ROCKINGHAM — Peppering the goalmouth all match long Thursday, the Richmond Senior High School boys’ soccer team ended a season-long losing streak.
While the Raiders weren’t able to get back in the win column, their resiliency paid off in a 1-1 draw with non-conference Jack Britt High School.
Opportunity after opportunity to find the back of the net eluded Richmond until the match’s waning moments, when senior captain Noah Gil managed to put a stop to the Raiders’ eight-match skid.
Scoreless at halftime, both teams traded scoring chances through the opening 40 minutes.
Gil had a couple of rushes in the box early that came up empty and junior Elen Fonseca ripped a 30-yarder that just sailed over the bar.
Senior midfielder Landon Summerlin nearly connected on a header in the 28th minute and senior center mid Gonzalo Gonzalez sent a missile from near midfield just high a few minutes later.
Starting in goal, senior keeper Adrian Padron made several modest stops and sent the match into the break even when he came off his line to force a shot wide in the final two minutes.
Early in the final 40 minutes of action, Summerlin and Gonzalez almost connected on a nifty move off a set piece.
Padron (injury) was replaced in the 53rd minute by junior Camden Williams. Following a dart on frame by junior Memphis Jacobs, Jack Britt (9-2-1) made a rush up the field that led to its only goal.
Splitting two defenders and getting inside the keeper’s box, Blake Oxendine snuck a low roller past Williams along the near post for a goal in the 56th minute.
Not going away, senior Gui Romero sent a pair of free kicks on frame for Richmond a few minutes apart and Gonzalez had another long shot sail just over the bar.
Gil appeared to score in the 72nd minute, but Richmond was whistled for offsides after a tic-tac-toe passing sequence between Gil and Jacobs.
Another strong shot of frame by Gil was stopped from the right side of the box, only to be followed by a laser from Jacobs along the opposite side.
Williams stood tall to make a match-saving stop in the 76th minute, cutting off the angle of a tight shot from the left side to force the ball out of bounds.
With the clock winding, the Buccaneers tried to play keep-away. But a turnover near midfield was laced ahead to a sprinting Gil, who finally had his hard work rewarded.
Bursting past a defender, Gil went one-on-one with the keeper and belted the ball dead center into the net with 1:59 left in the match. It was his team-leading third goal of the season.
A new week will bring two more chances for the Raiders (1-8-1, 0-2 Sandhills Athletic Conference) to continue to build momentum.
Hoke County High School (6-3-1, 1-1 SAC) will make the trip to Richmond Monday, with action beginning at 7 p.m.
JV Raiders blank JV Bucs
A pair of second-half goals lifted the Richmond junior varsity soccer team to a win Thursday.
Hosting Jack Britt, the JV Raiders won 2-0.
Freshman Martin Lopez made it 1-0 in the 45th minute. He collected a rebound off the keeper’s hands inside the six-yard box and tapped it into an open net.
Fellow freshman Kerick Hairston slotted the insurance goal with just over eight minutes left in regulation.
On a rush down the left sideline, Hairston outran a defender to find the far post from about 10 yards.
“We’re back to .500 which is good,” head coach Bennie Howard said. “The guys still have to break some bad habits, so hopefully by the end of the season we’ll have learned something.
“I’m proud of them for battling and getting two good goals in the second half. Now it’s time to get ready for Hoke County.”
The JV soccer team (4-4-2, 1-0-1 SAC) will also host Hoke County Monday. Kickoff is slated for 5:15 p.m.
