ROCKINGHAM — Returning to Sandhills Athletic Conference play on Monday in a make-up game with Pinecrest High School, the Lady Raider soccer team lost 3-0.
Despite not finding the back of the net, the Lady Raiders played with much better effort, according to head coach Chris Larsen.
“We played much better than we have in previous games, we came out focused and ready to play,” Larsen explained. “This is the bar that needs to be set every night, and this is the level of play they have to have. And if we can do that every night, we’ll win a lot more games.
“The biggest thing tonight was the back line was focused and we cleared the ball when we felt pressure,” he added. “We did a better job of communicating. I know it’s a growing process, but the girls are starting to see the things they’ve been coached to do.”
Pinecrest scored two goals in the first half, coming in the 4th and 14th minutes. After the break, a goal in the 65th minute put the Lady Patriots (2-3-2, 1-0 SAC) up three goals.
Richmond finished the last 17:20 of the game a player down following a red card.
Richmond (3-5, 0-2 SAC) will look to re-enter the win column on the road at Hoke County High School (1-5-2, 0-1-2 SAC) on Tuesday. Varsity will start at 7 p.m.
JV Lady Raiders suffer first loss
Prior to the varsity game, the junior varsity Lady Raiders lost to Pinecrest 1-0.
The JV Lady Patriots scored the game’s only goal midway through the second half. Richmond had a chance to tie on penalty kick, but the shot was over the net.
“We played equal to them, and even played better than Pinecrest at times tonight,” head coach Bennie Howard said. “We had five shots to their one, we just couldn’t score.
“We’re a young team and I hope this is a learning experience. We’ll look to regroup tomorrow.”
The JV Lady Raiders (2-1, 0-1 SAC) will also play Hoke County on Tuesday, beginning at 5 p.m.
