ROCKINGHAM – In a year of firsts for the Richmond Senior High School Raider soccer team, including first-year head coach Chris Larsen taking over the program after Bennie Howard’s 30-year tenure, the Raiders are heading back to the state playoffs for the first time since 2016.
The North Carolina High School Athletic Association released its official 4A state playoff brackets Wednesday afternoon, and Richmond saw itself sneak in as a No. 23 seed in the West. That puts the Raiders (12-10) on the road during the opening round at No. 10 Ardrey Kell High School. The teams will meet Friday at 6 p.m. in Charlotte for the win-or-go-home matchup.
Less than a month ago, Richmond was sitting three games under the .500 mark at 5-8, and was reeling from a three-game losing streak. The possibility of making the playoffs seemed grim, but Larsen threw the idea out to his team that if it could win out the remaining games, and make a push for second place in the Sandhills Athletic Conference, the opportunity would present itself.
The Raiders responded by going on a seven-game winning streak, outscoring their opponents 31-4 in that span, including four shutouts against SAC foes. On Monday, in the regular season finale, Richmond knocked off Lumberton High School 3-0, which put Larsen’s team in a second-place tie with Hoke County High School.
In order to determine the outright second-place team, and a guaranteed automatic bid into the state playoffs, the Raiders and the Bucks played a tiebreaker a night later. Unfortunately for Richmond, its winning streak was snapped as Hoke County slipped away with a 2-1 victory. But thanks to what Larsen called a “tough schedule all season,” the Raiders were rewarded with a nod into the playoffs.
“It’s nice to make the playoffs in my first year of coaching,” Larsen said. “And it’s well-deserved by the guys, especially the way they ended the season on a seven-game winning streak. Because of that, we put ourselves in a good position to be selected.
“Going into the year, I thought we would make the playoffs based on knowing what I had and who was coming back,” he added. “There were a few tough losses earlier in the season, but the team is happy we’re in playoffs. I think if we show up and play to our ability, it’ll be a good game.”
After taking Wednesday off, the Raiders were back on the practice field Thursday gearing up for what promises to be a competitive match at Ardrey Kell. Under the direction of head coach Jeff Smith, the Knights went 15-5-1 on the season, and finished in a three-way tie with Providence and South Mecklenburg high schools with a 10-2 record in the South Meck 7 Conference.
Larsen admitted that he “doesn’t know a whole lot about” Ardrey Kell, but said through what little time he’s had to research, he knows the Knights have “a couple of players who can score.” Smith’s team has scored 91 goals this season (4.5 goals per game), and has only allowed 33 goals (both third-best in the South Meck 7). For Richmond, the Raiders have netted 61 goals (2.8 goals per game), while allowing just 31 goals, two fewer than Ardrey Kell in two more games played.
“I know they have a couple of good defenders who can keep ball out of the back of the net,” Larsen explained. “With two good defensive teams, scoring opportunities will be scarce, and it’s important for us to capitalize when we get the chance.
“Everybody looks at seeding, and as a coach, when I see that a team has been beaten five times, I know they can be beaten again,” he added. “(Ardrey Kell) isn’t perfect and they can make mistakes, so it comes down to who can make fewer mistakes. They’re beatable, but we have to play our game Friday.”
As with any sport, Larsen acknowledged that anything can happen during the playoffs. But the key for Richmond to pull off an upset will be to stick together like the Raiders have all season.
“The big key for us is to play as a unit,” he concluded. “The guys need to communicate with each other, play unselfishly, knock the ball around and keep in mind that there are 11 guys out on the field.
“When we play unselfishly, it opens things up and establishes more people as a threat. It creates opportunities for more people to have impact. You can study stats, but it comes down to who plays together better. We’re a good group of guys who know how to play the game, and hopefully we use our chemistry to take on a quality opponent.”
ROSports will be on hand for the playoff match. Live in-game updates will be posted on Twitter at @ROSports_.
