LAURINBURG — The Richmond Senior High School boys’ soccer team checked its second of three boxes off this week with its second-straight win on Wednesday.
A fast and furious opening eight minutes on the road at Sandhills Athletic Conference opponent Scotland High School would prove to be enough for the Raiders, as they held on to earn a 2-1 win.
Behind a pair of goals from seniors Lee Hayden and Noah Jordan in the seventh and eighth minutes, respectively, the Raiders would stall a second-half comeback attempt by the Fighting Scots in the final 40 minutes. The win made it the first time the Raiders have won back-to-back games this season.
The Raiders were all around the net Wednesday, peppering Scotland’s goalkeeper with 22 shots. It was the second time in as many games that the Richmond offense was able to get 20 or more shots on frame. Although he liked seeing the offense create space and get shots going toward the net, head coach Chris Larsen said he still hopes to see more balls hit the twine.
“Getting two goals in the first eight minutes definitely set the tone for us tonight,” Larsen said. “There were so many opportunities — we hit the post, sent it over the bar — any way we could have missed, we did. But it’s encouraging to see the guys getting chances.
“We’re getting better, but we need to capitalize on the scoring chances when we get them,” he added.
Hayden started the scoring in the seventh minute, using an assist from fellow senior Joey Nicholson. On a rush, Nicholson laced a pass to Hayden inside the 18-yard box and he tapped it in on a one-timer to give the Raiders an early 1-0 advantage.
Just 53 seconds later, Hayden started another offensive rush for the Raiders, this time picking up an assist on Jordan’s goal. Jordan collected a through ball from Hayden before blasting the ball into the net in stride with his left foot from 15 yards out.
Hayden notched his team-leading fifth goal of the season, while Jordan’s tally was his second. Both players scored a goal in Monday’s 5-2 win over Seventy-First High School.
Richmond managed to preserve the two-goal lead until the 70th minute when Scotland’s Rubicel Flores scored on a direct kick just outside the 18-yard box. Following a Richmond foul, Flores sent his goal through a wall of three Richmond defenders and beat sophomore keeper Jaden Wilson.
Splitting time in net for the Raiders were junior Jay Ammons and Wilson, who played the first and second half, respectively. In the closing 30 seconds of the first half, Ammons made a diving save on a shot by Danny Reyes, which would prove to be a big save at game’s end.
Scotland (3-8-1, 1-6 SAC) picked up its pace in the final 15 minutes of the game, seeing several shots go on frame but stopped by Wilson. With just over five minutes left in regulation, and the Raiders up 2-1, Wilson laid out to make a diving save to his right on a hard shot by Adolfo Duran.
Another pivotal save, Richmond’s Bryan Stanback came in and cleared the loose change to thwart the Scots’ opportunity.
“I told the guys at halftime that Scotland was going to put up a fight,” Larsen said. “Being up just two goals doesn’t give you a lot of room for errors. All it takes is to concede a goal and give the other team new life — and that’s what happened.
“Luckily our defense was able to hang on,” he added. “We held a solid backfield, and that’s something we’ve done well with all year. Jay and Jaden both made huge saves and they kept us in the game. They’re both competing for time in net and they’re fun to watch.”
The scoring chances for Richmond in the second half were plentiful, starting with Jordan lacing a shot into the side of the net in the 45th minute. Junior Noah Aiken, fresh off a two-goal night against the Falcons, had two scoring chances but was just offsides both times.
Also getting looks on frame were junior Hector Castro (header attempt, 56th minute), sophomore Alex Medina (over the crossbar on a Blaise Steadman corner kick, 68th minute) and a rip just left from junior River Meacham (69th minute).
Nicholson banged a shot off the left post in the 74th minute, and just prior to that, junior Karym Ojeda had a look on frame before being upended by a Scotland defender.
The Raiders (3-7-1, 3-3 SAC) will close out their three-game week and look to extend their winning streak to three games when they travel to non-conference Lee County High School (3-6) on Thursday. Play will begin at 7 p.m.
JV Raiders use three goals in each half to rout Scotland
In junior varsity action, head coach Tad Hamilton’s team came back after a night off against Seventy-First to defeat Scotland 6-1. The JV Raiders scored three goals in each half, seeing a game-high two goals scored by sophomore Justin McDougald.
Sophomore Cody Eason opened with a goal off a corner kick, McDougald scored his first goal and sophomore Pedro Molina added a strike from outside the box to close the first 35 minutes of play.
In the second half, sophomore Keaton Sweatt headed the ball into the net, and was followed by a Luke Williams goal from inside the box. McDougald capped the game late with his second tally. The JV Raiders (5-1-2) will travel to Lee County and begin play at 5:15 p.m. on Thursday.
