ROCKINGHAM – Evan Hudson, a senior on the Richmond Senior High School soccer team, has been named the seventh Official Richmond County Male Athlete of the Week for the 2018 fall sports season.
With all but Richmond’s football program still in action this fall, Hudson will be one of two featured Official Richmond County Male Athletes of the Week. Hudson and the Raider soccer team saw their season come to an end last Friday in the first round of the 4A state playoffs, but his performance in the games leading up to the playoff match at Ardrey Kell High School helped him earn his first career selection.
Athletic Profile
Age: 17
Birthday: June 6, 2001
Year: Senior
Fall Sport: Soccer
Position: Center Back
Years on Varsity: 2.5 Years
Height & Weight: 5-11, 150-pounds
Experience: 13 years
“KICKING IT AROUND” WITH EVAN HUDSON
RSHS Academics: The first nine-week grading period just ended at Richmond, and that puts Hudson halfway through his first semester of his senior year. He’s enrolled in the Advanced Placement and Richmond Community College cluster, and is taking six classes this fall, working just as hard in the classroom as he does on the soccer field.
At RichmondCC, he’s taking Art Appreciation, English 111, History 132 and Math 172, while he’s taking English IV Honors and Weight Training Honors at the high school. Hudson makes the A Honor Roll and carries a 4.4 GPA, which puts him in the top 35 of the graduating class of 2019.
“I like taking college courses while I’m still in high school because it helps boost my GPA,” Hudson explained. “And they help me get ready for the college classroom. My favorite class this fall is Ms. Covington’s English IV Honors class because a lot of my friends are in there and we work on a lot of group activities.”
Around campus, Hudson is a member of the National Beta Club (since ninth grade), the National Honor Society (since 11th grade), the Bleacher Creatures student section, and was named “Mr. School Spirit” along with fellow senior and Miss School Spirit Savannah Lampley last month.
RSHS Sports: Like many of the Official Richmond County Athletes of the Week, Hudson is a multi-sport athlete for the Raiders. He’s been a member of the soccer and baseball programs since his freshman year, and picked up bowling when Richmond began the program last year.
Hudson played junior varsity soccer and baseball his first two seasons, before getting the call to the varsity levels last year. With soccer, he made the jump to varsity during the 2016 playoffs, and earned an all-conference selection as a junior. Hudson is an outfielder and a pitcher for Ricky Young’s baseball team, and he was a part of the Raiders’ 12-game winning streak last spring.
“Playing three sports gives me something to do all the time, and I never get bored,” Hudson explained as he begins bowling tryouts. “I hope to play club soccer in college.”
College Aspirations: Speaking of college, Hudson is in the midst of applying to several universities across the Carolinas. Currently, his top three choices are Campbell University, Coastal Carolina University and the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. He’s already been accepted to the first two, and will hear back from UNCW around the new year. Another possibility is East Carolina University.
“I want to study marine biology and marine science,” Hudson expressed of his hopeful course of study. “I’m not sure yet which career field I’ll go into, but I may want to work with sea animals. It’s an interesting field and it’s really interactive.”
Evan Hudson (20) defends Shane Riehl during the playoff game last Friday.
Athlete of the Week Stats: As a center back, Hudson’s primary role this season was to help be a wall of defense in front of senior goalkeeper Jackson Haley. Flanked by teammates Nolan Allen, Drew Davis and Lee Hayden, Hudson’s efforts during the rigorous 22-game season didn’t go unnoticed by first-year head coach Chris Larsen, especially during the team’s seven-game winning streak.
While Hudson may not have padded the stat sheet with goals, he did finish his senior campaign with three scores. Hudson was much more beneficial to the team through his defensive play, clearing balls out of the back and setting up long passes to start scoring rushes. He had several big time blocks in net when Haley needed an extra body, including key saves against Pinecrest and Ardrey Kell high schools.
“It was a good year,” Hudson said. “As a team, we were productive, and we improved from last year. Beating Hoke County in penalties, beating Lee County 2-1 and my header save against Ardrey Kell were some of my favorite moments.”
RAPID FIRE – FAST RESPONSES
1) What’s been your favorite part of your career as a Richmond soccer player the last four years?
“My favorite part was being able to joke around with the coaches and my teammates, but still be able to get things done at the same time,” Hudson said. “We all had really good relationships.”
2) What’s a funny team story that you tell people from your senior season?
“The team would always get Nolan (Allen) so fired up before games that he’d go out there and play tough,” Hudson laugh. “We’d make annoying voices and sounds to get him going — we were always joking around as a team.”
3) Who is someone who has impacted your life positively such as a mentor, teacher or coach?
“Coach (Chris) Larsen because I’ve been with him all four years playing soccer at Richmond,” Hudson explained. “He’s helped me become a better player and helped me become a leader on the team.”
4) If you could play professional soccer for any team, which would it be and why?
“I’d want to play for Arsenal,” Hudson said of the London-based Premier League team. “They’re my favorite team and I’ve been a fan of them forever.”
5) Name an interesting fact about yourself that many people may not know about you.
“I go to Cookout every day after third block for lunch before I go to RCC,” he said. “I don’t know how long the streak is, but I’ve been going for a while. I get the same thing every day — a big double burger with ketchup, cheese and bacon.”
Coach’s Corner: Larsen has been with Hudson his whole playing career, coaching him for two years on junior varsity, and working with the varsity team the past two years. Prior to the season beginning, Larsen noted he wanted Hudson to fulfill a leadership role, which he said his senior player accomplished this year.
“Evan was the last line of defense this year, and when all else failed he was always there to help us,” Larsen commented. “He’d knock the ball out and occasionally with his height, he’d go up for a corner. He covered a lot of ground, and his stats don’t show what he does night in and night out. In the playoff game, he filled Jackson’s spot with a really nice header, and he saved us so many goals this season. He’s a great defensive player — his name might not be in the paper for goals, but if you watch, you’d see how big of a role he plays.
“We had a good time as a team this year, and Evan knew when to have fun and be a leader,” Larsen concluded. “When the ball was between the lines, he stepped up and made sure everyone was marked up, and he and Jackson were like the coaches on the field. He brought plenty of experience to the field.”
