ROCKINGHAM — Five players on the Richmond Senior High School boys’ soccer team earned All-Sandhills Athletic Conference recognition for the 2021 season.
Each earning his first career postseason accolade were seniors Jay Ammons, Cale Luckey and Bradford Pittman, along with juniors Alex Medina and Luke Williams.
Ammons, who started his second season between the posts for the Raiders, was named the SAC’s “Goalkeeper of the Year.”
“Congratulations to all five guys on being selected to the All-Conference team,” head coach Chris Larsen said. “It shows the hard work and solid, dependable play night in and night out shown by this group.
“It looks good to have three seniors earn the recognition after four years of playing for the Raiders,” he added. “I’m also hoping the two juniors use this to jumpstart their senior year.”
The SAC released its All-Conference squad on Friday morning, following the departure of Richmond, Jack Britt and Pinecrest high schools from the NCHSAA 4A state playoffs.
The five Raiders helped Richmond go 9-5-1 this season, finish third in the standings and return to the postseason after missing last year. Richmond averaged 3.3 goals per match in 2021, nearly two more goals a game than a season ago.
Of the team’s 50 total goals scored, Luckey, Medina, Pittman and Williams accounted for 22 tallies.
Jay Ammons, senior goalkeeper
“Goalkeeper of the Year”
A staple in net for the Raiders, Ammons played the majority of minutes for Richmond this season. He helped the team record six shutouts in 15 games and only allowed 2.06 goals against.
During Richmond’s season-long five-match winning streak, Ammons allowed just four goals in the five games and shut out Purnell Swett, Seventy-First and Scotland in the process.
Cale Luckey, senior outside back
Luckey started the season up front for the Raiders, but eventually found his home at right outside back for the majority of the campaign. He was part of a strong back line that consisted of Pittman, senior Bryan Stanback and junior Abrahm Padron.
Against Purnell Swett on Feb. 27, Luckey scored his lone goal of the season on a penalty kick.
Alex Medina, junior midfielder
Facilitating much of Richmond’s offensive attack this season in the middle of the field, Medina was Richmond’s leader in assists (9) and added a team second-best eight goals.
He tallied two goals in a game twice, in wins over Lumberton and Scotland, and added two assists in wins over Hoke County and Scotland. Medina was 2-for-2 on penalty kicks and notched the game-winning goal in a decisive 4-2 victory over Lumberton late in the regular season.
Bradford Pittman, senior center back
Larsen praised Pittman’s efforts from the early parts of the season, noting the veteran player found his comfort zone as one of the Raiders’ center backs. Pittman’s role as one of the team’s vocal leaders didn’t go unnoticed this winter, helping keep the defense in check.
Also in the game against Purnell Swett on Feb. 27, Pittman made a run out of the back and weaved through a series of defenders to score his only goal of the year. That was part of a 5-0 shutout against the Rams.
Luke Williams, junior forward
In his first season at the varsity level, Williams didn’t waste any time in finding the back of the net. Playing as Richmond’s stand-alone forward, Williams tallied a team-leading 12 goals this season. He also assisted on three goals, which was third on the team behind Medina and senior Hector Castro.
At Seventy-First on Feb. 10, WIlliams scored a hat trick as part of a 9-0 mercy-rule win. He had multi-goal games in both contests against Hoke County, scoring twice each time. Williams used his speed on long runs from the midfield to force one-on-one situations to score.
