Antoniuk: Carolina fine, although the record could be finer

Former Timber forward looks for victory against visiting Portland

By Steve Brandon

The Portland Tribune, Jun 26, 2008, Updated Oct 30, 2009 (1 Reader comment)

Former Portland Timber forward Dan Antoniuk (right) says he likes the city (Cary, N.C.) and home field of the Carolina RailHawks, who will play host to the Timbers on Friday night.

COURTESY OF CAROLINA RAILHAWKS

Dan Antoniuk, former Portland Timber forward, seems to like just about everything with the Carolina RailHawks except the team’s win-loss record.

And Carolina can do something about that on Friday, when it plays a home league game for the first time since May 28 — against the Timbers.

“The facilities here are unbelievable, and Cary (N.C.) is a very nice town,” says Antoniuk, who played for Atlanta last year. “It’s one of the nicest places to live for a family in the United States.”

The field at WakeMed Soccer Park is first-rate, too, he says.

“They just ripped up the field and put in a new pitch that was growing elsewhere,” he says. “They have to do that, because it’s Bermuda grass, and it dies every year or two.”

The surface had a part in Antoniuk’s decision to sign with Carolina instead of elsewhere, such as Portland.

“I’m done with artificial turf, to be honest with you,” says the 27-year-old from Philadelphia.

Even the new FieldTurf at PGE Park.

“I don’t want a home field that has (artificial) turf,” he says. “Portland was great; I really loved that place. If that field wasn’t turf, it would have been perfect, too.”

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