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North Carolina FC U23 is an American
soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...
team based in
Cary, North Carolina Cary is a town in Wake County, North Carolina, Wake, Chatham County, North Carolina, Chatham, and Durham County, North Carolina, Durham counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina and is part of the Raleigh, North Carolina, Raleigh-Cary, NC M ...
. It was founded in 2002 as the Raleigh Elite, and the current affiliate of
North Carolina FC North Carolina FC is an American professional association football, soccer team in Cary, North Carolina, a suburb of Raleigh, North Carolina, Raleigh, and member of the USL Championship. Founded in 2006, the team previously was named the Caro ...
, a third division club in the
United Soccer League The United Soccer League (USL) is an organizer of various professional and amateur soccer leagues in the United States league system. It currently organizes its Championship, League One, and League Two for men, its Super League and W Leag ...
. The team plays in
USL League Two USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States, forming part of the United States soccer league system. The league will featu ...
(the fourth tier of the
American Soccer Pyramid The United States soccer league system is a series of professional and amateur association football, soccer leagues based, in whole or in part, in the United States. Although sometimes called the American soccer pyramid, teams and leagues are no ...
), and previously in the
National Premier Soccer League The National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) is an American men's association football, soccer league. The league is officially affiliated to the United States Adult Soccer Association (USASA) and has automatic qualification for the U.S. Open Cup. ...
(NPSL). The team was known as the ''Cary Clarets'' in 2008 and 2009; and went dormant for a year in 2010. As a member of the USASA League, the then-Carolina RailHawks U23's took the Men's Region III Championship in 2011, 2012, and 2013 and won the U-23's National Championship in 2011 and 2013. The team's colors are navy blue, gold, and cardinal red.


History

The Raleigh CASL Elite entered the PDL for the first time in 2002, and was run by the
Raleigh Raleigh ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most populous city in the state (after Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte) ...
–based
Capital Area Soccer League North Carolina FC Youth (NCFC Youth) is an American soccer club and eponymous league based in Raleigh, North Carolina, and serving the greater Research Triangle. It is the largest youth-to-professional soccer club in the country. Club NCFC Yout ...
(CASL). They finished their first competitive campaign second in the Mid-Atlantic Division (behind Williamsburg Legacy) with an 11–7–0 record; and made the playoffs. They overcame Northeast Division champions
Vermont Voltage Vermont Voltage was an American soccer team based in St. Albans, Vermont, United States. Founded in 1997, the team played in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Northeast Division of ...
1–0 in the Conference Semi-finals before falling to the Cape Cod Crusaders in the Eastern Conference final. Raleigh enjoyed a brief foray into the
US Open Cup The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a knockout cup competition in men's soccer in the United States. It is the country's oldest ongoing national soccer competition. The competition was first held duri ...
thanks to their positive early season form, knocking out D3 Pro League side
Carolina Dynamo Salem City FC is an American amateur soccer club based in Bermuda Run, North Carolina that fields a men's team in USL League Two, and a women's team as the North Carolina Fusion in the USL W League. The teams plays their home games at the Truis ...
5–2 in the first round before losing 3–0 to
A-League A-League Men, also known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional soccer league in Australia and New Zealand and the highest level of the Australian soccer league system. Established in 2004 as the A-League by the ...
stalwarts
Richmond Kickers Richmond Kickers is an American professional soccer club based in Richmond, Virginia. The Kickers compete as a member of USL League One (USL1). The club was established in 1993, and began play that same year as a United States Interregional S ...
in the second. Raleigh Elite finished third in the Mid Atlantic Division in 2003, with an 8–8–2 record, 17 points behind divisional champions
Richmond Kickers Future Richmond Kickers Future was an American soccer team based in Richmond, Virginia, United States. Founded in 2002 as part of the development system of the Richmond Kickers USL Second Division franchise, the team played in the USL Premier Developmen ...
. Chris Norbet was Elite's top scorer, with seven goals; while John Izzo contributed three assists for the season. Elite finished in fourth place behind divisional champs
Carolina Dynamo Salem City FC is an American amateur soccer club based in Bermuda Run, North Carolina that fields a men's team in USL League Two, and a women's team as the North Carolina Fusion in the USL W League. The teams plays their home games at the Truis ...
with a 7–9–2 record in 2004. In 2005 Elite enjoyed a productive season, losing just four games. The Elite were high-scoring entertainers throughout the year. They finished in third place in the Mid Atlantic Division, one point behind the Carolina Dynamo. That year,
Aaron King Aaron King (born July 26, 1984, in Denver, Colorado) is an American former professional soccer player. Career Youth and amateur King attended South High School and Smoky Hill High School where he won the 2000 Colorado State Soccer Championship. ...
was Raleigh's top scorer, with ten goals, while Spencer Wadsworth contributed an impressive eight assists. Prior to the beginning of the 2006 season, the CASL organization severed ties with them, and the team was taken over by the
Morrisville, North Carolina Morrisville is a town located primarily in Wake County, North Carolina, United States (a small portion extends into neighboring Durham County, North Carolina, Durham County). According to the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the populatio ...
–based Next Level Academy, who renamed it the ''Raleigh Elite''. The new Elite took a step backwards in 2006, which saw them win just four games all season. Willy Guadarrama was Raleigh's top scorer, with nine goals; Guadarrama and
Michael Harrington Edward Michael Harrington Jr. (February 24, 1928 – July 31, 1989) was an American democratic socialist. As a writer, he was best known as the author of '' The Other America'' (1962). Harrington was also a political activist, theorist, profess ...
contributed four assists each.


Cary RailHawks U23

In March 2007, the Next Level Academy formed a partnership with the then new
USL First Division The USL First Division (USL-1) was a professional men's soccer league in the second tier of the United States league system. It was organized by the United Soccer League as its premier league for men from 1996 to 2010, above the USL Second ...
team, the
Carolina RailHawks North Carolina FC is an American professional soccer team in Cary, North Carolina, a suburb of Raleigh, and member of the USL Championship. Founded in 2006, the team previously was named the Carolina Railhawks. On December 6, 2016, the RailH ...
, who subsequently became the team's parent professional club, and the team was renamed the ''Cary RailHawks U23s''. The RailHawks, endured yet another disappointing season not notching their first win until the fourth game of the season. Schilawski and Sassano were the RailHawks' top scorers, with four and five goals respectively, while
Joe Germanese Joe Germanese (born June 4, 1985) is an American soccer player. Club Career Prior to playing professionally, Germanese played for the Duke Blue Devils. On January 18, 2008, Germanese was selected by the New England Revolution of Major League ...
contributed four assists. The RailHawks made a push for the playoffs in 2008. They ended the year third in the Southeast Division, just five points behind second place
Bradenton Academics IMG Academy Bradenton is an American soccer team based in Bradenton, Florida, United States. Founded in 1998, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The team is associated with IMG Academy and the Un ...
.
Brian Shriver Brian Patrick Shriver (born August 5, 1987, in Clearwater, Florida) is a former American soccer player. Career Youth and college Shriver was an All-state performer at Clearwater High School, where he served as team captain for three years an ...
and Ronnie Bouemboue were Cary's top scorers, with six and five goals respectively, while Corben Bone contributed four assists.


Renamed 2008–2009

In November 2008, Next Level Academy announced a partnership with Burnley Football Club, then a member of the
English Championship The English Football League Championship, known simply as the Championship and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Bet Championship, is a professional association football league in England and Wales. Contested by 24 clubs, it is the highest divis ...
, in order to jointly develop professional players. As part of the agreement, the team was renamed the ''Cary Clarets'' in USL PD League before withdrawing at the end of the 2009 season. The team was dormant in 2010.


Badges

File:Raleighcaslelite.png, 2002 Raleigh CASL Elite logo Image:Raleighelite.jpg, 2006 Raleigh Elite logo File:RailHawks NPSL Final Logo.jpg, 2007 RailHawks NPSL logo File:NCFC U23.PNG, 2017 NCFC U23 logo


Name reverted

In 2011, the once again re-christened Carolina RailHawks U-23s made it to the USASA Men's U-23 Region III Championship and National Championship. The Carolina RailHawks U-23's won the 2011, 2012, and 2013 USASA U-23's Region III Championship. In 2011 and 2013 the team also won the USASA U-23's National Championship. In January 2014, the team announced they would enter the NPSL for the upcoming season competing in the Mid-Atlantic Conference of the South Region.


Name changed

The team was renamed to Carolina RailHawks NPSL on April 7, 2016. This was to allow players 23 and older to play.


Year-by-year


Honors

* USL PDL Eastern Conference Champion 2009 * USASA Region III U-23 Champions 2011; 2012; 2013 * USASA U-23 National Champions 2011; 2013


Head coaches

*
Damon Nahas Damon Nahas is an American college association football, soccer coach who is the head coach of the North Carolina Tar Heels women's soccer team. He led North Carolina to the 2024 NCAA Division I women's soccer tournament, 2024 national championsh ...
(2005–2006) * Sean Nahas (2007) * Dewan Bader (2008–2014) * Luis Satorra (2015) * Dewan Bader (2016–2018)


Stadium

*
WakeMed Soccer Park WakeMed Soccer Park is a Association football, soccer complex in Cary, North Carolina, United States. It consists of a purpose-built, Soccer-specific stadium, soccer-specific main stadium named "First Horizon Stadium", two lighted practice footba ...
;
Cary, North Carolina Cary is a town in Wake County, North Carolina, Wake, Chatham County, North Carolina, Chatham, and Durham County, North Carolina, Durham counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina and is part of the Raleigh, North Carolina, Raleigh-Cary, NC M ...
(2003–2008, 2011–present) * Middle Creek Park;
Cary, North Carolina Cary is a town in Wake County, North Carolina, Wake, Chatham County, North Carolina, Chatham, and Durham County, North Carolina, Durham counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina and is part of the Raleigh, North Carolina, Raleigh-Cary, NC M ...
(2009)


References


External links

* of North Carolina FC
Next Level Academy
{{North Carolina Sports Association football clubs established in 2002 Sports in Cary, North Carolina Soccer clubs in North Carolina North Carolina FC Reserve team soccer in the United States National Premier Soccer League teams 2002 establishments in North Carolina