ROCKINGHAM — Shifting tides in momentum dictated the outcome of Tuesday’s Sandhills Athletic Conference soccer match.
Making up a regular-season match on its home pitch, the Richmond Senior High School boys’ soccer team had the early energy against Hoke County High School.
Unfortunately, a two-goal lead in the first half came undone for the Raiders. Playing double overtime and 100 minutes of soccer, Richmond lost 3-2.
Scoring for Richmod were junior Phoenix Jacobs and senior Noah Gil. The second goal, Gil’s team-leading ninth of the season, was assisted by junior Memphis Jacobs.
“We came out pretty hot in the first half,” head coach Chris Larsen explained. “We knocked the ball around, switched it up and were able to get some good looks on frame early. We were able to capitalize on the corner kick with Phoenix’s first goal of the year, which gave us some momentum.
“Our second goal was similar, getting the ball wide,” he continued. “Memphis slid it across the box and Noah was able to finish. Again, that was a big momentum boost. We talked at halftime about continuing to do those things.”
Nine minutes into the game, Richmond took a corner kick from the left side, which resulted in Phoenix Jacobs’ goal. Senior Landon Summerlin sent the ball into the box, which was knocked around.
The ball bounced out to Jacobs, a defender pushed up, just outside the 18-yard box. One-timing his shot on a hop, Jacobs curled the ball along a high arc into the net along the back post to give the Raiders a one-goal lead.
Senior goalkeeper Adrian Padron made back-to-back saves with his feet in the 14th and 15th minutes, and stood tall on a 1v1 rush in the box in the 24th minute to keep Hoke County scoreless.
Memphis Jacobs and Gil connected for Richmond’s second goal in the 27th minute. Crashing the box on a rush, Jacobs slid the ball from the right side across the goal mouth to Gil, who was making a run to the back post.
With the keeper off his line, Gil tapped in the easy goal to make it 2-0 with 13:44 left in the first half.
Hoke County scored its first goal in the 31st minute, a shot by Pedro Ramos-Alejandro. The 2-1 lead for the Raiders would hold until halftime.
Richmond had two quality chances to score in the second half, starting with a laser from Gil that just went over the bar in the 43rd minute. Memphis Jacobs had a header attempt that sailed just to the right of the net in the 56th minute.
The Bucks scored the equalizer in the 66th minute, a dart by Jose Vazquez De La Cruz. Padron made the initial stop but couldn’t control the ball, which trickled into the goal.
In the closing minutes of regulation, senior Gui Romero nearly iced the win for the Raiders, tapping a cross into the box just wide of the left post. Padron made a 1v1 save at the two-minute mark to force overtime.
“I think we sat back a little bit too much in the second half and played too defensive-minded,” Larsen shared. “It happens, but the guys still played well. Their second goal found a way in and that kind of gave (Hoke County) the momentum heading into overtime.
“We had some injuries and bodies moved around and that led to us not being able to clear the ball out,” he added. “Their third goal was a nice volley over Adrian’s head and that’s the way it is sometimes.”
The Bucks started the first overtime with a shot off the left post just 15 seconds into the period. Padron made a quality save on a header attempt near the halfway point, but Hoke County would capitalize on the next rush.
After a miscommunication failed to clear the ball out of the defensive third, Joas Hernandez split two defenders and sent the game-winning goal into the net in the 86th minute.
Required to play both overtime periods, Richmond kept up the tempo in the second stanza. Senior Gonzalo Gonzalez had the best look, sending a 20-yard free kick on frame with just over two minutes to play.
“We have to play Hoke County again next week to determine the final standings,” Larsen closed. “It should be a good game, we’ve split this year.
“I think the guys are looking forward to getting one more opportunity to compete, and we’ll see if we can’t pick up a win.”
The SAC soccer coaches elected not to hold a conference tournament this season. Currently, Richmond is ranked No. 40 in the NCHSAA 4A East playoff projections, eight spots out of a qualifying position.
With Tuesday’s loss, the Raiders (5-14-2, 4-7-1 SAC) and Bucks (10-9-2, 4-7-1 SAC) finished with identical conference records.
To determine final seeding, a tiebreaker match will be played next week. Tentatively, Larsen said, that match is scheduled for Tuesday at a neutral site to be determined.
JV Raiders end season with loss
In the boys’ junior varsity season finale, Richmond let a first-half lead slip away.
Also hosting Hoke County, the JV Raiders lost 2-1.
Freshman Allen Franco gave Richmond a 1-0 lead in the first half. He sent a 40-yard rocket into the net on what head coach Bennie Howard called a “beautiful goal.”
In quick succession in the final 35 minutes, the JV Bucks tallied back-to-back goals to switch the lead.
“We had opportunities in the beginning,” Howard explained. “There were a couple times we were able to slide it across the goal mouth but we hit the goalie twice in the hands.
“This season, we had a young team and I’m proud of what we did,” he added. “We played one of the tougher schedules since I became the JV coach. We have a good group coming back and a good group going to varsity.”
The Richmond JV boys’ soccer team finished its season with an 8-8-3 overall record and a mark of 5-3-2 against SAC opponents.
