ROCKINGHAM — Two early goals and two more tallies late in the second half bookended Richmond Senior High School’s first win of the season on Friday.
Four days after drawing to a scoreless tie in the first game of the season, the Lady Raiders used four different goal scorers to edge Purnell Swett High School 4-3 in their home and Sandhills Athletic Conference opener.
Sophomore forward Kaitlyn Huff and junior forward Jayla McDougald were responsible for Richmond’s first-half goals, while senior midfielder Carley Lambeth and senior center back Avy Lucero tied and won the game, respectively.
For the Lady Rams (1-1, 0-1 SAC), senior Abigail Lowry netted two goals, while junior Baileigh Bryant added the other goal in the loss.
“We came out and put a goal in early that gave us some momentum,” head coach Chris Larsen said. “Then the second one came and we settled in and played with a little more confidence. Our determination dropped a little bit after the second goal, but the girls stepped up and answered the call.”
Huff, who returns as the team’s leading scorer with 12 goals last year, wasted no time putting Richmond on top. In the second minute she sent a shot from the top of the box along the left edge over the hands of goalkeeper Selena Martinez to give Richmond a one-goal advantage.
Lucero had two chances on direct kicks in the third and 11th minutes that were stopped or knocked wide.
In the 12th minute, McDougald split the defense near the 18-yard mark and lofted a shot up and to the top left of the net past Martinez to make it a 2-0 game.
Purnell Swett’s first goal came as a result of a yellow card issued to Richmond keeper Kelly Hoffman when she made a sliding tackle on a rush in the box. Backup keeper Valery Standridge stood in for the penalty shot, which Lowry put in during the 25th minute.
Senior outside back Layne Maultsby came up big moments later with a sliding save on Lowry in the box, and Hoffman, who had re-entered the match, followed with a save on a rebound attempt to keep the score locked.
With less than two minutes to go in the first half, a hand ball inside the box by the Lady Raider defense allowed Lowry to send another PK into the net to send the game into halftime knotted at two.
Out of the break both teams traded possessions until Bryant found a loose ball inside the six-yard box on a deflected shot, and tapped it into the net in the 53rd minute to give the Lady Rams their third-straight goal and first lead of the game.
Lambeth didn’t hesitate to tie the score back up when she notched her first goal of the season in the 57th minute. Taking an outlet pass in the center of the field, Lambeth spun around a defender and laced a shot top shelf from 20 yards out to give the Lady Raiders new life.
Huff nearly had another goal in the 65th minute on a rush, but her initial shot attempt was blocked by Martinez and her rebound attempt sailed wide.
Hoffman made five saves on the night, with three coming in the final 10 minutes of the match. She laid out to stop a Lowry shot in the 70th minute.
“Kelly is a great force to have in the back and she’s not afraid of contact, plus she’s got good hands,” Larsen said of his keeper. “The girls in front of her are also doing a good job of helping her and they respect Kelly for bringing that toughness every game.”
With the clock winding inside two minutes, Richmond’s offense moved the ball into Purnell Swett’s box and a handball was called on Ashley Locklear. Larsen sent Lucero to the line and she went to the bottom left corner to beat Martinez and ice the win.
“Usually that’s my go-to spot and I practice them a lot,” Lucero said. “Larsen always pushes me to pick a corner, and it was a lot of pressure tonight because it was in the last few minutes.
“This is a big win for us tonight because it’s taking us forward early in the season against a conference team,” she added.
Larsen echoed Lucero’s remarks regarding it being a big team win for the Lady Raiders.
“The girls are moving around the field really well and it’s good to have confidence in each other to see four different girls score,” he said. “That’s the way the game is supposed to be played.
“It’s going to be a dogfight for the second, third and fourth spots in the conference,” he closed. “Opening with a conference win puts us in the right direction and gives us a lead over them right now. It’s a good feeling to start with a victory.”
Richmond (1-0-1, 1-0 SAC) will return to the pitch on Saturday and play at non-conference Gray’s Creek High School in the Kickin’ It with the Crew tournament. The match will get underway at 3 p.m.
JV Lady Raiders earn second shutout win
Ahead of the varsity match, the Richmond junior varsity team defeated Purnell Swett 5-0. Goal scorers were Jennifer Gomez (2), Taleyeh Covington, Gracie English and Karter Walker.
Gomez, Covington and Walker all have two goals each on the season. Freshman keeper Chloe Nunn recorded her second shutout in as many games as the JV Lady Raiders improved to 2-0 and 1-0 in SAC play.
