CARY - As far as debuts go, the Carolina RailHawks' introduction to the Triangle was almost perfect.

They couldn't have ordered better weather and the crowd was substantial for the franchise's inaugural USL First Division soccer match at SAS Soccer Park.

As for the actual result, perfection proved elusive. The RailHawks led for the first 70 minutes but ended up in a 1-1 tie with the Minnesota Thunder.

Not as bad as a loss, but after the build-up -- the expansion club was awarded 18 months ago -- and the fast start -- Kupono Low's brilliant goal in the eighth minute put them up 1-0 -- the RailHawks didn't get the preferred result.

"We wanted the win, but we'll take the point," coach Scott Schweitzer said. "We have to look at the positives. It was an event. We put on a show. That was the best soccer I've seen in this league in five years"

The atmosphere for the return of professional soccer to the Triangle couldn't have been better. A crowd of 6,327, just below the capacity of 7,000, was greeted with blue and orange balloons, the team's dance team and Thunderstix souvenirs. In a nod to the area's sizeable youth soccer contingent, the team invited hundreds of players to greet the RailHawks on the field during pregame introductions.

It has been four years since SAS Soccer Park lost its first tenant, the Carolina Courage, a professional women's team that folded in 2003. The area has been without a minor-league men's soccer franchise since the Raleigh Capital Express folded after its last season in the A-League in 2000.

Since Raleigh's exit, the A-League has been reorganized as the USL First Division. The RailHawks are one of 12 teams in the First Division, which is U.S. professional soccer's equivalent to Triple-A baseball, the MLS being the big leagues.

"We were thrilled with the start," RailHawks president Chris Economides said at halftime. "We have always believed in this market, and this crowd was tremendous."

Low even provided the crowd with early excitement, giving hope for the RailHawks, who went 0-5 in their exhibition games, including three losses to college teams.

After a Carolina corner kick, Stuart Brightwell collected the ball at the top of the penalty area. Brightwell's lead pass found Low to the left, and he zipped the shot to the back of the net.

"If you're going to score the first goal in a franchise's history, that's the one," said Schweitzer, who was the 1992 ACC Player of the Year at N.C. State. "That was a rocket."

The crowd appreciated Low's goal and the RailHawks' aggressive pace. The Railhawks pushed the pace and controlled the flow of the match, outshooting Minnesota 13-5.

Aesthetics and control counted for only so much, though, when Carolina defender Chad Dombrowski tackled Minnesota's Ansu Toure in the penalty box. That resulted in a penalty kick for the Thunder, and Toure beat RailHawks keeper Chris McClellan to tie the score at 1.

"I honestly didn't touch him," Dombrowski said. "He went down when I went down for the tackle. It was a smart play by him."

The RailHawks got two final scoring chances in the final three minutes of stoppage time (there is no overtime in the regular season). Two set pieces ended in the arms of Thunder keeper Joe Warren preventing a perfect ending to the RailHawks' beginning.