RailHawks douse MLS' Fire

CARY -- There was Fire and there was rain, and at last there was the game McColm Cephas and the Carolina RailHawks had been wanting to play.

Refusing to back down in this physical, third-round U.S. Open Cup game Sunday night, the RailHawks conquered Major League Soccer's Chicago Fire 1-0 in front of 4,485 fans who happily weathered a light mid-match drizzle.

Unable to finish on several scoring opportunities in the first half, Carolina hit the net in the 56th minute when Cephas sent a low laser inside the right post after gathering a touch pass from Anthony Maher in the box.

Then the RailHawks hunkered down, attacked on offense and foiled the Fire with defiant defense that included solid keeper work by first-time starter John O'Hara, this coming after losing two recent games down the stretch.

"We closed it out, finally did all the right things at the end," said coach Scott Schweitzer. "It was 1-0, but we carried the whole game."

When the frenetic running, bumping and kicking ended after four added minutes for stoppage, Willie Nelson's "Turn Out the Lights, the Party's Over" boomed over the public address system.

The Fire had won four U.S. Open Cups, but is a struggling last-place MLS team in transition this year. Meanwhile, the RailHawks of the United Soccer Leagues -- one level below the MLS, but one step above Sunday night -- advance to the quarterfinals at SAS Soccer Park on Aug. 7 against Richmond.

Having suffered eight shutouts and scored three goals in the past four games, Schweitzer changed the alignment, presenting a different look and a bit more offensive pressure.

"We probably should have had three or four goals in the first half," said Schweitzer, who saw Cephas score on a maneuver that the RailHawks had blue-printed in practice. "What a great goal, in and out, just what we had been working on."

For Cephas, it was emancipation from a season of offensive frustration.

"It was a great feeling to finally get a goal," said the fast forward. "I had been scoring a lot in practice, but having a tough time on the field. It was great to score in a game of such importance."

As might be expected with a team called the Fire in town, there were sparks from the outset. Chicago was physical, but so were the feisty RailHawks, who came swooping in with confidence.

That aggression vs. aggression matchup led to 36 fouls (22 on the Fire), seven yellow cards, and assistant coaches from both teams jawing on the way toward the tunnel at intermission.

"We've been feisty all week," said the RailHawks' Caleb Norkus, who fired two hard, high shots at goal, contributed to the shutout on defense and was carded once. "We needed it. We fought hard. I think we wanted it more.

"Cephas had a great goal and the back four [on defense] kept it compact. There was a lot of communication."

The RailHawks fired 13 shots on goal and the Fire launched 10, but couldn't slip one past O'Hara, who had been playing behind goalie Chris McClellan.

In the second half, the Fire's Chad Barrett went 1-on-1 against O'Hara from close range, but the Hawks' keeper lunged to the ground for one of his three saves.

O'Hara's performance drew praise from Schweitzer, who also reveled in the way his team put its head and heart into the game and came out with the "huge win."

"You teach yourself to be a winner, you teach yourself how to lose," Schweitzer said. "Once you do it, you become a winner. We did it tonight. I think we'll do it the rest of the year."