ROCKINGHAM — A night after not being able to score, the Richmond Senior High School girls soccer team returned the favor Wednesday.
Taking a break from Sandhills Athletic Conference action, the Lady Raiders hosted non-conference Whiteville High School.
A goal in the first half, followed by two tallies in the second half, led to a 3-0 win over the Lady Wolfpack.
Scoring two of those goals was freshman forward Mariana Gonzalez, which were also her first career high school goals.
Netting the other score was sophomore striker Ella Gibson, also her first goal on varsity.
Recording an assist each were seniors Gabby Lutz and Allie Rodger, along with junior Hanna Smith.
Junior goalkeeper Quanna Bostic had a quiet night in the net and played the majority of the game to record the shutout. Freshman netminder Bree Rape replaced Bostic with 14 minutes left in regulation and faced just one shot.
The Lady Raiders took a 1-0 lead in the ninth minute, going ahead thanks to Gonzalez’s first strike.
Smith set up the scoring play, crossing the ball on a run down the right side. Collecting the pass inside the six-yard box, Gonzalez turned and put the ball in the back of the net.
Richmond would carry the one-goal lead into halftime before adding its final two goals in the 46th and 49th minutes.
With the Lady Raiders on the attack, Lutz sent a ball into the box where senior Jenna Gardner redirected it on frame. Making a rush, Gibson tapped the ball in as it neared the goal line to extend the lead to 2-0.
Just three minutes later, with Richmond continuing to pepper the Whiteville goalkeeper with shots, Rodgers slid a pass from the left corner to the middle of the field. There to take the ball, Gonzalez one-timed her shot and beat the keeper inside the left post.
Richmond had several more chances to score in the final 30 minutes, including a shot off the crossbar by Rodgers.
With the three-goal lead, head coach Chris Larsen made sure every player saw extended minutes on the field.
The Lady Raiders (3-1-2, 0-1 Sandhills Athletic Conference) will return to conference action Friday at Pinecrest High School (2-4, 0-0 SAC) Friday. The match is set for 7 p.m.
Sports editor’s note: The Richmond junior varsity soccer team (2-0) did not play Wednesday and will return to the pitch Friday at Pinecrest at 5 p.m.
A photo gallery of Wednesday’s win will be published later this week.
