BURNABY, B.C. — Randy Edwini-Bonsu scored in the 77th minute and the Vancouver Whitecaps beat the Carolina RailHawks 1-0 Thursday in the first leg of a United Soccer Leagues First Division quarter-final.
Vancouver goaltender Jay Nolly started the winning play, finding Marlon James with a long ball forward. James flicked the ball with his head into the path of Edwini-Bonsu, who beat Carolina defender Jeremy Tolleson before sidestepping goalkeeper Caleb Patterson-Sewell and scoring his first career goal with the Whitecaps' men's team.
Edwini-Bonsu came on as a substitute for Charles Gbeke in the 57th minute.
Nolly made six saves for the Whitecaps to earn the shutout, including a stop on Carolina striker John Cunliffe's close-range shot in the 54th minute.
The seventh-ranked Whitecaps and the No. 2 RailHawks play the second leg of the quarter-final on Sunday at Cary, N.C.
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