SOUTHERN PINES — Much like the first meeting, Thursday’s Sandhills Athletic Conference soccer match was a close battle.
The Richmond Raider soccer team closed its regular season on the road at Pinecrest High School.
Save for one miscue in the first half, the Raiders played a “quality match” in a 1-0 loss to the Patriots.
“We played a good game, and an unfortunate call in the box was the deciding factor,” head coach Chris Larsen said. “Like last time, (Pinecrest) had more of the dominant foot in the attacking third, but we were able to create some chances. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to put one in the back of the net.
“Even though we didn’t come out on the right side, our guys played well,” he continued. “It’s the best total game we’ve played in two or three weeks. The guys played tooth and nail to the bitter end.”
In an otherwise even first half, Pinecrest scored in the 30th minute. Following a hand ball in the box, Will Black made it 1-0 on a penalty kick. His shot went low and to the right of junior goalkeeper Adrian Padron, who dove left.
Richmond’s best chance to score came in the 35th minute. Senior James Eason put a header on frame off a free kick from fellow senior Jesus Castro.
The Raiders and Patriots finished the first half with five shots apiece. Eason had three to lead Richmond.
To start the second half, Eason and junior striker Noah Gil had a chance on goal in the 47th minute. A bouncing ball in the box saw both players converge, but the keeper fell on top of it to draw a whistle.
Junior outside midfielder Landon Summerlin had a pair of chances in a four-minute span. His first was a shot from 20 yards that was stopped and he just missed connecting on a volley from Castro on a back post run in the 56th minute.
Keeping the deficit at one goal, Padron made a save on Will Herold in the 70th minute, grabbing a low liner from 15 yards.
Padron followed that with a save on a shot by Harrison McMinimy two minutes later, which was an angled shot from the left side that trickled wide of the goal mouth.
Junior defender Daryan Mendez made one final crucial stop in the closing three minutes, using his body to stop and clear a dart from Eric Sabiston.
Larsen restructured his lineup in the final minutes of the game, trying to get more bodies forward on the offensive attack. While making several runs, Richmond wasn’t able to get any quality chances on goal.
“Now we’ll turn our focus to the conference tournament,” Larsen closed. “We’ve reached the point of ‘win or go home.’ We’re going to be a playoff bubble team, so the more wins we can add until decision day is going to be good for us.
“Hopefully we’ll get the opportunity to play two or three games next week and squeeze into the playoffs.”
Finishing the regular season in fifth place, the No. 5 Raiders (9-10-1, 5-6-1 SAC) will travel to No. 4 Hoke County High School (13-8-1, 6-6 SAC) for the first round of the SAC tournament on Monday.
In their two meetings this season, the Raiders have suffered a pair of losses and been outscored 6-1. Play will start at 6 p.m. in Raeford.
JV Raiders end season with loss
The Richmond junior varsity soccer team played its final match of the 2023 season on Thursday at Pinecrest.
Richmond fell 3-1 to the JV Patriots. Pinecrest scored twice to hold a 2-1 lead at halftime.
Scoring in the season finale for the JV Raiders was sophomore forward Dougie Dickinson, which gave the team a 1-0 lead.
“It wasn’t the outcome we wanted in our final game,” head coach Bennie Howard said. “We didn’t play our best game.
“But I’m proud of my team this season. We had nine wins against some good competition. There was growth from day one until the end. I’m looking forward to the girls’ season in the spring.”
Howard and the JV Raiders finished the 2023 season with a 9-5-4 overall record and a 5-4-2 mark against SAC opponents.
