CARY, N.C. – There’s no panic in this team.

Despite a 1-0 deficit after just eight minutes Wednesday against Ft. Lauderdale, the RailHawks answered with two goals of their own before the 30-minute mark and went on to a 4-2 win over the Strikers at WakeMed Soccer Park.

It was the second come-from-behind win of the season for the RailHawks (4-1-1), who extended their unbeaten streak to five matches and moved into sole possession of first place in the NASL.

“We just don’t panic,” said midfielder Floyd Franks, who had two assists on the night. “Most of the goals we give up are against the run of play or because of some stupid mistake we make. It’s all on us. So we know we’re the better team. The big thing would be not to have those early mistakes and just come out and command the game from the beginning.”

Though not a blueprint for continued success, the RailHawks are able to come back thanks to an attack that’s scoring goals in bunches.

Forward Pablo Campos returned to the starting 11 after sitting out Saturday’s game against Tampa Bay on a red-card suspension and scored two goals. Etienne Barbara ran his goal scoring streak to six matches with a 27th-minute penalty kick, and he had an assist. And Allan Russell opened is 2011 scoring account with a goal in stoppage time.

“At the moment, we’ve got just a big goal threat, and that was enough to carry us tonight,” said RailHawks coach Martin Rennie. “We could have passed the ball better and defended better, but ultimately, you can’t be too frustrated when you score four goals in one game and seven in the last two and win them both. I’m happy with that.”

Rennie surely wasn’t happy with going down a goal early though. Ft. Lauderdale solved the Carolina defense faster than any opponent in 2011. In the eighth minute, midfielder Brian Shriver played a ball into the area from the flank, and Patrick Otte shed his defender and hit a brilliant half-volley off the hop to the far post.

But the RailHawks didn’t trail for long.

In the 17th minute, Barbara ran down the ball in the corner and flung a seemingly harmless cross into the box. Campos ran on to it, outjumped his defender and headed it off the crossbar to even the match 1-1.

“When I got the ball on the line, I took a look and saw him there,” said Barbara, who now has a league-leading seven goals and 16 points. “I played the ball, and from there, it’s up to him. If Pablo wants the ball, he gets it. He did, and good for him.”

Ten minutes later, the RailHawks struck for the go-ahead goal. Barbara converted a penalty kick following a wild scrum in front of the goal. Campos carried the ball into the area and laid it off to Nick Zimmerman. Zimmerman took a shot that was saved by Strikers goalkeeper Nic Platter. Campos jumped on the rebound, and Platter saved that, too. As Barbara tried to punch it into the net, Platter pulled him down. Barbara stepped to the spot and rammed it past Platter, improving to 3-for-3 on spot kicks this season.

Campos got his second of the night in similar fashion to his first. Franks played a corner kick to the back post, and Campos headed it off the ground and into the net for his third goal of the season.

“It was a corner. Everybody’s looking at the ball, and my man forgot me at the post,” Campos said.

Ft. Lauderdale made it interesting when David Santamaria scored 1:55 into the two minutes of added time. But less than a minute later, as the Strikers threw numbers forward in search of the equalizer, Russell tucked in a goal on the counterattack to seal the win.

“They were pushing and they were going to be out of position, so it was good to be able to take that, especially after giving up a goal at the end and put a stamp back on the game,” Franks said.

The RailHawks will have little time to relish their third straight home win.

They’re back on the road for their third game in eight days on Saturday, when they head to Montreal to face the Impact with the hope of extending their unbeaten run to six matches.

Though Rennie cautioned at the beginning of the season to give this group time to come together, even he’s a bit surprised how quickly they’ve gotten out of the gate.

“Considering we didn’t have any players signed at the beginning of February, I think we’re doing pretty good,” Rennie said. “We’re ahead of probably where I thought we’d be, so that’s encouraging.”

CAROLINA 4, FT. LAUDERDALE 2

LINEUPS
FTL: GK Nic Platter, D Lance Lain, D Scott Gordon, D Aaron Hohlbein, D Martyn Lancaster (Christian Arrieta, 80th), M Tony Stahl, M Bryan Arguez, M Brian Shriver (David Santamaria, 65th), Yoximar Granado, F Patt Otte, Jean Phillippe Peguero (Mike Palacio, 72nd)
CAR: GK Brad Knighton, D Kupono Low, D John Krause, D Brad Rusin, D Devon McKenney, M Floyd Franks, M Matt Watson (Chris Nurse, 63rd), M Jonny Steele, F Nick Zimmerman, F Pablo Campos (Allan Russell, 86th), F Etienne Barbara (Brian Farber, 77th)

SCORING SUMMARY
FTL: Patrick Otte (Brian Shriver), 8th
CAR: Pablo Campos (Etienne Barbara), 17th
CAR: Etienne Barbara (PK), 27th
CAR: Pablo Campos (Floyd Franks), 60th
FTL: David Santamaria (Aaron Hohlbein), 90+
CAR: Allan Russell (Floyd Franks), 90+

CAUTIONS
FTL: Scott Gordon, 32nd; Jean Phillippe Peguero, 51st; Bryan Arguez, 58th; Tony Stahl, 71st
CAR: Devon McKenney, 13th; Kupono Low, 90th

SHOTS
FTL: 6
CAR: 14

FOULS
FTL: 11
CAR: 12

Attendance: 2,109