Cary, N.C. – Christian Ramirez gave Minnesota United FC a 1-0 lead in its opening match of the NASL season, but the Carolina RailHawks rallied for a 2-1 victory Saturday at WakeMed Soccer Park before an announced crowd of 4,159.
Ramirez, who had 13 goals last season, scored in the third minute on a volley from outside the penalty area. The goal came on his first touch of the season.
The RailHawks answered quickly. Tiyi Shipalane scored in the 13th minute. He lifted a shot over keeper Sammy Ndjock with the outside of his foot. Carolina almost scored again in the next minute, but Ndjock stopped a shot from point-blank range and Kevin Venegas cleared the ball from the goal line.
Carolina got its second goal — the eventual winner — when Austin da Luz headed a ball past Ndjock in the 26th minute.
Stefano Pinho, one of the new Loons, had a chance in the 75th minute inside the penalty area but shot high.
In the 88th minute, Simon Mensing of Carolina committed a high foul on Pinho with his cleats up and got a red card. That gave the Loons a man advantage, but even with stoppage time, only about seven minutes remained.
"In flashes we looked very good. but inconsistent — not enough of those moments," United coach Carl Craig said. "When Simon got sent off, the ball was through and we had an opportunity to possibly get an equalizer."
And fatigue became an issue late. "We ran out of the gas at the end," Craig said. "We couldn't execute like we like to because our legs seemed a little dead, heavy.
