The Carolina RailHawks head to south Florida this Saturday, when they will face Miami FC at Lockhart Stadium at 8 p.m.

The RailHawks (3-2-1) enter the weekend in second place in the USL First Division, tied with Rochester at 10 points, one back of Vancouver.

“We’re just looking forward to getting back playing,” said Carolina coach Martin Rennie. “It was disappointing to lose last week, and I think after you lose, you just look forward to the next game and getting it right.”

The visit to Miami will be the RailHawks’ third away match of the season. Not only are the RailHawks looking for their first road win (0-1-1), but they are also looking for their first away goal.

After their hot start with three straight wins, the RailHawks have cooled off. They took nine points from their first three games, but they have earned only one in their last three (0-2-1).  But Rennie downplayed the notion that Saturday’s match is a must-win.

“It’s a long season,” he said. “If you lose on Saturday, it doesn’t mean you can’t do great this season. I think a win would be a great thing, a great step for us.”

INJURY REPORT

Midfielder Brian Plotkin (foot) and defender John Gilkerson (hamstring) are doubtful for this weekend’s match. Also, midfielder Amir Lowery is suspended because he was red carded in last weekend’s loss to Charleston.

SCOUTING MIAMI

Saturday’s match with the RailHawks will conclude a season-opening five-match homestand for Miami. After opening the season with back-to-back wins over Cleveland City and Montreal, Miami has lost its last two to Rochester and Charleston.

At 2-2-0 and with four points, the Blues enter the weekend in seventh place. Through four games, they’ve scored six goals and conceded five. But the Blues have found goals a little harder to come by since their season opener. After beating Cleveland City 3-1 on April 18, Miami has scored three goals in its three games since. And after taking 18 shots on the Stars, the Blues have taken a total of 20 during their last three games.

The RailHawks must keep an eye on forward Diego Serna and midfielder Leo Inacio Nunes. Serna has scored two goals and two assists, tying him for the league lead in points (six). Nunes has scored two goals.

The Blues will be without Walter Ramirez, who is serving a red card suspension. Ramirez had played every minute of Miami’s season before he was ejected in the 18^th minute of the Blues’ 1-0 loss to Charleston.

SERIES HISTORY

Saturday’s match at Lockhart Stadium will be the sixth meeting between Carolina and Miami. The Blues hold a 3-2-0 record in the all-time series, and they have outscored the RailHawks 10-6 in their five previous meetings.

July 20, 2007: L, 2-1

After Carolina’s Philip Kutsu was sent off in the 45^th minute, Miami scored twice in the first six minutes of the second half in the teams’ first ever meeting. Sean Fraser fed Sean Cameron in the 49^th minute then hooked up with Zinho in the 51^st. Frankie Sanfilippo drew one back for RailHawks in the 89^th minute, but it was too little, too late.

July 28, 2007: L, 4-1

Just more than a week after meeting at Tropical Park Stadium, Miami travelled to Carolina for the first time. John Pulido stunned the WakeMed Soccer Park crowd of 4,949 with a goal in the fifth minute, but Carolina’s Kupono Low equalized with a 34^th-minute penalty. As the match was about to go into halftime tied, Miami’s Chris Williams changed the complexion of the game with his 45^th-minute goal. The Blues tacked on two more in the second half and became the first team to score four goals against the RailHawks.

May 4, 2008: W, 1-0

The RailHawks swiped three points on the road thanks to Dan Antoniuk’s 87th-minute goal. The match was played mostly in the midfield. The teams combined for only six shots, and Antoniuk accounted for all of Carolina’s (two).

June 14, 2008: L, 2-0

A first-minute miscue doomed the RailHawks’ chances before either side could break much of a sweat. Alex Afonso capitalized on a Carolinia defensive mistake and scored a goal in the first minute. Miami’s Leo Inacio Nunes tacked on another in the 34^th, and the RailHawks failed to score against the Blues for the first time. Carolina’s efforts weren’t helped by the ejections of two players over the final 30 minutes.

Aug. 15, 2008: W, 3-2

The RailHawks captured a 3-2 win despite being outshot 14-8 at WakeMed Soccer Park. A Miami own goal in the 19^th-minute kickstarted a wild-10 minute stretch. Three minutes after the own goal, Miami’s Caue da Mata equalized. Three minutes after the equalizer, Hamed Diallo put the RailHawks back up, then four minutes later, Ronald Cerritos staked the home team to a 3-1 lead. Miami’s Alex Afonso struck for the Blues in the 83^rd minute, but the RailHawks were able to hang on for the win.

LAST TIME OUT

The RailHawks suffered their first loss at WakeMed Soccer Park last Saturday 2-1 to the visiting Charleston Battery. Former RailHawk Dan Antoniuk scored in the third minute, and former RailHawk captain Frankie Sanfilippo added another in the 54^th. Carolina’s Gavin Glinton drew a goal back in the 73^rd minute, but the RailHawks were unable to the equalize before fulltime.

MINUTE FOR MARK

Through the first four weeks of the season, 212 players have appeared in the league’s 52 games. Only 22 players have appeared in six games heading into the weekend, and of those 22, three have played in all 540 minutes of their teams’ games. One of them is Carolina’s Mark Schulte. The RailHawks’ captain is the only player on the RailHawks’ roster who’s yet to take a breather. Vancouver’s Martin Nash and Jay Nolly are the other two USL-1 players to lead the league in minutes.

GOALS FOR GLINTON

Carolina forward Gavin Glinton has appeared in all six matches so far this season, mostly as a substitute. His 200 minutes played rank him 14^th on the team, but his two goals scored not only lead the RailHawks, he’s tied with six others for second in the USL-1. Vancouver’s Marlon James and Rochester’s Johnny Menyongar share the league lead (three).

USL-1 STANDINGS*

1. Vancouver     3-1-2, 11 points

2. Carolina           3-2-1, 10 points

3. Rochester       3-1-1, 10 points

4. Charleston     2-0-3, 9 points

5. Puerto Rico    2-1-2, 8 points

6. Austin              1-0-3, 6 points

7. Miami               2-2-0, 6 points

8. Portland          1-1-2, 5 points

9. Minnesota     0-3-2, 2 points

10. Montreal      0-3-1, 1 point

11. Cleveland     0-3-1, 1 point

*as of 5/14/09

USL-1 SCHEDULE

*ALL MATCHES AVAILABLE LIVE AND ON DEMAND AT USLLive.com (all times EST)*

Thursday, May 14

Rochester at Portland, 11 p.m.

Friday, May 15

Charleston at Montreal, 7:45 p.m.

Saturday, May 16

Carolina at Miami, 8 p.m.

Cleveland at Minnesota, 8:05 p.m.

Rochester at Vancouver, 10 p.m.

Sunday, May 17

Austin at Montreal, 3:45 p.m.

RAILHAWKS ON THE WEB

Keep up with the Carolina RailHawks on the team’s web site, CarolinaRailHawks.com, on the team’s blog, RailHawks Report, on Twitter and on our Facebook Page.