Story courtesy of Carolina RailHawks

CARY, N.C. - Early last week, as the RailHawks began preparations for the Saturday’s season opener against Puerto Rico, Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) senior Cory Miller’s weekend plans were that of any other average college student - until he got a call from Martin Rennie.

"Martin called me Monday unexpectedly," Miller said. "I was sitting there at class. He asked, ‘What’s your schedule like? Could you come down and play?’ I told him I’d open things up to do that. You don’t turn down something like that. He didn’t say I was going to play or anything and I wasn’t expecting to play. I was there in case. Once I knew I was starting, I was in shock."

Miller has signed with the RailHawks for the 2011 season, but he didn’t not plan on joining the team full time until the end of April, when he will have finished his degree in athletic training, with a minor in exercise science, at Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) in Bourbonnais, Ill.

But Rennie was shorthanded in central defense due to injuries and the red card suspension of captain Brad Rusin. So Miller shuffled his schedule and returned to Cary to train with the club. On Saturday night, he made his professional debut against the reigning league champions and was solid in the RailHawks’ 2-1 defeat.

In addition to warding off the Islanders’ attack, Miller got forward near the end of the first half, getting his head on a 44th-minute corner kick. But the ball went wide of the goal.

"He played really well for us," Rennie said. "He hasn’t really been training with us yet. He came in for that game, and he retained all that we worked on in training and he performed rather well. He can be an excellent player. He has loads of potential."

Miller was recommended to Rennie by former Carolina defender Daniel Woolard, who joined the team late last season, partially on the recommendation of Floyd Franks (Woolard and Franks were teammates with the Chicago Fire). Woolard was outstanding down the stretch for the RailHawks and parlayed his performance into an MLS contract with D.C. United. Miller and Woolard played a handful of games next to each other last summer in the PDL, with the Dallas-Fort Worth Tornados.

Rennie tried to retain Woolard for 2011. When he signed with D.C., Rennie asked Woolard to let him know of any players that might be worth looking at. Woolard suggested Miller.

Miller was invited to try out with the Portland Timbers last winter. Though that didn’t work out, he got a call from Rennie shortly thereafter. He arrived in Cary on March 5 and was in action that night for the RailHawks, when they defeated Wake Forest 2-0 during the preseason.

"I came in not expecting anything," Miller said. "Speaking with Martin, I thought I had a good shot. I felt comfortable with him and what the team was looking like. I was at ease. I came in and played against Wake Forest without being there more than 10 hours. There was no time for nerves."

The timing of Saturday’s season opener and the RailHawks’ need for Miller’s availability couldn’t have worked out better. In conjunction with his coursework, Miller is also the student trainer for ONU’s softball team. Last weekend, they had an away trip, meaning he had the weekend free.

But Miller didn’t get to bask in the glow of his soccer debut for long. Seven hours after leaving WakeMed Soccer Park Saturday night, he was on a plane back to Illinois. By Monday morning, he was back in class.

"It was a whirlwind," said Miller, who will join the team full time on April 21. "It was definitely the best experience of my life to play pro soccer. It’s still sinking in. It’s difficult when I’m graduating and my dream is coming true. Both of them are trumping each other and I don’t how to process either. It’s a huge blessing. I didn’t know if it didn’t work out with soccer what direction I was going to take. So now I want to take it for all it’s worth."