Home Local Sports Lady Raiders played ‘much better’ in second meeting with Union Pines despite...

Lady Raiders played ‘much better’ in second meeting with Union Pines despite loss

ROSports File Photo: Head coach Chris Larsen talks to the team ahead of a game earlier this spring. (Kyle Pillar, sports editor)

CAMERON — The Lady Raider soccer team suffered a road loss at Union Pines High School on Tuesday.

Facing the Lady Vikings for the second time this spring in Sandhills Athletic Conference action, Richmond fell by a final score of 3-0.

Head coach Chris Larsen noted that despite the loss, the Lady Raiders played a “much better game” than the first meeting, which was a mercy-rule loss.

“We played really well, but again we just couldn’t get over the scoring hump,” Larsen explained. “Defensively, I thought we played well.

“The game was back and forth and we had some chances to score,” he added. “There were a couple of set pieces and some runs that we didn’t execute. Overall, it was a much better game than last time.”

The Lady Vikings (10-6-1, 8-1 SAC), who are in second place in the conference standings, scored their first goal on a tapper in front of the net in the 5th minute.

Another goal was added before the end of the first half, a 25-yard strike that sophomore keeper Quanna Bostic got her hands on but wasn’t able to tip it over the crossbar.

 A closer final 40 minutes saw Union Pines add its third goal in the 67th minute, another close-range shot from behind the defense.

“Quanna made some great stops tonight,” Larsen said. “She made plays on 1v1s and our back line played really well. The girls showed much better effort, we just didn’t get the lucky bounces.

Advertisements

“We’re getting better game by game and now we’ve got to figure out how to get the ball in the back of the net,” he closed. “We’ll take this loss and use it to move forward.”

The Lady Raiders (10-6-1, 4-5 SAC), who are in fourth place in the standings, will return home later this week to host third-place Lee County High School (8-7-1, 5-4 SAC). 

The game is scheduled for Friday, but Larsen said due to the forecast, the game will likely be played on Thursday instead.

JV Lady Raiders close season with win

Also playing at Union Pines on Tuesday, the Richmond junior varsity soccer team wrapped up its season with a come-from-behind win.

Trailing by a goal at halftime, the JV Lady Raiders used two second-half goals from freshman Ella Gibson to complete the 2-1 victory.

“This was a great season,” head coach Bennie Howard said. “The girls continued to listen and learn from game to game and their progress showed. It was good to end the season with a win against a quality opponent.”

The JV Lady Raiders finished the season with a 6-4 record and a 5-2 mark against SAC opponents.



Previous articleNCDA&CS receives $7.6 million to support CFSA FarmsSHARE food assistance program
Next articleLady Raiders strand 7 runners, drop third straight game
Kyle Pillar is a 22-time North Carolina Press Association award-winning sports editor with The Richmond Observer. Follow the sports department on X @ROSports_ for the best in-depth coverage of Richmond County sports.