News

CARY, N.C. (August 4, 2012) -- The Rowdies scored twice in the final
minutes to rally from a 3-1 deficit and earn a 3-3 tie against the
Carolina RailHawks Saturday night at WakeMed Soccer Park.

Forward Luke Mulholland's blast in the 86th minute cut Carolina's lead
to 3-2 before defender Takuya Yamada notched the tying goal in second
half stoppage time to complete Tampa Bay's comeback. Tampa Bay remains
unbeaten in its last four matches and now has seven wins, one tie and
just one loss over its last nine games.

In the 13th minute, forward Matt Clare took back-to-back shots, with
the first being blocked by a defender before the second one is saved
by RailHawks goalkeeper Ray Burse. Clare fired another shot on goal
just a minute later but Burse was there for another save.

The Rowdies took a 1-0 lead a few minutes later after Clare fed
Mulholland with a nice pass down the right side. Mulholland sent a
perfect cross into the box to the feet of midfielder Shane Hill, who
one-timed it into the bottom right corner of the net for his first
goal of the year.

Tampa Bay continued to put pressure on Carolina in the 30th minute.
Midfielder Keith Savage forced a diving save by Ray Burse and Shane
Hill's header on the rebound was deflected for a corner kick.

Carolina evened the match just before halftime as midfielder Nick
Zimmerman headed home a cross from defender Kupono Low. The goal was
the first allowed by the Rowdies and goalkeeper Jeff Attinella since
the first half on July 12 at Minnesota, a streak of more than 358
minutes.

Carolina took control of the match early in the second half. Zimmerman
scored his second goal of the match in the 49th minute after a pass
from forward Jason Garey. Garey gave the RailHawks a 3-1 advantage
moments later with a goal in the 51st minute.

Mulholland gave Tampa Bay life in the 86th minute when he buried a
right-footed shot in the far left corner of the net for his fourth
goal of the year. Defender JP Rodrigues started the play with a long
pass across the field to forward Mike Ambersley, who headed a pass to
Mulholland. With the assist, Ambersley now has at least one point in
seven consecutive matches and leads the team with eight assists in
2012. During the streak, Ambersley has three goals and six assists in
the last seven games.

In the 90th minute, Carolina was called for a hand ball inside the box
and Ambersley was called upon to take the penalty kick. But his shot
was saved by Burse to preserve Carolina's 3-2 lead for the moment. But
just minutes later, Yamada completed another Rowdies comeback with a
goal in second half injury time off a corner kick from Mulholland.

"We have been in this position before and we were able to fight
through it," said Rowdies defender Daniel Scott. "It just shows the
resiliency of this team and how we have come together this season."