Sounders take lead in playoffs

CARY, N.C. — Zach Scott and Andre Schmid tallied second-half goals to give the Seattle Sounders a 2-0 win over the Carolina Railhawks in the first game of their USL First Division opening-round playoff series Friday night.

Scott's goal came just after halftime; Schmid came into the match with less that 15 minutes to play and bashed through the Carolina defense to give the Sounders the two-goal cushion coming back to Seattle in the home-and-away aggregate-score series.

Kickoff at SAS Park was delayed more than 30 minutes because of heavy rain and thunderstorms. The field conditions took their toll early when Seattle's Sebastien Le Toux was unable to set up a quality strike at the top of the 18-yard box in standing water.

Seattle broke through just three minutes into the second half when Leighton O'Brien powered a long corner to the far post where Scott sent a looping header into the Carolina net.

At the 80-minute mark, as Carolina poured forward, Schmid launched a 45-yard run and slotted the ball past goalkeeper Chris Mclellen.

The teams play Game 2 at 6 p.m. Sunday at Qwest Field, with Seattle needing a win or one-goal loss to take the series. If Carolina wins by two, the teams would play two 15-minute overtime periods (and penalty kicks, if necessary) to break the aggregate tie.

Compiled from team reports.