ROCKINGHAM – A night after the Richmond Senior High School varsity soccer team struggled to put the ball in the back of the net against Hoke County High School, the Raiders responded with a second-half scoring outburst against visiting Sandhills Athletic Conference opponent Purnell Swett High School.
Wednesday’s match against the Rams was the regular season series finale between the two teams, as Richmond returned to the .500 mark in 3-1 fashion. The Raiders (5-5, 3-2 SAC) had three different players score a goal in the win, all coming in a six-minute span in the final 40 minutes of play.
Senior Alexis Gonzalez netted his fourth goal of the year, which is tied with junior Luke Hawks for the team lead. The final two goals, scored just 1:18 apart, came from senior Nolan Allen and junior Noah Jordan, and were both players’ first tally of the season.
In the first contest against the Rams on Aug. 27, the Raiders scored eight goals and kept Purnell Swett (3-4-2, 1-3 SAC) off the board. And for first-year head coach Chris Larsen, the season sweep victory was something he knew his team needed if it wants to contend for an SAC championship and a playoff spot.
Richmond got out to a fast start in the opening half, as several Raiders put shots on net, forcing Purnell Swett goalkeeper Nick Ramirez to make saves. Allen got an early look on a header attempt in the goalie box that just sailed wide on a long throw-in by teammate Evyn Brower in the opening 10 minutes.
Hawks followed up a couple of minutes later with a shot across the goal mouth that just trickled wide — and then the sky opened up. Due to thunder and lightning, the game was delayed roughly 30 minutes.
“It was nice to play the first half like quarters because I was able to coach up the guys during the rain delay,” Larsen said after the win. “We had a heck of a lot of opportunities — but it seems to be our Achilles heel that we can’t score early.
“I guess you could say we had an out-of-body experience in the second half where we had about 10 minutes where everything we did went right,” he added of the Raiders’ scoring. “When we line it up, it goes in. It’s just a matter of doing that for 80 minutes every game.”
Out of the rain delay, despite Richmond maintaining possession deep in the Rams’ territory for a majority of the night, Purnell Swett’s Jafet Robles broke the scoreless tie in the 35th minute. On a ball in the air that was missed by Richmond’s defenders, Robles corralled the loose ball and sent it past sophomore goalkeeper Kaden Walker, who was making his first varsity start.
The Rams’ 1-0 lead would hold until halftime, and would remain intact until the 59th minute. And that’s when Larsen’s team struck lightning in a bottle.
Prior to tying the game, Gonzalez had an opportunity from just outside the box, as he sent a Cole Deane pass barrelling toward the net in the 57th minute, but Ramirez made a nice diving save, punching the ball wide.
Two minutes later, Gonzalez would light the lamp as he went top shelf over Ramirez’s hands, and tied the game at one goal apiece.
The Raiders continued to apply offensive pressure, and Allen would score the eventual game-winning goal thanks to a nice feed from Brower. On a rush, Brower angled a ball in the air off his head to a charging Allen in the middle of the field, who in turn sent a hard shot just off the ground past Ramirez in the 64th minute.
“Evyn gave me a great flick on the run,” Allen noted of his goal. “I was able to get a great shot on the left bottom corner of the goal. It feels good to get this win tonight after losing to Hoke County. This win should give us some confidence when we play Lumberton (on Thursday).”
Before the Rams could regain their footing, Jordan took possession of the ball near the same place Allen scored, and blasted a laser to the far post. Ramirez made a diving effort to stop the shot, but Jordan’s ball was past him before he had time to react. With 15:20 left in regulation, Jordan’s goal would serve as the last score of the night for either team.
“I told the guys it’s hard to score sometimes, but I’ve also told them before it’s like shooting free throws — once one goes in, they all seem to,” Larsen explained. “It can be contagious.
“Nolan and Noah had some good opportunities tonight, so I pushed them up the field a little bit,” he added. “Nolan’s speed caught them off guard and he was able to get it past the goalie. And Noah has been all over the place this year in terms of where he plays, and tonight he lined it up and got things going in the right direction.”
The Raiders hope to carry the momentum into Thursday’s SAC match on the road at Lumberton High School, as it will be the third match in as many nights for Richmond. On the season, the Pirates are 5-5-1, 2-2 in SAC play, and a win for Richmond could prove pivotal in the SAC standings.
“If we don’t show up (against Lumberton) and play our game, then we won’t be successful,” Larsen concluded. The match is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. following the junior varsity game.
