The Carolina Railhawks hosted a second-round game in the US Open Cup tournament Tuesday, taking on the Wilmington Hammerheads from the USL-2 Division.

The Railhawks are in the midst of a tough stretch playing 5 games in 11 days, and were hoping to rebound after a loss Sunday to Minnesota.

Chris Bagley scored for Wilmington in the first half, and Hamed Diallo answered for Carolina a short time later; the score would stay tied at one for a long while.

The Hammerheads finally took it 4-3, but not until they'd played two overtime periods and penalty kicks.

That loss kills any hope for Carolina of winning the US Open Cup.

Up until now, the Railhawks had had the best season in the club's history; for players and fans, it's been a fun ride.

The weather wasn't exactly ideal Tuesday night, but it didn't keep hundreds of fans from turning out.

"Rain or shine, gotta watch 'em play," said Donnie Norris. "They play in the rain, so I'm gonna watch them."

Over the last three seasons, these fans have gotten just a little bit rowdier.

"We have the drums, we sing, we dance, we chant -- the whole game through," said Bart Barker. "Never sit down."

As the enthusiasm has ramped up, players have noticed from the pitch.

"You can see it building," said Defenseman Caleb Norkus. "But we hope that it just takes off here."

"Towards the beginning of the season there was not too many fans," said Kaan Peksenar, who watched the game with his parents and little brother. "But now there's probably a lot more."

The Railhawks fast start is one of the big reasons; in a sports market that's been focused on the Tarheels' NCAA Tournament title and the Hurricanes' playoff run, the Railhawks had quietly churned out win after win.

"If you do well, people will want to watch it," said head coach Martin Rennie. "I think the Hurricanes are a good example of that. Look how many people want to go and watch the Hurricanes because they do well. And you know, initially they didn't get those crowds."

Now, though, the Railhawks are hoping for a little change in momentum to regain some of the swagger they had at the beginning of the season.

"We've got a bunch of great players," said team captain Mark Schulte. "And I feel like we play a brand of soccer that's entertaining to a lot of people."

Carolina gets a couple days off before heading to Texas, where they'll try and snap this two game losing streak against Austin.

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