There’s something about the Charleston Battery that brings out the best in the Carolina RailHawks and forward Connally Edozien.

Edozien scored the game’s only goal in Saturday’s 1-0 win over the Battery at WakeMed Soccer Park, where 5,102 were on hand for the RailHawks’ home opener. It was the RailHawks’ fourth win in as many all-time meetings with Charleston, and Edozien scored for the fourth time against the Southern Derby rival.

“You never know why you’re able to beat a team or why you have a team’s number,” said Carolina coach Scott Schweitzer. “They’re a much better team than they were last year, and they’re a much better team than they’ve been in a few years. … It’s just always good to win at home. It’s a big three points. We needed it.”

After a stodgy first 25 minutes, when the RailHawks (1-0-1) mostly played long balls out of the back and up to the forwards to no avail, they started to build the attack out of the midfield and get pressure on the Battery (0-1-2) defense.

That pressure paid off almost immediately.

In the 27th minute, Martin Nuñez sent a cross to the back post. Forward Dan Antoniuk climbed the ladder and headed it back toward the center of the six-yard box and Edozien knocked it in. But before he could celebrate, the goal was taken out of the net. The ball had crossed the endline before Antoniuk got his head on it, and the play was dead.

A minute later, Carolina kept possession after a free kick. Frankie Sanfilippo found the ball on his foot on the right flank. He sent in a cross to the back post that found Mauricio Segovia, whose half-volley zoomed just high of the frame.

Two minutes later, Edozien missed wide left from 10 yards after a nifty one-two between Nuñez and Antoniuk gave Edozien the scoring chance.

In the 32nd minute, Edozien atoned for that miss.

He received a pass near the penalty spot from Kupono Low. He found space to turn and took a few touches to his right before blasting his first goal of 2008 into the upper right-hand corner of the net.

“There’s huge, huge pressure on me to score,” said Edozien, the team’s leading goal scorer in 2007. “Last year, I had the hat trick against Charleston. So maybe it has something to do with that. I’m really happy and surprised to score a goal like that, because I dribbled through four people and found the back of the net.”

Low and Edozien nearly hooked up again in the 37th minute but Low’s service was just a few inches off and Edozien wasn’t able to put anything on the toepoke toward goal.

Carolina’s chances were scant in the second half.

In the 60th minute, the RailHawks gained a man-advantage when Charleston’s John Wilson was red-carded for a tackle on Nuñez.

Despite being a man down for the final half hour, the Battery dictated the game and pushed forward for the equalizer. Carolina was able to withstand the pressure and protect the lead, something it failed to do in its season-opening draw in Atlanta.

“You’re up 1-0 and your first thought is protect the lead,” said Carolina goalkeeper Chris McClellan, who has not allowed a goal in 360 minutes against Charleston. “You fall into a shell. We didn’t get broken down, fortunately. I thought we held our own.”

McClellan had four saves, none bigger than in the 25th minute, to earn his first shutout of the season. In the 25th minute, he came out to snag a cross but mishandled it. The rebound popped out to Charleston forward Randi Patterson, whose shot went right at McClellan, who kicked it away to keep the match scoreless.

Schweitzer is hoping that protecting the lead and coming away with three points Saturday is a sign of things to come and a contrast to what would have happened in a similar situation a year ago.

“Last year, we probably lose that game,” Schweitzer said. “We weren’t real good at figuring out how to close games out. That’s just the way our year went. This year, we closed it out. It’s an accomplishment for the boys, a huge morale builder.”