The Carolina RailHawks picked up a 2-1 victory in Saputo Stadium on Saturday, riding on the broad shoulders of league-leading goal scorer Etienne Barbara. With the victory, the RailHawks sit atop the North American Soccer League with a 5-1-1 record, their best start in club history.

With his two goals Saturday, Barbara has now scored in seven straight games, more than double the previous RailHawks record. With nine goals this season, Barbara has surpassed the club record of eight in a season, which he set last year.

"Etienne scoring nine goals in seven games is a club record and it is a huge accomplishment," said RailHawks head coach Martin Rennie. "He's off to a great start this season, and the team fought very hard today for a big win."

Barbara was in the mood early, striking in the eighth minute to put the RailHawks on top 1-0. After a successful buildup from the RailHawks midfield, Barbara received the ball from Floyd Franks and unleashed a volley that skimmed off an Impact defender and past Montreal Impact goalkeeper Evan Bush.

The RailHawks nearly widened the gap later in the first half, when Barbara spearheaded a RailHawks counterattack. Barbara's initial shot trickled to Zimmerman who played the ball just wide from an offside position. The RailHawks midfield and defense kept the Impact from gaining any sort of rhythm in the first half, entering the locker room with a 1-0 lead.

In the second half, Barbara picked up where he left off by putting the RailHawks on top 2-0 in the 51st minute. After receiving a ball from Jonny Steele, Barbara diced through the Impact defense and beat Bush again. The Impact made things interesting late in the game when Idriss Ech Chergui received a ball in the box from Simon Gatti and beat Knighton in the 80th minute, to make the score 2-1.

In the final 10 minutes, the RailHawks tightened up and controlled most of the possessions to close out the game.

The Carolina RailHawks return to WakeMed Soccer Park at 7 p.m. Saturday to take on the Puerto Rico Islanders in what is likely a battle for first place.