RailHawks, Rennie ready to go

CARY -- The third chapter of coach Martin Rennie's tenure as Carolina RailHawks coach starts today when the team hosts the Puerto Rico Islanders at 7 p.m.

Through the first two years of Rennie's tenure, which are also the best two years in franchise history, the team has finished second in the regular season, won a division championship and finished runner-up in the playoffs.

Will the third time be the charm as Rennie's RailHawks pursue a North American Soccer League title?

If he does so, it will be thanks to a mostly revamped roster.

New faces, new places

Only nine RailHawks who saw considerable playing time last year return. It's not quite the overhaul that happened before Rennie's first season, when only six players were spared from the year before, but it's a far cry from last year when the team had just eight offseason signings.

Among the new faces are two former RailHawks who have returned to the Triangle.

Jonny Steele, a member of the original 2007 team, is a defensive-minded midfielder. Steele was one of the most notorious of then-coach Scott Schweitzer's "JailHawks" - a nickname given to the first RailHawks squad for its rugged play.

After one year with Miami FC (now renamed the Fort Lauderdale Strikers), goalkeeper Caleb Patterson-Sewell is back and ready to play for Rennie. Patterson-Sewell had one of the league's lowest goals against average in 2009 with Carolina and was the first RailHawk to be offered a stint to play in the MLS.

He was a reserve for the New York Red Bulls.

"It's good to be back," Patterson-Sewell said. "I just thought it'd be best to come here. Martin said just 'come in and you'll have a role to play.'"

Ready to share time with Patterson-Sewell in goal is newcomer Brad Knighton, an MLS veteran with the Philadelphia Union.

Forwards Kithson Bain and Pablo Campos, as well as speedy midfielder Brian Farber, were brought in to shore up an offensive unit that was left thin by the MLS.

Scoring midfielders Daniel Paladini and Josh Gardner, as well as forward Tom Heinemann, were all offered contracts with MLS teams. The same went for defender Daniel Woolard.

In the preseason, the RailHawks scored just one goal against professional competition. Rennie said he is not worried about where the offense will come from.

"I feel like we've got a lot of firepower, it's just not on the field yet," Rennie said, noting three forwards didn't play in the preseason. "Once it's here, hopefully it will be exciting, dynamic and [full of pace]."

This year's 24-man roster is smaller than last year's, which started the season with 26 and ended the year with 28 players under contract.

The move is necessary to reduce cost. Players have said that the RailHawks are one of the top-paying teams in the league, behind only future MLS franchise Montreal.

Last season's financial woes pointed to a need for lower payroll for this year's new leadership at the owner and team president levels.

Changing of the guard

Previous owners Brian and Selby Wellman announced late in 2010 that they were looking for new investors. After a potential deal fell through, the Wellmans dissolved the RailHawks LLC and sold the team to Traffic Sports USA.

Traffic Sports, which also owns the league, then had to purchase the RailHawks trademark for nearly $15,000 in an online eBay auction in the most bizarre event in an unpredictable offseason.

Once NASL received sanctioning for the 2011 season, the next pieces of the puzzle began to be put into place.

Raleigh native Curt Johnson is the team's new president, and new hires have been made to strengthen the team's ticket sales.

Coming together

The back line appears to be stout with defender Brad Rusin leading the way. At 25, Rusin has been a target of professional clubs both here and abroad who think highly of his potential.

In midfield, returners Matt Watson and Floyd Franks will be counted on to improve greatly to pick up the void, while forwards Sallieu Bundu and Gregory Richardson return for their third seasons hoping to extend their sometimes brilliant play for an entire season.

Rennie has already cautioned that with this many new players, and some of the key goal scorers not yet with the team, that a slow start is possible.

It happened last year, yet the RailHawks were one of the league's hottest teams at the end of the season.

Two years ago, Rennie's team got off to a hot start after major personnel changes in the offseason but faltered down the stretch. Patterson-Sewell compared the two teams.

"What we have here now is in every position every single guy in every position can start, whereas that first year you had some guys who were role players," Patterson-Sewell said. "Once it jells, it's hard to say, but I'd say it's better than [the team] was last year from the outside looking in and better than the year before that."