FAYETTEVILLE — A shortened pre-season dampened by rain didn’t seem to have an impact on the Richmond Senior High School girls’ soccer team.
The Lady Raiders and head coach Chris Larsen opened their 2019 campaign on Saturday with a 6-2 win over non-conference opponent Cape Fear High School. Competing in the “Kickin’ It with the Crew” tournament, the Lady Raiders used five different goal scorers to etch their first win of the season.
The win marked the program’s fourth-straight victory in the opening game of the season, and was also Larsen’s first career win as the Lady Raiders’ head coach. He recorded 12 wins during the boys’ season last fall.
Richmond’s original season opener was scheduled for Friday at home against Piedmont High School, but wet weather postponed it to a date yet to be determined. The Lady Raiders’ game against Cape Fear was played at Terry Sanford High School.
“It was good to start the year off that way,” Larsen said. “It was our first contest outside of practice or scrimmages to see what we’re going to be made of this year. There was a lot of nervousness in the first 10 minutes, but once we saw first the first goal go in, we settled down.
“The girls knocked the ball around pretty good,” he added. “As the day went on, I could see their confidence continue to grow, which is what you want to see with conference play starting this week.”
Splashing onto the scene in her first varsity game was freshman forward Kaitlyn Huff, who scored two goals. Adding tally marks in the scoring column were seniors Jessi Graham, Jayana Nicholson and Chloe Wiggins, and junior Carley Lambeth.
Huff, the team’s lone ninth grader, scored Richmond’s first goal of the season just past the 10-minute mark in the first half on a through ball from a teammate. She collected the pass and took a shot from 20 yards out, sending it past the Lady Colts’ goalkeeper.
Graham would notch her first goal of the season in the 23rd minute, making an athletic play to flip the ball to herself around a defender before placing the ball in the back of the net to the keeper’s left. Cape Fear’s Iris Terwilliger got her team on the board in the final minute of the half to make it 2-1.
In the second 40-minute period, the Lady Raiders would add the first three goals to jump out to their largest lead of the night, 5-1. Nicholson’s goal (50th minute) came as a result of the senior midfielder racing down the sideline and taking a feed from fellow senior Morgan Hooks.
Nicholson’s initial shot was deflected to Hooks, who sent it back to Nicholson, giving her a one-on-one opportunity against the keeper.
Huff’s second goal of the game came in the 57th minute when she corralled a loose ball in the box and put it on frame. Larsen added that taking chances inside the 18-yard box is something he “preaches to the team.”
Both Lambeth’s and Wiggins’ goals were similar in execution, as both players managed “to be in the right place at the right time” to punch the ball into the twine. Lambeth’s goal came in the 60th minute, and Wiggins closed things out in the 73rd minute.
Cape Fear’s second goal was a result of a misplayed ball by Richmond’s sophomore keeper Kelly Hoffman, which came with 17:25 remaining in regulation.
“Having five girls score means that other teams can’t look at the stat sheet and mark up just one girl,” Larsen said. “When we have multiple scorers, it shows there’s a willingness by the girls to help each other score and pass the ball to the open player.
“Kaitlyn has played in travel league with a lot of our other players, so for her it was just another game,” he added. “It’s a good start for her season, and she came in and performed like I thought she would.”
Larsen also commented on the work of his backfield, noting they played “really well” and “didn’t allow Cape Fear many opportunities to score.” Larsen used a revolving door of seniors Tatum Hubbard, Kaiyah Sriratanakoul, Kyra Wall, juniors Emily Buie, Avy Lucero and Aerial Spooner in the backfield.
“Overall, we maintained possession most of the night and had a lot of opportunities to score,” Larsen concluded. “Lots of girls were at the net, and no one played selfish. There were girls who started and came off the bench who scored, and I was pleased with our defense and the outcome of our first match.”
Richmond will open Sandhills Athletic Conference play on Tuesday at Purnell Swett High School (1-0). The game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. start.
