End of Year Celebration at the RailHawks Game

The Challenge and Recreation teams closed their fall seasons this past Saturday with CASL friends, family and fun at the RailHawks game.

Players in the Fan Tunnel

Many players first had the opportunity to rev up the RailHawks in the fan tunnel before the game. Swoops – the Carolina RailHawks beloved mascot – also made an appearance on the field to mingle with the fan tunnel and get them ready for the player walk-out.

Kids were then dismissed to watch the chilly first half as the RailHawks took on the Fort Lauderdale Strikers. The game got off to a slow start, as neither team created any quality chances.

Half-time activity amped up the spectators as CASL athletes took to the pitch for a quick-paced and fun relay race around the field. Kids of all ages were jumbled into four teams of six and assigned a jersey color (red, white, orange or black) which acted as batons.

Each relay teammate was set up at either a corner flag or the half-field line for their baton pass until the last runner arrived back at the starting line. The red team edged out all other competitors in the last leg of the relay in a photo finish with the white team.

The race took all of two minutes, props to the CASL lightning-fast sprinters who showed up for the half-time fun.

Other teams who were there anxiously waited for their team picture to flash up on the big video board. As part of the celebration, teams were able to submit their team pictures to the RailHawks and be featured during the game!

The RailHawks and Strikers then reconvened to the field to finish off the game. The RailHawks went behind 0-1 mid-way through the second half, but answered with an amazing back-of-the-heel, trick-shot goal to tie it up 1-1 in the 82nd minute of play. With this result, the RailHawks remain in contention for a spot in the NASL playoffs.

Don't forget to get your $10 discounted CASL Tower tickets for the last Carolina RailHawks game of the season. Click here to buy your tickets! 

#GrowTheGame - CASL Fall Fundraiser

Many of you may have heard, but this year's Fall Raffle Fundraiser is underway. Special thanks to BlackFinn Ameripub, Class Act Maid Services, Nick Cerullo of Merrill Lynch, and SkyZone Indoor trampoline Park, we've already kickstarted our fundraising efforts through sponsor support. 

Click HERE to purchase your tickets online.

In previous years, we executed a traditional paper ticket raffle. This year, we are catching up with the times and moving to an entirely secure online raffle ticket system. This process should make it easier for anyone to share the link and purchase tickets to help us reach our fundraising objectives:

1. Increase CASL's Financial Aid program that distributes more than $50,000/year to qualifying players
2. Improve the fields and facilities at WRAL Soccer Park and all of our other used fields in the area 
3. Provide our 500 volunteer and seasonal coaches with resources and education to be successful 
4. Grow the game of soccer through outreach programs targeting diverse, underserved populations

The raffle will be live through December 4th. Every ticket purchased will have the chance to win one of many amazing prizes, many of which were generously donated by community supporters. The grand prize winner will have the choice of three trips: Jamaica, New York, or Disney World. Others of you could win a $250 Dick's Sporting Goods gift card, Harris Teeter Gift Cards, SOCCER.com gift cards, UNC Men's Basketball Tickets, a Sonicare Toothbrush, or even a Supreme Air Birthday Package from SkyZone. We keep adding prizes, so check our updated prize list back regularly. 

We are encouraging all Recreation, Challenge, CAYA, and Classic players to sell two tickets each. All ECNL players should strive to sell 5 tickets each, and Academy players should sell 10 tickets. 

Our goal is to raise $75,000 specifically to support the aforementioned areas of need. We launched the raffle about a week ago, and have started to make a dent in our fundraising goal. We still have a ways to go, but with your help, I believe we can achieve this goal. Please help us share the link or help us reach our goal by participating in this year's fundraiser.

We've already seen success stories of many of our players who have sent out the link to friends and family. Duncan Wegner, U14 Academy, sold more than 10 tickets in about 48 hours just by sending the link out. If you need any help, please reach out to me directly - katharine.kelley@CASLnc.com