CHARLOTTE — The Richmond Senior High School boys’ soccer team wasn’t able to pick up a non-conference win on Monday.
Starting their final week of regular-season play, the Raiders paused Sandhills Athletic Conference action and traveled to East Mecklenburg High School.
Although Richmond “played well and had plenty of chances” according to head coach Chris Larsen, the team suffered a 3-1 loss.
After nearly a scoreless first half, the Eagles used a turnover deep in Richmond’s defensive third to take a 1-0 lead.
Intercepting an errant pass was Charlie Wehrheim, who slipped the ball past junior goalkeeper Adrian Padron to put the Eagles (9-8-2) up a goal. That score would hold until halftime.
Five minutes into the final 40 minutes of play, East Meckleburg sent a goal from distance into the bottom right corner to extend its lead in the 45th minute.
Answering for Richmond was junior striker Noah Gil, who scored his fourth goal of the season in the 52nd minute.
Richmond played the ball into the box from the left side and Gil collected the bouncing ball to redirect it into the net following his run to the back post.
However, the Eagles responded with their third and final goal of the game just four minutes later. A shot from the top of the box sailed under the crossbar to make it 3-1.
“We had a mistake early that put us down, but we continued to fight,” Larsen said. “We had a few set pieces, lots of chances and spent plenty of time in a dangerous area, but we never had any quality looks.
“We made things interesting by getting a goal back in the second half, but the third goal hurt us,” he closed. “Hopefully we can win on senior night and finish the season strong on Thursday.”
Richmond (8-9-1, 4-5-1 SAC) will return to play on Wednesday for senior night. The Raiders will host Scotland High School (1-11-1, 0-11 SAC) at 7 p.m., followed by the regular-season finale at Pinecrest High School on Thursday.
JV Raiders edge East Mecklenburg
Ahead of the varsity match on Monday, the Richmond junior varsity soccer team defeated East Mecklenburg 2-1.
The JV Eagles took a 1-0 lead midway through the first half, but sophomore Cayden Gillenwater tied it 1-1 before the break. He sent a free kick from 25 yards over the keeper’s hands and into the net.
With 10 minutes to go in regulation, sophomore Dougie Dickinson crossed the ball to sophomore Erick Jimenez, who one-touched the ball along the far post for the game-winning goal.
“It was a good win for us,” head coach Bennie Howard said. “After we got the lead, we were able to hold on the last 10 minutes for the win.
“Our goalkeeper Camden Williams made three or four great saves in the second half to give us a chance.”
The JV Raiders (8-4-4, 4-3-2 SAC) will host non-conference Lumberton High School at 5 p.m. on Wednesday. Scotland doesn’t have a JV team.
Sports editor’s note: Andy Summerlin, Chris Larsen and Bennie Howard contributed to this article.
