FAYETTEVILLE — Looking for an offensive spark, the Richmond Raider soccer team found it Wednesday on the road at Seventy-First High School.
The Raiders and head coach Chris Larsen mercy-ruled the Falcons 9-0, using seven different goal scorers in the process.
Junior forward Luke Williams would tally his first career varsity hat trick, doubling his season total in goals to a team-leading six tallies.
Larsen said the surge of scoring was a boost to the team’s confidence, and it also gave him a chance to implement different players into a variety of situations and schemes.
“Tonight was more about getting guys some game experience because we were able to get an early lead,” Larsen explained. “We used tonight to practice what we’ve been working on against another team.
“I got to see everybody play, and that showed me what each player can do,” he added. “It was just as much about them getting experience as it was a chance for me to evaluate each player. This will help us in future games when the score is tight and we won’t drop off when we sub players in.”
Richmond tallied a season-high 23 shots, with Williams and senior River Meacham each putting four shots on frame. Senior Hector Castro, junior Justin McDougald and freshman Jesus Castro each notched three and junior Rolando Contreras had two.
Seniors Noah Aiken and Jaxon Mabe and juniors Cody Eason and Pedro Molina each recorded one shot.
The Raiders didn’t waste any time scoring, taking a 3-0 advantage in the opening seven minutes.
Williams scored his first goal in the second minute, Hector Castro followed with his first goal of the season in the fourth minute and Mabe launched a penalty kick in the net for his first tally of the campaign.
That was just half of the first-half scoring barrage by Richmond, which notched three more goals before the intermission. McDougald scored his first varsity goal in the 13th minute to make it 4-0, and Aiken found twine in the 34th minute for his third goal in the last five games.
Williams beat Seventy-First’s goalkeeper for his second mark with 43.7 seconds left in the opening 40 minutes.
ROSports File Photo: Luke Williams, pictured during a match against Hoke County, scored his first career varsity hat trick on Wednesday.
“Plenty of guys had an opportunity to score, and I was pleased with how we spread the ball around,” Larsen said. “We’re not a team that’s worried about one guy doing all the scoring, so this was a good morale booster for us.
“Moving forward, it gives us more options to get more guys minutes in games,” he added. “I’m hoping we can use this boost to get us a few wins before we start the gauntlet of beginning conference play again.”
The Raiders would take just 28 minutes into the second half to score the mercy-rule goal. Contreras, who rejoined the team this week after a foot injury, scored his first varsity goal in the 43rd minute.
Williams capped his hat trick with a strike in the 49th minute, and Meacham ended the game early when he scored on a volley from a corner kick. Larsen said that one got the biggest cheer from his teammates, who had been pulling for him to find the net.
Senior goalkeeper Jay Ammons was given the night off and junior goalie Ian Williams played the entire game in net and was credited with the shutout.
“Luke can run, and tonight he was put in the position on balls over the top that allowed him to use speed and create separation,” Larsen said. “Every goal builds confidence, and Luke is the premiere guy who plays as our standalone forward.
“Tonight was a good win for us and I hope we can take what we did and fine tune it to get ready for what’s ahead.”
With the loss, the Falcons fell to 0-6 on the season. Richmond improved to 3-2-1 and earned a win after a double-overtime draw in Monday’s game at Lumberton High School.
The Raiders will return to the pitch on Monday when they host rival Scotland High School (2-3). Richmond is currently in fourth place in the SAC standings. The game will begin at 7 p.m.
