ROCKINGHAM — Riding a wave of momentum from the night before, the Richmond Raider soccer team closed an exciting 24-hour period with its first conference win of the fall on Thursday.
Battling on back-to-back nights after drawing even with Pinecrest High School on Wednesday, the Raiders set the tone early against visiting Southern Lee High School.
Using a trio of goals in the first half and a total of three goal scorers in the game, Richmond picked up a convincing 4-2 victory over the Cavaliers.
A game that saw physical play throughout, including multiple red and yellow cards issued to both teams, the Raiders relied on two early tallies from senior center midfielder Jesus Castro.
Junior center midfielder Gonzalo Morales also scored in the opening 40 minutes, while senior James Eason added an insurance goal late.
The scoring went back-and-forth early, with Castro breaking the scoreless tie in the 12th minute. Dialing in his range, Castro launched a shot from the center of the field from 40 yards that bent to the right and arched into the net.
Leading 1-0, Richmond would allow a goal two minutes later. After a miscommunication in the back, Krystian Maciejewski split two defenders and sent a low shot past junior goalkeeper Adrian Padron to knot the score.
Castro would find twine again, this time in the 25th minute. As a result of a Cavaliers’ foul, Castro took a free kick just outside the 18-yard box and launched a missile into the upper right 90 for his fourth goal of the season.
Just four minutes later, Southern Lee (3-3, 1-1 SAC) was whistled for a high kick in the box, leading to a penalty kick.
Getting the call was Morales, who booted the ball high and to the keeper’s left to make it 3-1 in the 29th minute. It was his first goal of the campaign.
That score would hold until halftime. The Cavaliers opened the final 40 minutes of play by cutting their deficit to one goal thanks to a strike on a free kick by Angel Terrones.
Richmond continued to dominate possession for the remainder of the game, as head coach Chris Larsen made several position changes and substitutions.
Eason was in the right place at the right time to capitalize on his team-leading fifth goal of the year.
Junior forward Noah Gil started a run down the middle of the field and shot the ball, which was deflected near the top of the box. Gaining possession was junior outside midfielder Landon Summerlin, who ripped a shot on frame.
Summerlin’s attempt was redirected, but there to scoop up the loose change was Eason from a few yards out.
One final push from the Cavaliers saw Padron make an athletic stop on a shot by Maciejewski in the 72nd minute.
Richmond (3-2-1, 1-0-1 SAC) closed up its fourth week of play and will return to the pitch for a pair of away conference matches next week. Up first will be a crucial meeting at Hoke County High School (7-2, 1-1 SAC) on Monday at 7 p.m.
JV Raiders also notch first SAC win
A come-from-behind effort by the Richmond junior varsity boys’ soccer team resulted in a win on Thursday.
Also hosting Southern Lee, the JV Raiders scored three unanswered goals to collect a 3-1 win.
After a scoreless first half, Richmond fell behind by a goal six minutes into the second half. That changed when head coach Bennie Howard made some changes to his lineup.
Dougie Dickinson was moved from his usual defensive role to the attack, which resulted in a pair of goals for the sophomore. His second tally came in the final 10 minutes of play.
Padding the lead in the closing minutes was sophomore Cayden Gillenwater, who scored from the right side.
“I’m proud of the way the boys played, especially on back-to-back nights,” Howard said. “We had some tired legs but they fought through it and toughed it out for the win.
“Robert Ammons and Camden Williams each played a half in goal and were outstanding tonight,” he added.
The JV Raiders (2-1-2, 1-0-1 SAC) are also set to travel to Hoke County on Monday and start at 5 p.m.
