Last year, Raleigh-native Steven Curfman gave consideration to signing with the Carolina RailHawks.

But he harbored dreams of playing in Major League Soccer, and after Real Salt Lake selected him 30th in the 2007 MLS SuperDraft, he had to give it a shot.

But things didn’t work out with RSL, and Curfman decided to return home to play for the RailHawks in 2008.

“I had always wanted to try MLS and try that route,” Curfman said. “Things just didn’t work out with Real Salt Lake. They brought me back here and I couldn’t be happier.”

Curfman is a versatile player capable of playing anywhere on the field. He’s also a free kick specialist, addressing an area in which the RailHawks were not particularly strong in a year ago.

He is most comfortable playing on either flank, where he’ll likely be best utilized by serving balls into the box. Curfman will have two big targets to aim for in 6-foot-4 forward Jacob Coggins and 6-foot-3 forward Daniel Antoniuk, both of whom also signed with the RailHawks this offseason.

Coggins is a two-time USL-2 MVP, and he led the league in goals and points in three of the last four years. Antoniuk led USL-1 in scoring last year, with seven goals and nine assists. Knowing they will be at the receiving end of the his crosses has Curfman eagerly awaiting training camp, which begins Monday.

“You can serve a great ball and have people who do nothing with it. That doesn’t help your team,” Curfman said. “To see the guys they brought in, to have players like that, it just gives you more confidence. You to put it in there, they’re going to put it away.”

Curfman attended Athens Drive High for two years before moving to Bradenton, Fla., where he was in residency with the U.S. U-17 national team. In 2003, he was a part of the team that was a quarterfinalist at the FIFA World Youth Championship in Finland.

Curfman went on to play at Wake Forest, where he finished his collegiate career with 15 goals and 21 assists in 81 appearances. As a senior in 2006, he helped the Demon Deacons reach the NCAA College Cup.

Curfman is the fourth free agent signed by the RailHawks during the offseason. Like the previous three, he should play a role in beefing up what was a less-than-stellar attack for Carolina in 2007, when the RailHawks ranked 11th in scoring in USL-1.

In addition to Coggins and Antoniuk, Carolina also added attacking midfielder Matt Watson, who was voted MVP of the Richmond Kickers by his teammates after scoring nine goals in 23 games last season.

“Steven is a fantastic player,” Carolina coach Scott Schweitzer said in a statement. “His versatility allows him to play different positions and we will be looking to utilize him on the outside flanks to help drive the ball in. It’s great to add a local talent as another piece to our puzzle.”

Worthen resigns

Midfielder Joey Worthen resigned with the RailHawks last week.

“I am very excited to rejoin the Carolina RailHawks this season,” Worthen said in a statement released by the club. “I look forward to continue what we started to build last season.”

Worthen appeared in 22 USL-1 matches, registering three goals and one assist, in 2007. He also played in the RailHawks’ four U.S. Open Cup matches and scored one goal.