ROCKINGHAM — Hot feet were what Richmond Senior High School head coach Chris Larsen was looking for ahead of Monday’s opening round match of the Sandhills Athletic Conference tournament.
And thanks to a pair of two-goal scorers, a timely first goal of the season and a late insurance tally, the No. 2 Raiders scored a season-high six goals in a 6-3 win over No. 6 Purnell Swett High School.
Seniors Luke Hawks and Noah Jordan both scored two goals in the win, helping the Raiders advance to the SAC tournament semifinal round. Senior Blaise Steadman notched his first goal of the season during a pivotal point in the match, and junior Noah Aiken added a goal of his own.
Jordan would also record two assists on the night, delivering a helper to Hawks and Steadman. Also contributing with an assist were junior Hector Castro, Hawks and Steadman. Monday’s match served as the last home game for the team’s 13 seniors.
A strong start by the Rams led to a two-goal deficit for the Raiders, but that put the home team in familiar territory. During both regular-season games against Purnell Swett this year, Richmond was down by at least a goal in the opening half.
The Raiders used four unanswered goals, two in the first half and two in the second, to keep their season alive. The victory also could possibly help the Raiders be one of the last teams in the state playoffs.
Junior Jafet Robles netted two goals in the first 20 minutes to give the Rams a 2-0 advantage. Both of his goals would come on shots inside the box and beat Richmond junior goalkeeper Jay Ammons.
But a span of just 22 seconds would shift the game’s momentum, as Hawks and Steadman would tally goals in the 24th minute. Hawks put the Raiders on the board when he split two defenders and put the ball to the bottom left post from 12 yards out and past senior goalkeeper Nick Ramirez. He was assisted on a touch from Jordan.
After winning the ball back near midfield on the ensuing Purnell Swett kickoff, Jordan brought the ball down the left side of the field before crossing it to Steadman. The senior, who has been all but in the goal this season, settled the pass and blasted his first goal of fall, matching Hawks’ mark along the far post.
“The first goal shocked our guys, and the second one was like an aftershock,” Larsen explained of the early disadvantage. “But I told the guys when they put their mind to playing, they prove they can play. We only played 15 minutes of quality soccer tonight, but we made it count when we needed it to.
“We didn’t have that drive to score until they went up 2-0 on us,” he continued. “The biggest thing was we were able to tie it up and take it into the half. We kept the momentum going pretty well, but it was the fight we were expecting.”
Larsen added he “was happy” for Steadman when he knotted the equalizer in the first half.
Adamant to his players that he didn’t want them to change their game plan in the second set of 40 minutes, Larsen saw Jordan and Hawks put the Raiders up for good.
Returning the favor, Steadman sent a pass to Jordan at the top of the 18-yard box, and the senior ripped a left-footed dart top shelf past Ramirez in the 61st minute. Just 1:17 later, Castro laced the ball to Hawks inside the six-yard box, and Hawks made a sliding redirection into the net for the eventual game-winning score.
“Every team needs someone to get the momentum going, and we usually play dead until someone steps up,” Hawks explained. “Tonight, Noah and I were those guys. Our energy is always different when we get down, and tonight we had a spark to get back ahead.
“The team started working great once we got our bits and pieces in order,” he continued. “Nick (Ramirez) is the best keeper in the conference and we just left it all out on the field.”
Robles helped get the Rams back into the game with his third goal of the night, making it a 4-3 Raider lead with just under 10 minutes left in regulation. But junior Noah Aiken and Jordan shut the door on the Rams’ season with goals in the 78th and 79th minutes.
Aiken added the first insurance goal when he went one-on-one with Ramirez inside the box, and found twine to the keeper’s right along the ground. Jordan capped the scoring with a shot from 10 yards on a flick from Hawks, which was set up by senior Cole Deane.
“I had a lot of help from my teammates tonight,” Jordan said. “It was our last home game and we weren’t playing well in the first half. So it was really big for us to score two goals in such a quick span to tie the game.
“Purnell was ready to play tonight and Nick held us out (of the net) for a while,” he added. “When I scored my second goal late in the game, I knew we were moving on.”
The Raiders outshot the Rams 20-7 in the win. It was also the third time this season Richmond defeated Purnell Swett. With just a couple of minutes left on the clock, Purnell Swett rewarded Ramirez for his four years of service by pulling him from the game and getting a loud ovation from players and fans.
Up next for Richmond in the SAC tournament semifinal round is No. 2 Pinecrest High School, which has seen the Patriots win the last seven meetings between the two squads.
“We have to have the mindset of knowing we can put the ball in the back of the net,” Larsen said of facing Pinecrest. “We need to keep our confidence up, and the guys who have found a way to score multiple goals will need to do that again (on Tuesday).”
No. 3 Richmond will travel to No. 2 Pinecrest on Tuesday with kickoff set for 6 p.m.
