Home Local Sports Raiders earn 3rd in SAC standings despite regular-season finale loss

Raiders earn 3rd in SAC standings despite regular-season finale loss

Freshman Jesus Castro (4) attempts to clear the ball away from Cole Bluhm (17).
Kyle Pillar — Sports Editor.

ROCKINGHAM — Although their five-match winning streak came to an end Thursday, the Richmond Raiders secured an outright third-place finish in the Sandhills Athletic Conference.

With a little help from Jack Britt High School, which defeated Lumberton, Richmond (9-4-1) finished the regular season a half game ahead of the Pirates (8-4-2).

The Raiders fell to SAC leader Pinecrest High School in their regular-season finale, a 4-0 decision. It was a make-up game from earlier in the season due to rain, and was Richmond’s third game in four days.

“I told the guys that finishing third shows they were in the top half of the conference and that it’s not a bad year, especially going against a lot of quality teams in a shortened season,” head coach Chris Larsen said. “There’s a lot to be proud of with how we finished.”

Pinecrest’s first two goals were scored on corner kicks, and the first was a redirect from Cade McLaughlin in the second minute. WIlliam Smith collected a second chance opportunity after goalkeeper Jay Ammons made an initial save on a corner in the 26th minute.

Gerald Ofosu made it 3-0 on a penalty kick in the 36th minute after a Richmond defender was called for a foul in the box. Pinecrest’s final score came from Binka Woody in the 57th minute off a set piece.

“We were in the game tonight and we played Pinecrest a lot closer than we did in the first game of the season,” Larsen said of Thursday’s match.

“Our guys made a couple simple mistakes, but we didn’t let Pinecrest dominate us,” he added. “They were just able to capitalize off our mistakes. We didn’t have that much to lose tonight, and I still think we’ll be able to make the playoffs.”

The Raiders made several runs on net in the loss, including a long pass from junior Alex Medina to junior Luke Williams in the 17th minute. Williams went one-on-one with the keeper but his shot sailed just high.

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River Meacham and Justin McDougald also had chances inside of 10 yards in the final 90 seconds of the first half, but couldn’t connect.

McDougald had Richmond’s best look in the second half, but a through ball from Pedro Molina was just out of reach down the left side of the field.

Senior Noah Aiken said the Raiders are proud of their finish in the conference and expect to build off their performance against the Patriots as they hopefully head into the postseason. He added that Thursday’s game was proof Richmond can compete with quality teams.

“We improved since the first time we played them, and that’s a key factor in our development this season,” Aiken explained. “More than anything, we learned we’re capable of playing with Pinecrest and knowing that gives us a lot of confidence with the playoff brackets coming out.

“Taking third feels great, especially when we just missed out of the playoffs last year,” he added. “The team is ecstatic and we’re looking to change the narrative of soccer in Richmond County.”

The NCHSAA will release its preliminary and final playoff brackets on Saturday, and Larsen is certain Richmond’s finish was good enough to earn a wildcard slot in the 4A tournament. Richmond will wait for the brackets to come out, while resting after a busy final week of the season.

“We are going to use tonight’s game to build some confidence,” Larsen said. “This is the caliber of team we’ll hopefully see next week, so we’ll use it to see where we need to improve and get ready for another game.

“The guys will get the day off tomorrow and get some rest after three games this week,” he closed. “Hopefully we’ll get some guys back in the lineup and make sure we come full of energy next week.”



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Kyle Pillar is a 22-time North Carolina Press Association award-winning sports editor with The Richmond Observer. Follow the sports department on X @ROSports_ for the best in-depth coverage of Richmond County sports.