Testy affair ends in tie

Closely linked teams combine for 4 goals in first half at SAS

CARY -- Members of both teams expected a little something extra in the Carolina RailHawks' contest against the Rochester Raging Rhinos at SAS Soccer Park.

The two teams with a number of connections did not disappoint Friday night in their first-ever matchup in the United Soccer Leagues First Division, which ended in a 2-2 tie. There was quite a bit extra -- scoring, physical play and some postgame drama.

The expansion RailHawks (3-2-5, 14 points) feature four players that previously played for the Rhinos (4-3-5, 17 points), including defender Frankie Sanfilippo, who angered his former club by signing with Carolina as a free agent.

Carolina coach Scott Schweitzer also played for eight years with the Rhinos, and RailHawks president Chris Economides was formerly Rochester's general manager.

Friday's game was the first in 12 days for the RailHawks. While Schweitzer said the players did a good job of keeping the emotions surrounding the game in check, he was not pleased with the rusty overall performance, which resulted in the team's fourth tie in five home games.

"It looked like we had 12 days off," he said. "We looked tired. The effort was there, but sometimes we were doing extra work, which was a bad thing. We weren't efficient enough as players."

The intensity was present from the opening whistle on a sweltering night. In the third minute, Carolina's Anthony Maher went up for a ball and got an elbow to the side of his shaved head. He came away with blood streaming down the side of his face and had to wear a bandage wrapped around his head for the rest of the game.

In the 10th minute, Maher went down again as Rochester defender Kenney Bertz fouled him as he drove along the left edge of the box.

The foul set up a free kick for the RailHawks, who capitalized as two former Rochester players connected. Midfielder Kupono Low sent a curving cross into the box, where forward Connally Edozien leapt up and headed the ball into the back of the net.

"[Matthew Delicate] came on to pick me up, but he's just a forward. Forwards are notorious for defending horribly, so I was just looking to [Low] and hoping he noticed that I was ahead of him," Edozien said.

The Rhinos answered in the 37th minute, when Mike Ambersley buried a driving shot from outside the box into the top left corner.

Carolina, however, wasted no time in responding, as Maher beautifully chested a ball down to a sprinting Edozien, who fired a shot just inside the left post for his second goal of the night -- and his third of the season.

"I think it's just lucky goals, being in the right place at the right time," Edozien said. "If I score in the next game, then I know I'm doing something right."

A defensive lapse in the 45th minute allowed Rochester to tie the score at 2-2 just before halftime. Bertz got behind his defender on a set play, controlled the pass and dished to Rey Martinez, who found Delicate for a wide-open finish.

The Carolina fans -- attendance was reported at 5,147 -- certainly were not used to such a scoring explosion. The first half featured more goals than had been scored in the RailHawks' first four home games combined.

Both teams tightened up defensively after the break, with neither squad able to create as many scoring opportunities in the second half. The RailHawks had a couple of chances to break the tie, as Edozien missed a curving shot just left in the 72nd minute. Then, in stoppage time, midfielder Santiago Fusilier hit a sliding shot that passed just in front of the net.

The tie keeps the RailHawks in a tie for fifth place in the USL First Division, but the season is not even halfway through. The players realize, however, that they must start to pick up some wins on their home field.

"We've got to put teams away, especially the caliber of Rochester, they're not going to go away by themselves," Maher said.

After the game, Rochester coach Laurie Calloway went to shake Edozien's hand, but Edozien jogged away. Calloway yelled after his former player, and Edozien stormed back toward the coach with some heated words before the two were separated.

"He showed no class whatsoever," Calloway said of Edozien. "He's bitter because I didn't play him that much, but he didn't deserve to play in Rochester, so it's as simple as that."

Edozien said he didn't wish to shake the hand of a coach with whom he had a poor experience in his single season at Rochester.

"We didn't get along, and I'm not one to hide my feelings," Edozien said."I don't like people who stab you from behind and in front of you try to look good."

The teams meet again on July 6 in Rochester, N.Y. It's fair to say that the match already is circled on both teams' calendars.