The Kansas City Wizards traveled to Cary, NC to meet the Carolina Railhawks in what proved to be an evenly fought game with the fans getting their money’s worth.
The Wizards started strong but it was the Railhawks that took control of the first half and got on the board first with a 43rd minute goal by Santiago Fusilier after a nice volley by Ryan Solle. Matthew Watson added to their lead at 57 minutes with a fine strike to beat goalkeeper Eric Kronberg.
At this point the Wizards woke up and started taking control of the play and forced Carolina keeper Chris McClellan into making eight saves in the second half.
The Wizards got their first tally at 67 minutes when Ivan Trujillo scored off an assist from second half sub Michael Harrington. They kept the pressure on and were awarded a penalty in the 81st minute which Claudio Lopez converted to tie things up.
Things didn’t get any easier for Carolina who went down to ten men when Ryan Solle was sent off for a second bookable offense. The overtime session saw the Wizards go ahead when Trujillo walked in another goal with the Carolina defense looking for a flag.
The Railhawks played hard to the end showing no evidence of being a man down and forcing much the action in front of the Kansas City goal. The atmosphere was electric in the stands and heated on the pitch with some scuffling breaking out. The Wizards sealed the win with another penalty earned when Carolina’s Chad Dombrowski was sent off for committing a foul on a breakaway in the final minutes of overtime. Ryan Pore converted the penalty kick to put the game and clinch Kansas City’s spot in the Quarterfinals.
Lineups
Carolina RailHawks Line-Up: Chris McClellan, Steve Curfman (Franki Sanfilippo 72), David Stokes, Mauricio Segovia, Kupono Low, Santiago Fusilier (Chad Dombrowski 90), Ryan Solle (ejection 108), Matthew Watson, Martin Nunez, Jamil Walker (Connally Edozien 54), Dan Antoniuk (Caleb Norkus 62)
Substitutes not used: Brian Levey (GK), Chris Lemons, Ross Mackenzie
Kansas City Wizards Line-Up: Eric Kronberg, Jonathan Leathers, Aaron Hohlbein, Tyson Wahl, Matt Marquess, Chance Myers (Michael Harrington 46), Kerry Zavagnin (Kurt Morsink 77), Ryan McMahen (Claudio Lopez 65), Roger Espinoza, Carlos Marinelli (Ivan Trujillo 46), Ryan Pore
Substitutes not used: Kevin Hartman (GK), Jimmy Conrad, Jack Jewsbury
Misconduct:
CAR – Ryan Solle (caution) 89
KC – Kurt Morsink (caution) 104
CAR – Ryan Solle (ejection) 108
KC – Claudio Lopez (caution) 111
KC – Ryan Pore (caution) 117
CAR – Chad Dombrowski (ejection) 120
Total Shots: KC 20, CAR 19
Shots on Goal: KC 13 , CAR 6
Saves: KC 4 , CAR 9
Fouls Committed: KC 13 , CAR 10
Offside: KC 7 , CAR 5
Corner Kicks: KC 5 , CAR 5
Referee: Niko Bratsis
Referee’s Assistants: Saeed Mohamed, Daniel Barak
4th official: Abbas Piran