CARY, N.C. – Despite falling 2-1 in Saturday’s regular-season finale, the RailHawks had reason to celebrate.

NASL Commissioner David Downs was on hand at WakeMed Soccer Park to present the RailHawks with the NASL Regular Season Championship Trophy in a post-match ceremony.

Captain Kupono Low received the trophy from Downs and proceeded to lead his teammates on a victory lap around the stadium.

For Low, it was a particularly memorable moment. He’s been with the club since its first season in 2007. He scored the first goal in club history, has been a Team MVP and Offensive Player of the Year, and he’s the club all-time leader in appearances, starts and minutes played.

“It means a lot because you know we’ve come a long way since the first year,” said Low, who ascended to the captaincy during the middle of the season. “It’s a very good feeling to win anything at any level. To win the championship and hold the trophy in front of a huge crowd – with an organization I’ve been with [for five years] that’s treated me well – it’s a good feeling. It’s something I won’t forget.”

And this season is one to remember.

At 17-3-8, the RailHawks finish the regular season with 54 points in the table, two clear of runner-up Puerto Rico. The 17 wins are a new club record, one of the more than 20 records that fell over the course of this landmark season. They also scored a club-record and NASL-best 50 goals, and their 0.92 goals against average was best the league.

The RailHawks ran roughshod through the league during the first half of the season, winning 10 straight and going unbeaten in 13 in a row. That superb form allowed them to run away from the rest of the league. Their lead atop the table grew as large as 16 points.

The 6,234 fans on hand Saturday was the third largest crowd in RailHawks history, and the largest since Sept. 1, 2007.

For Matt Watson, the second-longest tenured RailHawk, it was the first time he’d ever seen WakeMed Soccer Park packed. In his first season with the club, the RailHawks didn’t even qualify for the playoffs. Three years later, they’re going into the postseason as the No. 1 seed.

“We’ve improved every year since I came here,” Watson said. “This season has been our best in our history, obviously. It’s great that it’s finally happened. Going forward, hopefully we can win in the Playoffs.

And that’s where the focus shifts now. The RailHawks are Regular Season champions, but there are five other teams whose chances are just as strong as the RailHawks to win in the postseason.

“I want to raise a bigger trophy for the fans, for our organization,” Low said. “The guys feel the same way. We’re really eying that bigger trophy and winning the last four games of the season.”