PREVIEW | In-Form RailHawks Continue Postseason Push Against The Strikers

The Carolina RailHawks will be looking to add to their win streak on Saturday night against the Fort Lauderdale Strikers at Lockhart Stadium.

“This is going to be another big game for us,” RailHawks head coach Colin Clarke said. “We’ve had two extraordinary results in our last two home games and now it’s time for us to do what we do best and get the points we need to continue our road to The Championship.”

The RailHawks are aiming to earn three more points in the standings for their postseason push. With 32 points in the Combined Standings, the RailHawks are only three points out of a spot in The Championship, with two games remaining after Saturday’s game in Fort Lauderdale.

This is the third time the teams have met this calendar year. The RailHawks hosted the Strikers on July 8, which resulted in a 1-1 draw. Additionally, the two teams met once in the Spring Season where the RailHawks defeated the Strikers, 1-0, at Lockhart Stadium after Tiyi Shipalane scored one of his six goals in 2015.

The RailHawks are coming off two hard-earned victories at home. On October 10, the RailHawks dominated Jacksonville Armada FC, 3-0, and three days later defeated FC Edmonton, 2-1.

Last Wednesday, the RailHawks turned the heat on from the beginning of the match and created offensive pressure, which materialized in the 10th minute when former N.C. State standout Nazmi Albadawi scored his sixth goal of the season.

The Eddies equalized in the 45th minute off a penalty kick, but Akira Fitzgerald let nothing past him for the remainder of the game. Ultimately, Nacho Novo put the RailHawks on top in the 82nd minute with a superb goal from inside the box; his tenth goal of the season.

The Fort Lauderdale Strikers have lost three of their last four games and are coming off a 2-1 away loss against Minnesota United. Minnesota struck early, scoring a goal in the 6th minute and again in the 27th. The Strikers finally put themselves on the board in the 78th minute, but the two early Minnesota goals proved to be insurmountable.