ROCKINGHAM — The wins keep stacking up for the Richmond Senior High School varsity girls’ soccer team, as the Lady Raiders earned their fifth consecutive victory Thursday.
Welcoming in Pine Forest High School for a non-conference matchup, Richmond used two goals by freshman forward Kaitlyn Huff to edge the Lady Trojans 3-1. The win marked the second-straight time in the past two seasons the Lady Raiders defeated Pine Forest.
Also adding a goal in the win was junior Avy Lucero, who scored the eventual game-winner on a penalty kick in the first half.
Head coach Chris Larsen noted “it was the best” he’s seen his team play, start to finish, in the last handful of games.
“The game got more physical as it progressed, and Isaac (Rancour) always has a great squad out of Pine Forest,” Larsen commented. “They possess the ball well and are very similar to us. I love matching up with them to see how we do.
“My girls played really well tonight in a good non-conference game,” he added. “I told them if we can play like this every night, I’d have no complaints. We came out of the gate ready to go, knocked the ball around and had the majority of our shots be quality shots on net.”
Huff would find the back of the net in the 12th minute of the first half, beating goalkeeper Emma Welling to give Richmond a 1-0 advantage. Following a foul in the box, Lucero took a penalty kick and hit the twine in the 30th minute for her third goal of the year.
It wouldn’t take long for Huff to score her team-leading eighth goal of the spring, connecting on a ball in front of the keeper inside the box in the 51st minute. It was her second multi-goal game of the season, and Huff has scored in six of Richmond’s 10 games.
Sophomore goalkeeper Kelly Hoffman nearly recorded her fourth shutout of the season, but a goal by Stella Valenzuela with five seconds remaining in regulation gave the Lady Trojans their lone goal.
Hoffman had a crucial save in the second half, making a charge on a run, and slid to take the ball away from the offensive player.
“Kelly’s save late in the second half was very timely,” Larsen said. “She took away a one-on-one opportunity by sliding to get the ball, and that’s something we’ve worked on in practice. That stopped Pine Forest from getting a chance to build momentum, and kept our momentum going.”
Richmond (8-2, 6-1 SAC) will return to Sandhills Athletic Conference play Friday at home against Purnell Swett High School (7-2, 4-2 SAC). In what turned out to be a physical game during the second contest of the season, the Lady Raiders held on for a 3-2 road win on March 5.
Currently, Larsen’s squad sits alone in second place in the conference standings, just a game behind leader Pinecrest High School.
“Five straight wins gives us confidence,” Larsen concluded. “If we come out and do what we’ve worked on in practice, success can come from it. I told the girls we have to hit the rewind button and come out ready to play. Purnell Swett will come in hungry after our first matchup.”
The game against the Lady Rams is set for 7 p.m.
Note: In the junior varsity game, the Lady Raiders stayed perfect on the season with a 4-0 win. Freshman Talayeh Covington scored on a breakaway for the game’s first goal, while sophomores Marley Hooks and Alma Lopez added goals off crosses.
Freshman Paxlee Faircloth also found the back of the net, ripping a penalty kick past the keeper. Richmond improved to 7-0 on the spring, and recorded its seventh-straight shutout.
