During the course of the last few years, Thori Staples Bryan started getting the itch to play soccer again.

She hadn’t played professionally since 2004 and playing in a co-ed indoor league made her feel that she could still play at a high level.

But she didn’t have anywhere to go.

The WUSA ceased operations almost five years ago, and the W-League teams nearest her Wake Forest home, in Greensboro, Charlotte and Richmond, Va., were not feasible options.

Then the Carolina RailHawks announced last fall that they would field a women’s team in 2008.

“I thought that might work,” Bryan said. “Then I started seriously considering it.”

When Jay Howell and Monica Hall started talking about the RailHawks’ roster, Hall, who played with Bryan at N.C. State, mentioned that Bryan was in the area and maybe she would like to play.

Sure enough, she did.

“I guess everything came together at the right time,” Bryan said.

Bryan, 34, brings a wealth of experience to the RailHawks, which is made up mostly of college players. She was a three-time All-American at N.C. State, she played in the WUSA during its three-season existence and she was a part of the U.S. National Team player pool for 10 years.

“She has a presence as an athlete,” said Howell, the team’s head coach. “Because of her experience and maturity, I think she automatically has created a leadership role for herself. She’s very vocal and very positive. She brings a different maturity level to the team. There’s nothing like bringing a professional-type player into an amateur environment.”

In camp and on the field, Bryan has made an immediate impact. She scored the team’s first-ever goal on Saturday when the RailHawks beat the Carolina Dynamo 2-0 in Greensboro in their first game. She will lead the team into its home opener at WakeMed Soccer Park on Friday against the Atlanta Silverbacks.

The entire complement of players has yet to arrive in Cary and Bryan said she didn’t know much about the W-League. But she is confident the RailHawks will have a fine debut season, and she’s hoping they can replicate some of the success she enjoyed during her last stint in the W-League.

Bryan played for the Raleigh Wings from 1998-2000. The team went 44-2-1 in three seasons and appeared in the championship game all three years and won the title twice.

The Wings folded when the WUSA launched. Bryan was selected by the San Jose CyberRays as the eighth pick in the player allocation draft and was the only American-born player chosen the first round. She played in San Jose during the league’s three-season run from 2001-2003. She helped the CyberRays win the first league championship in 2001, and she was one of only four players in the league to play every minute of the first two seasons.

Not long after the WUSA folded, Bryan’s international career also came to an end. From 1993-2003, she earned 64 caps for the U.S. She was a member of the third-place team at the 1995 World Cup in Sweden, playing in four matches with two starts. She helped the U.S. win the Olympic qualifying tournament in 1996, and she was an alternate on the Olympic roster.

Though she’s been away from the game for a few years, Bryan’s shown she has no problem hanging with teammates more than 10 years younger.

“She’s holding up really well,” said Betsy Frederick, who Howell expects will play alongside Bryan in the central defense. “She’s doing just as well, if not better. When you’re out at practice, people who know the game can tell.”

Bryan doesn’t know how long she will play for the RailHawks, but for now, she’s just happy to be playing at a high level again.

“Just getting back training, touching the ball, it’s been really fun for me,” she said.