— The Carolina RailHawks and Miami FC met just two months ago, but the squads that took the WakeMed Soccer Park pitch Friday evening were far different from the sides that slogged to a scoreless draw in mid-May.

Miami ran out five new starters, including recent acquisitions Gabriel Farfán, Michael Lahoud, Kwadwo Poku and Jonny Steele. Meanwhile, the hometown Hawks sported another goalkeeper in Brian Sylvestre, new USL loanee Mickey Daly off the bench, and couple of new forwards in mid-season pickup Matt Fondy and Omar Bravo, the Chivas de Gadalajara star making his official RailHawks debut.

While Friday’s result was the same, the circuitous route the teams took to arrive at the 3-3 draw was equally divergent. The match saw three equalizers, two lead changes and a debut goal for Bravo.

The teal and white visitors struck first. A simple cross from Jonathan Borrajo in the 7th minute flew past a cast of RailHawks before finding Miami forward Jamie Chavez charging into the goalmouth. Chavez’s chip cleared Sylvestre before clanging off the underside of the crossbar and across the goal line for a 1-0 lead.

Carolina evened matters in the 30th minute. A free kick off the left wing by Nazmi Albadawi pinged around the area before Fondy got a second touch on the Under Armour orb, nudging it across the goal line past prone Miami defender Rhett Bernstein, knotting the score at 1-1.

Injuries forced Carolina into two first-half substitutions. In the 25th minute, Matt Watson left with an injured hamstring, giving way to Daly, a center back from USL side Bethlehem Steel who just arrived in Cary this week. Daly slid in at center back and James Marcelin moved up to his natural midfield position.

In the 38th minute, Miami drew a foul that appeared to temporarily petrify the home defenders. Miami’s Richie Ryan pounced, chipping his free kick to Kwadwo Poku creeping past the somnolent RailHawks backline. Poku maneuvered around Sylvestre’s unsuccessful challenge, then converted the open goal to reclaim a 2-1 advantage.

With halftime approaching, team captain and leading assist man Nazmi Albadawi also left the match with a groin injury, with Austin da Luz subbing in to assume the armband.

Just as Carolina appeared adrift early in the second stanza, it suddenly conjured an equalizer in the 61st, when a cross from Tiyi Shipalane found Brian Shriver’s leaping head. His redirection cleared goalkeeper Daniel Vega’s reach to even the match at 2-2.

It was Carolina’s turn to grab its first lead in the 79th minute, when Shipalane centered to Bravo, who slotted his shot past Vega for a 3-2 score, triggering delirium in the grandstands.

“My teammate went to the end line and then crossed it back,” Bravo said. “I only thought about shooting on goal. We had already come back from behind, and I just wanted to score the winning goal.”

With 6,060 fans still in full throat, Carolina's storybook ending lasted a mere minute. Second-half sub Dario Cvitanich delivered a harmless, looping cross into the area that once again found Chavez charging past the RailHawks’ back line. Chavez settled the sphere and calmly converted to account for the 3-3 final margin.

For all the bluster and Bravo, the match ultimately revealed two teams tied for surrendering the most goals (22 each) in the NASL this year. Sylvestre faced four shots on target and saved only one. His counterpart Vega faced eight shots on frame and made five saves.

“I don’t think it was one of [Sylvestre’s] better performances,” said RailHawks manager Colin Clarke. “He’d be the first to admit that. But goal-wise, it wasn’t down to him. We’ve got to do better defensively picking up in the box. There are a couple of other [players] who let runners run free in our box, and that’s not good enough.”

Nevertheless, the post-game featured the odd spectacle of a home team exuding satisfaction over its comeback, and a road side ruing its lost leads.

“We didn’t do a good job with one-on-one situations in our box tonight, and it cost us,” Clarke said. “We always feel like we’re going to score goals with the additions of Fondy and now Omar. I was happy in a lot of ways, with our response and character from being 1-0 down and then 2-0 down, and getting back into it. We’ve got to learn from those moments when we fall asleep on free kicks, and straight after we score we have to be a little smarter.”

“I think we deserved to win,” said Miami manager Alessandro Nesta. “Every ball is our box became a problem for nothing. But the team is much better, and the level is going up. We had many chances to finish the game, but we didn’t score.”

Nesta said the solution to his season-long defensive woes is simpler.

“Our defensive problem is mental,” he said. “In the most important moments of the game when there’s more pressure, we need to have more confidence. We need personality.”

Nesta attributed the different performance of his team from two months ago to, well, different players.

“We changed six players—this a different team,” Nesta said. “This is our first year, and our first team was so-so for me. We have a very good owner who is spending good money to fix the roster. For me, we can compete to win the league. But we have to start to win.”

Meanwhile, the RailHawks’ frustrating home draw stood in stark contrast to the festive post-match atmosphere, with star-gazers clamoring for an autograph or just a sidelong smile from Bravo.

“It’s important to get to know your teammates,” Bravo said. “As the games come along, it’s going to start feeling better.”

The RailHawks (6-3-5, 21 pts.) next embark on a three-match road trip beginning Wednesday at the Ottawa Fury. Carolina returns to Cary Aug. 13 to host Puerto Rico FC.

BOX SCORE

LINEUPS

CAR: Sylvestre, Beckie, Marcelin, Mensing, Moses, Watson (Daly, 25’), Albadawi (da Luz, 43’), Shipalane (Orlando, 87’), Shriver, Fondy, Bravo

MIA: Vega, Farfán, Trafford (Adailton, 67’), Bernstein, Borrajo, Steele (B. Smith, 88’), Ryan, Lahoud, Poku, Chavez, Campos (Cvitanich, 67’)

GOALS

CAR: Fondy, 30’; Shriver, 61’ (Shipalane); Bravo, 79’ (Shipalane)

MIA: Chavez, 7’ (Borrajo); Poku, 38’ (Ryan); Chavez, 80’ (Cvitanich)

CAUTIONS

CAR: Marcelin, 58’; Beckie, 82’; Mensing, 84’

MIA: Trafford, 65’; Poku, 90’

EJECTIONS

CAR: ---

MIA: ---

ATTENDANCE: 6,060