— Once upon a time, there was a mythical bird called the RailHawk. The RailHawk was known far and wide for its propensity to fly fast and high, dazzling its admirers and perennially raising their expectations for even greater feats. But the RailHawk, a vexing beast that greatly preferred the confines of its nest, felt a kinship with Icarus. The RailHawk would soar close to the sun, only to fall prey to the heat of the moment, often in the form of late stage blunders.

The RailHawk has evolved into North Carolina FC, and the new state of soccer in Carolina saw its first modest improvement Saturday night at WakeMed Soccer Park. Against a talent-laden Miami FC, Carolina surrendered an early lead, yet held fast while also pushing for a victory. The result was an opening night 1-1 draw to open the 2017 NASL regular season.

North Carolina FC found its first highlight of the year a mere four minutes into the campaign. Lance Laing intercepted an errant Hunter Freeman pass, then crossed to forward Matt Fondy in the area. Fondy chested down the service, then put a left boot beyond the outstretched mitt of Miami goalkeeper Daniel Vega and into the inner right netting for an early 1-0 lead.

Miami equalized in the 14th minute. Connor Tobin couldn’t thwart a through ball from Dylan Mares that found midfielder Kwadwo Poku streaking past right back Steven Miller. Carolina keeper Brian Sylvestre bodied away Poku’s first attempt, then Stéfano Pinho struck the rebound off the back of a prone Poku. Poku lept up, found the sphere, and finished the equalizer to even the score at 1-1.

Pinho nearly netted a second goal in the waning moments of the first half when he again got behind the Carolina back line. But Sylvestre stuffed his shot, one of Sylvestre’s four first-half saves.

The complexion of Carolina’s lineup changed in the 41st minute, when a flying elbow from Miami’s Gabriel Farfan struck Laing in the face. Laing fell in a heap and was eventually carried off the field and out of the match. Farfan, already on a yellow, avoided further sanction.

North Carolina FC manager Colin Clarke said Laing suffered a gash under his right eye and a concussion. Moreover, Clarke fumed that Farfan was allowed to remain on the pitch.

“It should have been a second yellow card and a sending off,” Clarke said. “I thought the referee made two poor decisions tonight. The first one was a studs-up tackle in the first half [by Miami] where the intent was to injure an opponent and he didn’t get even a yellow card. Then Lance fouled [Farfan], no problem with that. But [Farfan] lashes out and caught Lance under the eye. Gash, concussion, and that’s a second yellow, maybe even a straight red.

“The referee is there to do a good job, and I didn’t think he did a good job tonight.”

The back-and-forth action continued throughout the second stanza, as both clubs pushed for an opening match three points. Fondy just missed heading in another goal in the 49th minute. In the 75th, Austin da Luz scuffed a sitter in the goalmouth that could have proven the game-winner.

After being decidedly outshot before halftime, North Carolina FC evened up the shot count after intermission. Just as Sylvestre kept Carolina in the match during the opening half, his Miami counterpart Daniel Vega held the née Hawks at bay through full time.

While Fondy got the goal glory, Carolina’s unsung hero was holding midfiedler James Marcelin, who bossed the centerfield throughout. Marcelin won all three of his tackles and won a whopping seven of nine duels. He also collected three interceptions and completed 37 of 40 passes.

“James has been good this preseason, “Clarke said. “He’s earned that spot. It was a fight between him a couple of other players. He’s come in with a great attitude to start this season. Now he’s got to keep it going and keep the spot.”

For his part, Marcelin focused on the frustration of failing to find the win in the wake of Wednesday’s friendly against Mexican side Club Atlas.

“I thought we played much better [Wednesday] than today,” Marcelin said. “Today, I thought the guys were a little bit frustrated we couldn’t get the ball. The second half tonight was much better than the first half … We had a little bit tired legs [from Wednesday].”

“It’s always tough coming off a Wednesday night game and going back out there,” Clarke said. “Obviously, we started the game well and got the goal. Then we sat back a little bit too much for my liking. [Miami is] a good team, and if you gave them time on the ball, they were able to pass it and get in good spots. We talked at halftime about what we needed to do, and I thought we responded very well. In the second half, I thought we deserved to win the game.”

North Carolina FC doesn’t play again until they travel to the San Francisco Deltas on April 8 Clarke hopes the two week break will allow Laing to recover from his concussion and give midfielder Tiyi Shipalane additional time to rehabilitate his injured hamstring.

“Overall, for the first game of the season, a 1-1 draw,” Clarke continued. “We would have loved to have the three points. We got the first goal of the season, and the center forward is off the mark, which is always good. Great crowd, great atmosphere, and a lot of positives on the night.”

BOX SCORE

LINEUPS

​NCFC: Sylvestre, Black, Tobin, Ibeagha, Miller, Marcelin, da Luz (Schuler, 87’), Laing (Kandziora, 42’), Albadawi, Shriver (Orlando, 73’), Fondy

MFC: Vega, Trafford, Freeman, Farfan, Kcria, Mares, Poku (Rennella, 71’), Ryan, Lahoud, Pinho, Chavez (Steele, 79’)

GOALS

​NCFC: Fondy, 4’ (Laing)

MFC: Poku, 14’

CAUTIONS

​NCFC: Ibeagha, 90+1’

MFC: Farfan, 18’; Freeman, 22’; Pinho, 45+2’; Mares, 87’

EJECTIONS

​NCFC: ---

MFC: ---

ATTENDANCE: 6,058