Parting is such sweet sorrow that I shall say goodnight till it be morrow. —William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet

The biggest guest didn’t make it. But the farewell party went ahead anyway.

Much ink and effort was expended the past week trumpeting the expected arrival of Freddy Adu when the Tampa Bay Rowdies, Adu’s newest club, visited the Carolina RailHawks in Cary. That anticipation fizzled when the former U.S. youth soccer phenom didn’t step off the team bus when it arrived at WakeMed Soccer Park.

But the show went on, and the result was a back-and-forth affair that ended in a 1-1 draw, duplicating the teams’ lone clash during the NASL spring season.

Besides Adu, who suffered a lower-leg injury during training this week, Tampa Bay was without a number of key contributors, including forward Darwin Espinal and midfielder Ritchie Mejivar. Recent loan acquisition Omar Salgado made the trip to Carolina but was ineligible to play because the team did not receive his International Transfer Clearance by game time.

While Carolina controlled the vast majority of early possession, the visiting Rowdies clipped the first score. In the 29th minute, right back Darnell King drove confidently off the right flank and along the end line before sending a solid cross into the area. A streaking Georgi Hristov was first to the ball, slotting his one-touch shot past helpless RailHawks goalkeeper Akira Fitzgerald for the initial 1-0 advantage.

The RailHawks heard the wake-up call and reciprocated three minutes later. An incursion off the ring wing by Carolina’s Tiyi Shipalane segued into a deflected pass landing at the feet of Mark Anderson, His back to goal, Anderson found separation, then turned and rifled a shot past Rowdies keep Kamil Čontofalský to knot the score at 1-1 entering halftime.

The goal was Anderson’s second during his injury-riddled 2015 season.

“The ball came into the box, and I tried to put myself in a position,” Anderson said. “It bounced up, and I got in front of the defender and spun on him and put it away.”

A scoreless second half was punctuated by fleeting chances for both clubs. In the 78th minute, King dissected the Carolina defense for a direct run on goal. However, Fitzgerald got a left mitt on King’s straightaway shot to prevent a go-ahead Rowdies goal.

In the 85th minute, Shipalane whirled and twirled his way into the area before he was taken down by Ben Sweat, who played outstanding defense against the RailHawks talisman all game. Referee Daniel Fitzgerald declined to award a penalty, prompting vociferous objections from the RailHawks players and the 6,191 partisans in the grandstands.

In truth, the RailHawks (5-7-4, 22 pts.) and Rowdies (6-5-4, 23 pts.) played one of the most evenly-matched games of the year. The draw temporarily moves Tampa Bay into second place in the combined NASL standings. Meanwhile, Carolina is currently in a three-team tie for third in the league table.

The RailHawks have 12 days off before traveling to face the Jacksonville Armada on August 12. Another road game at FC Edmonton precedes Carolina’s next home match against the New York Cosmos on Aug. 22.

A BID GOOD KNIGHT

Saturday’s match against the Rowdies was the final game in the playing career of Wes Knight, the RailHawks’ right back. The 28-year-old Knight is retiring as a player to take a position with the Carolina Rapids, the Charlotte-based youth affiliate program of Colorado Rapids of Major League Soccer. Knight will be head coach for the Rapids’ U-18 and U-14 Development Academy teams.

Knight’s departure is the abrupt culmination of a soccer career that began at Wren High School in Anderson, S.C, and took him to stints with the Vancouver Whitecaps and San Antonio Scorpions. Knight suffered a severe knee injury in November 2013 that derailed his MLS aspirations, and this season with the RailHawks represented a comeback.

Following Saturday’s game, Knight spoke frankly and eloquently about his decision to leave the RailHawks and move onto the next stage of his soccer life.

“I had a lot of time to think when I was injured,” Knight said, “I thought for a long time that the injury was going to take me away from the game and I was never going to be able to play again. So I promised myself that I would use the game not as my identity, but as a tool to move along in life.”

For Knight, this transition into coaching is part of his newfound soccer ambitions.

“I was at a crossroads, and I had to choose: commit or quit," he said. "And I decided I’m going to go and never look back.”

Knight is the only RailHawk to play every minute this season. And while Knight is taking an opportunity to give back to the next generation of soccer hopefuls, his decision comes after he struggled mightily to comeback from his 2013 injury and as the RailHawks are in the midst of a NASL playoff push.

“A lot of people would view it as selfish, and maybe it is,” Knight conceded. “I have every faith in this squad and the players that will step into my position. There are guys who can do as much or more than I can provide, and that gave me the reassurance to make this decision.”

Indeed, Knight admitted that his desire as a player has waned, much like Barry Sanders when he stepped away from professional football at the height of his career. This further motivated Knight’s decision to depart now.

“I’d like to say that the fire and desire that I have [as a player] is still bright, but it’s not what it used to be,” Knight said. “And out of respect for myself, the game and other players who want to chase that dream, when I don’t have that aspiration to get into MLS anymore, sometimes you have to be man enough to step aside and say, ‘Let’s go chase another dream.’

“I love these guys, and I love this city. I appreciate everything they’ve done. But it’s time to go head in a different direction.”

BOX SCORE

LINEUPS

CAR: Fitzgerald; Knight, Danso, Tobin (C), Low; Shipalane, Hlavaty (Nurse, 83’), Albadawi, da Luz, Anderson (Bracalello, 71’); Novo (Nyepon, 90’)

TBR: Čontofalský;; King, Agbossoumonde, Mkandawire, Sweat; Guerra, Hristov, Saragosa (C) (Chavez, 87’); Shriver, Santos, Hertzog

GOALS

CAR: Anderson, 32’ (Unassisted)

TBR: Hristov, 29’ (King)

CAUTIONS

CAR: Danso (50’), Novo (90’), Albadawi (90’)

TBR: Guerra (49’)

EJECTIONS

CAR: --

TBR: --

ATTENDANCE: 6,191