ROCKINGHAM — While the immediate momentum may no longer be present, the Richmond Senior High School boys’ soccer team hasn’t forgotten its fight to finish tied for second in the Sandhill Athletic Conference last season.
As the pre-season practices continue to fall off the calendar, the Raiders and second-year head coach Chris Larsen are now under a week away from the official start of th 2019 season. With a 12-member senior class, all of whom but one are returners with plenty of experience, Larsen and company are ready to begin their grind with a tough SAC and non-conference schedule.
A season ago, Richmond earned a 12-10 overall record and had a 10-4 tally against SAC opponents. After a three-week delay due to Hurricane Florence, the Raiders closed their final half of the season with a seven-game winning streak that saw them face Hoke County High School in a one-game contest to determine playoff seeding.
Although they lost that game, and finished with the Bucks tied for second in the standings, the Raiders are hoping to use that experience to put them over the top this fall.
“Coming in second place last year sets the bar high, and our guys know there is a standard to live up to,” Larsen said following practice Wednesday. “Three-fourths of our defense is returning, and we’re going to get plenty of good quality minutes out of a lot of players. We know how close we were last year and the guys haven’t forgotten how badly they had to fight for second. Now it’s a matter of coming out night after night and doing the right thing.”
Members of this year’s senior class include: Evan Baxley (center back), Drew Davis (center back), Cole Deane (forward/midfielder), Luke Hawks (forward/midfielder), Lee Hayden (forward/midfielder/center back), Noah Jordan (midfielder), Justyn Leviner (outside back), Kevyn Leviner (outside back), Michael McLaurin (outside back), Joey Nicholson (midfielder), Chandler Sinclair (midfielder) and Blaise Steadman (midfielder).
New to the varsity team this year are juniors Noah Aiken (midfielder, back), Jay Ammons (goalkeeper), Hector Castro (midfielder), Johan Chavez (forward/midfielder), Cale Luckey (forward/midfielder), Jaxon Mabe (outside back), River Meacham (midfielder), Karym Ojeda (midfielder), Bradford Pittman (midfielder), Bryan Stanback (outside back) and sophomores Alex Medina (midfielder) and Jaden Wilson (goalkeeper).
Hawks and Jordan are the only two returning All-SAC selections from a season ago.
Part of Larsen’s philosophy is to teach his players to be successful in several different positions, and noted that almost every one of his 24 players can expect to be used in a different role at some point this fall.
Of his back row, Larsen said “Drew locked it down with Evan Hudson last year” and said he knows Davis will “take on a leadership role and play close to every minute of every game.” The head coach added he’s leaning heavily on Davis to “keep things in control and be the last line of defense.”
Hayden, Jordan and Sinclair are three players in the midfield Larsen is looking to “control possession, spread the ball out and put us in the position to score some goals.” He called Hayden his most versatile player this season, and said fans could expect to see him play anywhere on the field.
With his top two forwards, Deane and Hawks, Larsen said “hopefully they continue with their production, and both have grown and shown what they’re capable of doing. They just need to capitalize on the opportunities they’re given.” Hawks is the leading returning goal scorer, as his eight goals last year were second on the team to now-graduated Carlos Alcocer (9). Jordan’s five goals makes him the second leading returner.
“Joey has a lot of speed which we can use to our benefit,” Larsen added. “Kevyn and Justyn have great speed in the back, and really our team has speed all over the place. We need to make sure we use it with consistency.
“This season we’re also looking to fill the shoes of Jackson Haley in goal, so right now it’s between Jaden and Jay to see who gets the nod.”
Larsen has high expectations for his team, and knows the SAC poses some competitive threats in Pinecrest, Hoke County and Jack Britt high schools. The biggest team goal is to make a run at the SAC title, which Richmond last won in 2016, as well as make a deep playoff run.
“The biggest thing with this group of guys in comparison to last year’s team is that they play more as a team,” Larsen explained. “The night-to-night goal is to play as a solid unit, and we have a lot of experience playing together. The guys also need to have confidence in each other.
“Long-term goals are of course to stay healthy and win as many ball games as possible,” he continued. “With this group of guys we’ve got a good chance of winning an SAC title, but it’s always a challenge. We want to make the playoffs, but it’s key that we get that postseason win we’ve been looking for.”
Richmond earned a No. 23 seed in the west bracket last fall, but fell to No. 10 Ardrey Kell High School in the opening round of the NCHSAA 4A playoffs. Of this year, Larsen said he fully anticipates for “four or five teams” to contend for the top three spots in the SAC, and is confident the Raiders will be in the mix.
Aside from scoring goals and playing together as a unit, Larsen emphasized that the biggest thing about the 2019 slate is going to be “knocking out mental errors.” He said if his team can limit them, including instances like committing fouls in the box and being slow on restarts, Richmond should put itself in position to win a lot of games.
“I’m always excited for soccer season,” Larsen concluded. “We put in a lot of good work over summer break and guys are excited to get back in the swing of things.”
Richmond opens its season next Tuesday, Aug. 20, at home against East Mecklenburg High School. Junior varsity will start at 5 p.m., followed by varsity at 7 p.m.
