RailHawks' Rennie moving to MLS, Vancouver

We've all had bosses that have said things like, "I'm glad when my employees get lured away by better offers. It means they were doing good work for us."

Well, in the case of the Carolina RailHawks, Coach Martin Rennie has definitely been doing good work. So good, in fact, that one of the worst-kept secrets in North American professional soccer was announced today when Rennie was introduced as the Vancouver Whitecaps' coach. (He'll begin there next year and finish out the season in Carolina.)

“It’s an exciting opportunity to coach in Major League Soccer,” said RailHawks Head Coach Martin Rennie. “It is difficult to leave after three great years in Carolina. I have had the opportunity to work with excellent people and enjoyed my time becoming part of the community. Great strides have been made and there is a strong foundation in place for the next coach to come in and be successful.”

With the RailHawks, Rennie has 52 wins, 26 ties and 22 losses in all competitions since taking over the team in 2009. His RailHawks teams have been marked by prolific offenses and air-tight defenses. The RailHawks have scored 127 goals in 79 matches under Rennie, while posting 31 shutouts and a cumulative 0.85 goals against average. This season, the team’s 40 goals scored are tied for the most in all of U.S. professional soccer. Last year, their 44 goals were tied for the third most in the nation.

The RailHawks are in the midst of their best season under Rennie. They’ve compiled a 14-2-3 record and lead the NASL by 12 points with nine games remaining in the regular season. They have already qualified for the playoffs. After falling in their season opener, the RailHawks went unbeaten over their next 13 matches (12-0-1), which also included a 10-match winning streak.