RailHawks' streak reaches 10 in row

CARY -- On the eve of July 4, Carolina RailHawks players knew the number they wanted: 10.

The RailHawks got their milestone by way of a 2-0 victory over the Montreal Impact on Sunday night at WakeMed Soccer Park.

Carolina has won 10 straight games, a streak dating to April 30.

"Ten wins in a row is something special and that's what we were striving for," midfielder Nick Zimmerman said. "To any sports team, 10 wins in a row is something special. And in soccer, it takes a long time to get where we are."

At the halfway point of the regular season, Carolina (12-1-1) is undefeated in 13 consecutive games, losing only the season-opener.

"That's a really big thing and something I've never done in professional soccer," coach Martin Rennie said. "Ultimately, every time you play it's about the next game, but when you're on a run like this, you do use [the streak] as motivation."

The RailHawks scored first in the 30th minute, when Pablo Campos ran under a pass from Chris Nurse that popped over the back line and Campos tucked in a goal under Montreal goalkeeper Evan Bush.

Four minutes later, the RailHawks' Jonny Steele kick-started Carolina's second and final goal of the game.

Steele booted a long pass from behind midfield that found hard-charging Nick Zimmerman, who avoided the offside call and then Bush to tap in an uncontested goal.

"That was an incredible ball by Jonny Steele," Zimmerman said. "All I had to do was run into it."

The Impact, playing its first game under new coach Nick De Santis, threatened several times, belying their now four-game scoreless streak.

But even without usual starting central defender John Krause, who was serving a one-game suspension for his fifth yellow card, the RailHawks had their fourth shutout of the season.

Devon McKenney moved over to fill in for Krause and turned away several Montreal threats.

"No matter who we put in the back, whether someone needs subbing out or someone out on card accumulation, we always got guys stepping in and playing huge for our team," goalkeeper Brad Knighton said. "Devon's a very versatile player, and he can fill any spot on the field. He started at right back and then he was playing left back and now he's playing center-back with [Krause] out."

Asked what his team could do better in its next 14 games, Rennie said, "We just need to keep doing what we're doing. There's not one thing I would say, 'We have to [improve] this, we have to [improve] that.' Generally, we are doing well."