LAURINGBURG, N.C. – The Richmond Senior High School Boys soccer team wrapped up its week Wednesday night, as it beat out not only the rain, but Sandhills Athletic Conference opponent Scotland High School 8-2.
As the Raiders (7-4, 4-2 SAC) have struggled throughout the season to put up big numbers on the scoreboard, it wasn’t a problem Wednesday, as a total of eight different players tallied a point, with senior forward Victor Lucero and junior forward Carlos Alcocer each scoring two goals.
The match started with both teams taking a flurry of shots on goal, with Scotland (3-11, 1-5 SAC) striking first at the 18:04 mark in the first half (the Raiders also let in a goal in the first 29 seconds of Monday’s game against Seventy-First High School). Lucero didn’t waste much time, as he scored the equalizer and his first goal of the night just 25 seconds later. Senior forward Patrick Hamilton followed up with another goal for Richmond, making it 2-1 with 11:03 remaining before the break.
Richmond was certainly the more aggressive team all night, as senior forwards Brett Baucom, Jonathan Tadlock and Hamilton made several nice runs to the goal in the first half. Before half’s end, Lucero received a lead pass from Alcocer to drill in his second goal of the night, which proved to be the game-winner.
Head coach Bennie Howard noted his team’s efforts, but felt like his players didn’t play to the best of their ability despite picking up the victory. Regardless, he’s happy with the outcome.
“I’m glad we got the win, despite starting a little slow,” Howard said. “We gave up the first goal, which is something we have to work on not letting happen, especially against tougher conference opponents.
“Scotland was running a high-line offside trap, and we were not paying attention,” Howard continued. “We were making north/south runs when we should have been playing the ball east/west. Once we got that settled in the second half, we started to open it up and scored some nice goals.”
The second half was even more score-laden for the Raiders, as Tadlock sailed a corner kick to Alcocer, who scored his first goal of the night on the cross at 30:44, making it a 4-1 Richmond lead. Scotland came back with a goal of its own just over 10 minutes later to net its final tally of the night.
To finish the game, the Raiders went in a 4-0 scoring run. Sophomore midfielder Joseph Nicholson assisted on a Tadlock goal, and Alcocer had another run to the goal and scored at the 18:56 mark.
Soon after, the Raiders defense got in on the scoring barrage, as junior defender Nolan Allen went one-on-one with Scotland’s goal keeper and entered the scoring barrage earning his first goal of the season. Sophomore defender Lee Hayden closed out the night’s scoring, also tallying his first goal of the year at the 9:30 mark. Sophomore midfielder Jose Fonseca picked up an assist as the eighth Richmond player to enter the scoresheet.
“I am very thankful for Carlos, and all my teammates,” Lucero said after the match. “Carlos gave me one of the best passes (on my goal) and I appreciate his playmaking a lot.”
The junior varsity team also won, defeating the Fighting Scots 4-1. Noah Aiken, Cole Deane, Brady Edmunds and Trevor moss scored for Richmond.
Richmond picks up action Monday, Sept. 25 on the road at Hoke County High School. The junior varsity match is set for 5:15 p.m. followed by varsity at 7 p.m.
