That he is the first RailHawk to have scored in four straight games is no big deal to Etienne Barbara.
That he is tied as the leading goal scorer in the NASL is no reason to raise a fuss either.
That he is one goal shy of tying for the RailHawks all-time goal scoring lead – in nearly half the time it took anyone else to set that record?
“That’s very good, actually,” Barbara said. “To be in RailHawks history is good. I’ll try my best in the next game.”
The next game is Saturday in St. Petersburg, Fla., where the RailHawks will face FC Tampa Bay at Al Lang Stadium. If Barbara bags his next goal on Saturday, or on May 11 when the RailHawks return to WakeMed Soccer Park to face Ft. Lauderdale or whenever for that matter, he’ll have 13 in his RailHawks’ account.
That total will have him tied with Conally Edozien and Daniel Paladini for the club’s all-time lead. Edozien scored 13 goals in 50 matches in 2007-08, and Paladini did the same over 68 appearances in 2009-10.
Barbara stands at 12 goals in just 33 appearances for the RailHawks.
Despite nagging injuries throughout the 2010 season, Barbara still scored eight goals – a single-season club record – in just 1,546 minutes over 29 matches (including the postseason).
Barbara spent much of the offseason in his native Malta and utilized the winter to recuperate from his first season in the United States. With a fitness regimen from Dr. Mike Young, the RailHawks' strength and conditioning coordinator, Barbara focused on having his fitness peak as the 2011 season got underway. He also spent some time on loan at Sliema Wanderers in Malta, and he scored two goals.
“I was much more beaten up last season. I was always in contact with Mike, and he was giving me some sort of program to keep my fitness up. I was working on it at home and I was playing on the weekends. I feel much, much fitter now.” Barbara said.
And it didn’t take long for Barbara to put that on display.
Less than 24 hours after his 15-hour sojourn from Malta to the Triangle, Barbara checked into the RailHawks’ April 9 season opener in the 79th minute. Seven minutes later, he drew a foul in Puerto Rico’s penalty area, then converted the spot kick.
A week later, eight minutes after the RailHawks found themselves in a 1-0 hole against Montreal, Barbara found the net again after some clever individual work to squeeze off the shot and a fortuitous bounce to see it into the net.
Four days later, against Edmonton, Barbara was wide open on the back post and easily tucked in a rebound for his third goal in as many games.
On Saturday in Minnesota, he had no trouble converting another penalty kick to give the RailHawks a 1-0 lead in the 58th minute.
“If he can keep consistently scoring goals, he’s going to make a name for himself,” said RailHawks coach Martin Rennie. “Last season, he had troubles with injuries and wasn’t able to play as much. But if he can be on the field, he can consistently score goals.”
Though he might shy from the attention, Barbara knows it comes with the territory.
“Offensive players normally get in the limelight if they score goals,” he said. “The more goals you score, the more your name gets into the limelight.”
If he keeps up this goal-a-game pace, the limelight will only get brighter.
That he is the first RailHawk to have scored in four straight games is no big deal to Etienne Barbara.
That he is tied as the leading goal scorer in the NASL is no reason to raise a fuss either.
That he is one goal shy of tying for the RailHawks all-time goal scoring lead – in nearly half the time it took anyone else to set that record?
“That’s very good, actually,” Barbara said. “To be in RailHawks history is good. I’ll try my best in the next game.”
The next game is Saturday in St. Petersburg, Fla., where the RailHawks will face FC Tampa Bay at Al Lang Stadium. If Barbara bags his next goal on Saturday, or on May 11 when the RailHawks return to WakeMed Soccer Park to face Ft. Lauderdale or whenever for that matter, he’ll have 13 in his RailHawks’ account.
That total will have him tied with Conally Edozien and Daniel Paladini for the club’s all-time lead. Edozien scored 13 goals in 50 matches in 2007-08, and Paladini did the same over 68 appearances in 2009-10.
Barbara stands at 12 goals in just 33 appearances for the RailHawks.
Despite nagging injuries throughout the 2010 season, Barbara still scored eight goals – a single-season club record – in just 1,546 minutes over 29 matches (including the postseason).
Barbara spent much of the offseason in his native Malta and utilized the winter to recuperate from his first season in the United States. With a fitness regimen from Dr. Mike Young, the RailHawks’ strength and conditioning coordinator, Barbara focused on having his fitness peak as the 2011 season got underway. He also spent some time on loan at Sliema Wanderers in Malta, and he scored two goals.
“I was much more beaten up last season. I was always in contact with Mike, and he was giving me some sort of program to keep my fitness up. I was working on it at home and I was playing on the weekends. I feel much, much fitter now.” Barbara said.
And it didn’t take long for Barbara to put that on display.
Less than 24 hours after his 15-hour sojourn from Malta to the Triangle, Barbara checked into the RailHawks’ April 9 season opener in the 79th minute. Seven minutes later, he drew a foul in Puerto Rico’s penalty area, then converted the spot kick.
A week later, eight minutes after the RailHawks found themselves in a 1-0 hole against Montreal, Barbara found the net again after some clever individual work to squeeze off the shot and a fortuitous bounce to see it into the net.
Four days later, against Edmonton, Barbara was wide open on the back post and easily tucked in a rebound for his third goal in as many games.
On Saturday in Minnesota, he had no trouble converting another penalty kick to give the RailHawks a 1-0 lead in the 58th minute.
“If he can keep consistently scoring goals, he’s going to make a name for himself,” said RailHawks coach Martin Rennie. “Last season, he had troubles with injuries and wasn’t able to play as much. But if he can be on the field, he can consistently score goals.”
Though he might shy from the attention, Barbara knows it comes with the territory.
“Offensive players normally get in the limelight if they score goals,” he said. “The more goals you score, the more your name gets into the limelight.”
If he keeps up this goal-a-game pace, the limelight will only get brighter.
