"And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees, just as things grow in fast movies, I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer.”

― F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

The introduction of Steve Malik, the new ownership of the Carolina RailHawks, began five months ago. In the interim, much ink and many more bytes have been expended chronicling the club’s latest era of good feelings under new management.

After an offseason spent sowing the seeds of newfound success off and off the pitch, the time for germination has arrived. This weekend, the molted RailHawks open their 2016 regular season, the 10th in club history, when they host Minnesota United FC at WakeMed Soccer Park.

Festivities for this Saturday’s opener include a flyover and skydivers, fireworks and food trucks. There’s a new fan bus and a new beer garden, along with new field seating and new adboards. Local broadcasting partnership have broadened, and according to Malik, the marketing budget is radically larger than last year’s $40,000 allocation.

“I’ve been out there talking to the Chambers of Commerce and big sponsors,” Malik said. “We’ve gotten a lot of traction with recruiting corporate events. We have party areas for families … It’s all part of a long-term plan to get people to experience the game and have a great time, and if they do they’ll come back.”

But the main attraction remains on the field, where the RailHawks’ intermittent success over the past decade doesn’t include a league championship. Malik’s arrival brought a much-needed infusion of resources into a previously fallow player budget, which enabled the RailHawks to retain key contributors being courted by rival teams throughout the North American Soccer League (NASL), including Tiyi Shipalane, Nazmi Albadawi and Connor Tobin.

RailHawks manager Colin Clarke, beginning his fifth season in Carolina, says it was imperative that the club keep its best players, particularly with the advent of new ownership.

“Steve coming in when he did made that possible,” Clarke said. “If Steve doesn’t come on board, those players aren’t here this year, if we had the budget we had last year.”

Still, despite a dramatic percentage increase in player budget, the RailHawks’ salary scale remains squarely in the bottom half of the NASL, according to sources. That prohibits Carolina from chasing many of the league’s star free agents. However, the budget uptick enabled the RailHawks to couple more attractive contracts with other amenities—housing; facilities; area cost-of-living; etc.—to lure reliable newcomers to Cary.

Over half of this year’s 19-player roster was not part of the 2015 squad. A couple of prodigal RailHawks, Brian Shriver and Matt Watson, have returned to Carolina. Eight other newcomers will make their RailHawks debut.

“There are two ways of [building a squad],” Clarke said. “You can throw a lot of money at it and hope for the best. I think there are a lot of overpriced players in our league … Would I want more money? Of course I would. I would love to continue to add players and depth to the squad. But we’re doing it the right way and building a good foundation.

“We say that flowers return every spring, but that is a lie. It is true that the world is renewed. It is also true that that renewal comes at a price, for even if the flower grows from an ancient vine, the flowers of spring are themselves new to the world, untried and untested.”

― Daniel Abraham, The Price of Spring

DEFENDERS

Notable returnees: Kupono Low; Steven Miller; Connor Tobin

Notable additions: Drew Beckie; Paul Black; Kareem Moses; Simon Mensing;

Notable departures: Futty Danso; Daniel Scott; Blake Wagner

A RailHawks preseason positional analysis rarely leads with the defense. Carolina surrendered 49 goals in 2015, tied for second-most in the NASL. The 43 goals it allowed in 2014 were the fourth-most in the league.

But after several seasons spent coping with porous protection, the RailHawks made a concerted effort this offseason to address both the quantity and quality of their back line. They made shrewd, early acquisitions, targeting defenders who both have experience and flexibility to play several positions.

The RailHawks swooped in and signed fullback Paul Black and center back Simon Mensing, key cogs in the Atlanta Silverbacks' stout defensive core last year.

“Paul Black is someone we saw in Atlanta and thought he was a very good talent,” Clarke says. “The Silverbacks folded over the offseason, and the opportunity arose for us to sign him. Left back is not an easy position to fill—if you look around the league, good left backs are very hard to find.”

“The biggest thing Simon is going to bring is leadership, on and off the field,” Clarke continues. “He’s a smart player who reads the game very, very well, and he gives us depth at center back.”

Kareem Moses, a capable player who can fill any position along the back line, was looking for a new home after his minutes diminished at FC Edmonton. Likewise, Drew Beckie is a good utility defender who Carolina wanted last year and then acquired as part of the Ottawa Fury exodus.

Steven Miller was acquired via transfer after putting in terrific minutes at right back for Carolina late last season on loan from the USL’s Tulsa Roughnecks. And the RailHawks managed to retain Tobin, last year’s team captain, who was being aggressively recruited by several teams around the league.

Last but not least, Kupono Low, the last original RailHawk from the club’s debut 2007 season, returns for his 10th season in Carolina.

MIDFIELDERS

Notable returnees: Nazmi Albadawi; Austin da Luz; Alex Pérez; Tiyi Shipalane

Notable additions: Marvin Ceballos; James Marcelin; Matt Watson

Notable departures: Mark Anderson; Neil Hlavaty; Leo Osaki; Chris Nurse; Wells Thompson

Midfield is the perennial strong suit for the RailHawks, and 2016 shouldn’t be any different. Gone are several irregular performers from last year. Meanwhile, the club kept key contributors Tiyi Shipalane and Nazmi Albadawi in the face of strong suitors around the NASL. Austin da Luz has made the RailHawks his home and remains the team’s primary left-footed playmaker. Alex Pérez begins his second season in Carolina after arriving late in 2015 to shore up the defensive midfield.

Of the three midfield additions, one is actually a familiar face. Matt Watson played four terrific seasons with the RailHawks from 2008-2011, and the affable, 31-year-old box-to-box middie returns to Cary after spending the intervening four seasons in Major League Soccer (MLS). However, this will be Watson’s first season under Colin Clarke, who remembers Watson’s positive play for Carolina when Clarke was managing the Puerto Rico Islanders.

“[Watson] is someone who is a great player, great in the locker room, very positive, has a great engine and scores goals,” Clarke says. “He always looks very smooth on the ball but is very hard to knock off the ball.”

James Marcelin arrives via an offseason trade that sent Neil Hlavaty to the Fort Lauderdale Strikers. A statuesque holding midfielder, Marcelin played for Clarke with the Islanders in 2008-09. After time in MLS, the Haitian international spent the last two seasons in Fort Lauderdale and was named to the NASL Best XI last year.

“James Marcelin is a kid I’ve known a long time,” Clarke says. “He’s another player we’ve been trying to get here for a couple of years, and I’m glad that we’ve got him now.

“We love to commit players forward and play a certain style, and I just felt we needed more athleticism in the middle of the park so when we did give up the ball, we could recover and protect our back four a bit more.”

Marvin Ceballos is a diminutive, but rangy attacking midfielder arrives after several months spent with Indy Eleven in 2015. However, that was preceded by five years with Guatemalan powerhouse C.S.D. Comunicaciones, along with five caps for the Guatemala national team.

FORWARDS

Notable returnees: None

Notable additions: Aly Hassan; Brian Shriver; Billy Schuler

Notable departures: Nacho Novo; Simone Bracalello

The departure of Nacho Novo, last year’s leading scorer, leaves a scoring void in the RailHawks’ attacking third. Clarke says the club and player “needed to move in a different direction for different reasons.”

The immediate solution is the return of Brian Shriver, who enjoyed a two-year stint with the RailHawks and was the NASL Golden Boot winner in 2013 before departing for a two-year, lackluster stint with the Tampa Bay Rowdies. Shriver has long been a favorite of Clarke for his scoring prowess and work-rate.

“Brian Shriver was a target and someone we’ve been trying to get back since her left,” Clarke says. “He was very successful here and love the way he plays. He has that pace and energy that we’ve missed.”

Clarke looks forward to helping Shriver regain his scoring form. After notching 15 goals for Carolina in 2013, Shriver tallied only five goals over two season in Tampa Bay.

“I don’t think he was played in the same position [as here],” Clarke says. “He wasn’t given the freedom he had here. Smaller field, compared to the bigger field we have here where he can run in behind people. The way we played and the field we have suited him.”

The two other new strikers are unproven, but intriguing newcomers. Aly Hassan is a big and skilled target forward who Clarke contends is the best finisher on the team. Over the past four years, Hassan made the most of his relatively limited minutes with the Strikers and Ottawa Fury.

Billy Schuler, star of the North Carolina Tar Heels’ 2011 championship squad, returns to the Triangle in hopes of rediscovering his scoring form after a disappointing four-year odyssey that spanned Hammarby IF in Sweden, the San Jose Earthquakes of MLS and the USL’s Whitecaps 2 FC.

GOALKEEPERS

Notable returnees: Akira Fitzgerald; Brian Sylvestre

Notable additions: None

Notable departures: Hunter Gilstrap

Akira Fitzgerald returns for his sixth season with the RailHawks, after beginning 2015 with NYC FC of MLS until he was released and came back to Carolina midseason. Fitzgerald is a fan favorite and mainstay for the RailHawks, and he looks likely to start 2017 between the sticks.

Still, the coaching staff remains bullish on Sylvestre, who opened a few eyes with a successful loan stint at the Philadelphia Union last season. There’s much to admire about Sylvestre's size, technical skill and upside (he's only 23 years old). He’s coming off an offseason knee surgery that hampered his preseason training, but don’t be surprised to see Sylvestre earn appreciable minutes in goal this season.