ABERDEEN — In its first bit of live action against another team this season, the Richmond boys’ soccer program competed in two scrimmages on Tuesday.
Playing at the newly constructed Aberdeen Soccerplex, the Raiders competed against non-conference opponents Terry Sanford and Lumberton high schools.
Each scrimmage consisted of two 18-minute halves. The Raiders lost both scrimmages by scores of 1-0 against the Bulldogs and 6-1 to the Pirates.
Head coach Chris Larsen “expected some bumps in the road,” and said the more important focus of the preseason matches was to get an idea of where players fit best in the lineup.
“Scrimmages are a chance for us to work out the kinks and see how everybody is settling in,” Larsen said. “I saw a lot of things I liked and that will help us, but there are also some areas we’ll need to address in practice before the season starts.
“Everyone got a lot of playing time tonight, and that’s what I wanted,” he added. “The guys are figuring out how to work together as a team. We will make the necessary adjustments and hopefully we can correct our mistakes when we see Lumberton in our first match next week.”
Junior Jesus Castro scored the lone goal in the match against the Pirates. He scored on a free kick from 20 yards, lacing the ball around a wall of defenders to find a hole in the right side.
Sophomore Landon Summerlin set up the scoring play when he drew a foul on a run on net.
The Raiders will scrimmage again on Saturday and open the 2022 slate on Monday at Lumberton.
The Richmond Observer will publish a season preview, complete with video interviews, in the coming days.
Below are photos of Tuesday’s scrimmages, taken by sports editor Kyle Pillar.
