A day after Carolina defender Mark Schulte was named to the second team, RailHawks forward Daniel Paladini was named to the USL First Division’s First Team on Wednesday.

“It’s an honor to be a part of the first team. It’s my first year in the USL, and I’m proud of that,” Paladini said. “But I’m more proud of being a part of this team. Without the guys around me, I never would have gotten this. So I give a lot of credit to my teammates.”

Paladini was the centerpiece of the RailHawks’ attack, which scored 43 goals in USL-1 play this season, third most in the league. He appeared in 28 matches and logged 2,049 minutes. His five goals were tied for second most on the team and his four assists tied for the team lead.

Paladini scored his first goal of the season on an 83rd-minute penalty kick in a 1-0 win over Austin on May 24. Five days later, he scored another game winner. His 90th-minute 30-yard free kick found the back of the net to deliver the RailHawks a 1-0 win over Cleveland. He also scored goals against Cleveland (Aug. 8), Miami (Aug. 26) and Montreal (Sept. 12).

“He was consistently one of our best players this season,” said Carolina coach Martin Rennie. “He contributed in a lot of different ways on and off the field. It’s well deserved. He had good statistics for goals and assists, and I think most managers and people would recognize he was one of the top players in the league this year.”

Schulte played in 28 of the RailHawks’ 30 USL-1 matches and logged a team-leading 2,500 minutes. He anchored the Carolina defense that posted a league-best 17 shutouts and a 0.63 goals against average, which was tied for the best mark in the USL-1.

“Soccer is such a team game, and we had a such a good team this year, so it’s flattering to be honored,” said Schulte, who was the USL-2 Defender of the Year his previous two seasons in Cleveland. “It’s kind of bittersweet because what matters is wining in the playoffs and we didn’t pull that off. I’m really excited about the award, but my main concern is I would have loved to bring a championship to the Triangle, and I’m sorry for our fans that we were unable to do that. But I’m thankful, and praise the Lord for keeping me healthy.”

Schulte also had one goal and one assist in 2009. He scored the season’s first goal against Minnesota in a 2-1 win on April 11 – and he assisted on Sallieu Bundu’s 69th-minute goal against Austin on Aug. 1.

Schulte helped the RailHawks post club records for wins (16), points (55), goals scored (43), goals allowed (19) and shutouts (17) and led them back into the USL-1 postseason for the first time since 2007.

“Congratulations to him,” said Carolina coach Martin Rennie. “He’s had a good season. He’s played more minutes than anyone else, and we’ve defended well. We lost very few goals this year and played great defense as a team. That’s been highlighted by him getting the award. It’s good for him and good for the team to have players honored.”

Despite finishing with the league's second-best record, the RailHawks' two selections were tied with three others for fourth-most in the USL-1, including just as many as eigth-place Minnesota.