Sebastien Le Toux powered the Seattle Sounders unbeaten streak to five matches with the only goal of Friday night’s nationally televised match against the Railhawks in Carolina.

Chris Eylander recorded his second consecutive road shutout behind the defensive trio of Noah Merl, Zach Scott and Jake Besagno.

The Railhawks pressed early forcing Eylander into an impressive save within the first two minutes of the match.

They continued pressure with Connally Endozien nearly adding to his impressive goal scoring run of four goals in two matches.

Josh Gardner had the Sounders early chance for Seattle when Le Toux found him alone in the 18 yard ox after showing of his speed by chasing down an early pass into the box.

Danny Jackson earned an uncharacteristic yellow card for a late challenge in the 21st minute when he slid into a late challenge against Stuart Bridgewell in the center circle.

Carolina forced Eylander into an acrobatics display in the 24th when Endozien latched onto an early cross and again nearly put the Railhawks ahead.

Le Toux picked up two quick shots afterwards and looked likely to get behind the Railhawks defense on the counter attack while they pushed forward looking for the goal.

In the 28th minute Nathan Knox went down with an apparent calf injury and had to be replaced by Kenji Treschuk.

The change pushed Roger Levesque into the forward line and saw Treschuk fill in on the right side of the midfield.

Moments later Danny Jackson opened the Railhawks defense with a header pushed over the top to streaking Le Toux. Le Toux drew the keeper to at the top of the 18 and deftly chipped the ball into the back of the net.

The 35th minute goal was Le Toux’s fourth goal of the season in the league and his third in two matches after scoring twice in the U.S Open Cup match against Banat Arsenal Tuesday night.

A timely offside flag from the referee’s assistant saved the Sounders from a Kapono Low laser that scorched into Aulander’s net just under the cross bar in the 43rd minute.

The Sounders took the lead into the break after trading scoring chances with the Railhawks through the closing minutes of the half.

Immediately after the restart, Levesque wasted a gift from the Carolina defense as a poor pass saw him go one on one with the keeper, only to be turned towards the corner flag far enough to allow the defense to recover.

Not two minutes later the Carolina defense again left an errant pass in a dangerous spot for Levesque, but his pass to Le Toux was flagged offside.

As the second half wore on the match started to take on the tough tome of the season’s first meeting between the two clubs. Joey Worthen and Kenji Treschuk exchanged not so pleasantries. Shortly thereafter, Santiago Fusilier of Carolina was booked for diving as he petitioned for a penalty kick on a Noah Merl challenge at the top of the 18 yard box.

Carolina head coach Scott Schweitzer rolled the dice in the 62nd, removing Endozien in favor of former Richmond Kicker and Colorado Rapid forward Chris Carrieri.

Levesque earned a yellow card in the 66th for a foul against Chad Dombrowski, who was the player responsible for the original challenge that eventually led to Eylander’s red card and two match suspension in the match on May 23rd.

Treschuk earned a yellow for in the 73rd that led to an increasingly rare Carolina shot that posed little problem for Eylander.

A minute later, Le Toux and Levesque worked a perfect set of passes into the offensive third only to see Le Toux’s open effort skim by the left hand post.

The Railhawks began to pour forward as the 80th minute approached, allowing the Sounders to release Le Toux repeatedly on the counter attack. His efforts were largely abandoned as Seattle struggled to make the transition into the offensive third, focusing instead on their defensive responsibilities and three more valuable points on the road.

Seattle survived a late onslaught from the Railhawks as the match came to an entertaining conclusion and Seattle’s unbeaten streak extended to five matches.

Next up for the Sounders is the first ever Co-ed Benefit match with the Crossfire Sounders Women at Issaquah High School at 4pm on Sunday June 17th. Tickets are $10 at the gate and all proceeds will go to the family of Marin Morrison, an inspirational swimmer from Eastlake High School who is battling a brain tumor.