of this game.  It should be an intense fight to the finish.” – Strikers coach Günter Kronsteiner

“Saturday’s match is going to be another important game for us.  We haven’t been able to get a good result in Fort Lauderdale since I’ve been here. It will be nice to go down there and get the three points against a team competing with us for the third and fourth spot in The Championship. They have a good team, with many familiar faces. We are looking forward to a great game.” – RailHawks coach Colin Clarke

Referee: Andres Pfefferkorn

Asst 1: Everton Cole

Asst 2: Felix Carranza

4th: Federico Mato