ROCKINGHAM — The Lady Raider soccer team was one game away from making program history Thursday night.
Looking to advance to the third round of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association state playoffs for the first time in the program’s 25-year history, the No. 8 Lady Raiders came up just 22 minutes short of achieving that goal.
Getting a couple extra days off thanks to a first-round bye, a program first, Richmond fell to No. 9 East Forsyth High School 3-1 . With the loss, Richmond and head coach Chris Larsen saw their hopes dashed of making a deep playoff run, which was a pre-season goal.
The Lady Eagles (12-5-2) won their second playoff game in three days, while also bouncing No. 24 South Caldwell High School 3-0 in Tuesday’s opening round. East Forsyth would score three unanswered goals against Richmond, two coming from sophomore Payton Eubanks.
Thursday’s game marked the first time since 2004 Richmond made it to the second round. But the loss made it the fifth straight season the Lady Raiders came away without a playoff win.
“I think the girls played really well,” Larsen commented following the loss. “We were able to get on the board first, which was big for us in creating momentum. Going into it, we knew it was going to be a battle.”
Sophomore forward Jayla McDougald would be responsible for the Lady Raiders’ lone goal of the night, striking her seventh goal of the season in the 13th minute. Freshman teammate Kaitlyn Huff made a run through East Forsyth’s defense down the length of the right sideline, attempting a shot but saw it deflected.
McDougald scooped up the loose change near the top of the 18-yard box, spun around a defender, and laced the ball past goalkeeper Raigan Edwards.
The momentum created by McDougald’s goal sparked a couple more Lady Raider scoring chances in the first half. Sophomore goalkeeper Kelly Hoffman also caught fire, making back-to-back saves in the 22nd and 24th minutes to preserve the lead.
Eubanks would net the equalizing goal in the 28th minute. She took the ball down the right sideline, cut into the box and sent a score past Hoffman.
McDougald nearly regained the lead in the 37th minute on a rush, but her shot went wide left. The 1-1 tie would carry into the half time break.
Perhaps the biggest momentum stopper during the game for Richmond was when junior defender Avy Lucero received a red card for a foul committed from behind in the 50th minute. Disqualified from the rest of the game, Richmond was also forced to play down a player.
On the direct kick following the foul, Eubanks’ shot went over a wall of four Lady Raider defenders and right into the waiting hands of Hoffman for another save.
In the 58th minute, Eubanks scored the eventual game-winner, scoring again from the top of the box. Teammate Sydney Tippet added an insurance goal in the 71st minute a few yards in front of the net on a loose ball to help secure the win.
“We got unfortunate with the red card and being forced to play a man down the last 30 minutes,” Larsen said. “It was still a good sign that our girls took the fight to them the rest of the game and got some opportunities to score.
“The girls left it all out there tonight, and the girls have nothing to be ashamed of,” he added. “They won some big games this season. To keep it respectful playing a man down, they should be proud of that. We can’t let one game dictate how our season went.”
With the 2019 campaign now in the books, the Lady Raiders finished with a 15-5 overall record, making it the third-straight season with at least 14 wins. Thursday’s loss also marked the final game for 11 senior players.
“We had such a good season,” Larsen closed. “Hopefully the girls enjoyed it, which one of my goals was to make the game enjoyable and allow them to have fun and learn something.
“They’ll have these memories the rest of their lives.”
ROSports will publish a comprehensive season recap next week.
