ROCKINGHAM – In what almost always promises to be a physical matchup, Wednesday’s Sandhills Athletic Conference meeting between the Richmond Raider varsity soccer team and Jack Britt High School proved to be just that.
And before the match’s end, the Buccaneers would be down two players thanks to red cards issued for inappropriate language, and head coach Chris Larsen would have the cherry put on top of his birthday with a convincing 3-0 Richmond victory.
The home game for Richmond was the first of two regular games the two teams will play against one another this fall, and the shutout win gave the Raiders (4-3, 2-1 SAC) their first victory over Jack Britt (4-4, 1-2) since the 2016 season when the two were non-conference opponents. In that span, the Buccaneers had beaten Richmond in two of the three contests, with the third, and most recent, resulting in a tie.
The early-season SAC victory comes less than a week after the Raiders stunned No. 8 Lee County High School 2-1 thanks to two second-half goals scored by junior Luke Hawks over a 56 second span.
Under the direction of new head coach Wendell Wise, the Buccaneers were shell-shocked by three first-half goals by the Raiders, which would prove to be enough, as neither team managed to find the twine in the final 40 minutes.
The shutout win was the Raiders’ second of the season, and second in four matches, with the other being an 8-0 blowout win over Purnell Swett High School on Monday, Aug. 27.
Senior forward Alexis Gonzalez, who started the night on the bench, netted two goals on the night. His first came in the 16th minute, and he added the third goal of the match in the 36th minute. Fellow senior and center back Evan Hudson would notch the middle goal in the 26th minute.
“The way they played tonight, tough and physical, is the way a Jack Britt team normally plays,” Larsen said following the game, drenched after his team emptied the water cooler on him. “They got a few cards that took the spirit out of them, but we knew going in that it was going to be a physical game.
“Even when they had to play a guy down for most of the night, they were still physical and had guys with speed,” he added. “It’s just one of those nights where things went our way. Half the battle for us was keeping our heads — how we carry ourselves dictates the we play. We kept a level head and that took care of us.”
The game got off to a physical start, as both teams wasted no time checking bodies to battle for possession. In what ultimately turned into a game dominated by the Raiders in nearly every facet of the game, including ball and time management, it was the defense that had to make a couple of early first-half plays.
In the 9th minute, senior forward Kyle Goodwin came to goalkeeper Jackson Haley’s aid when he made a body save along the back post on a Jack Britt header attempt. Over the next couple of minutes, senior back Nolan Allen and junior back Drew Davis made several sliding blocks and zone clearings to keep the Bucs off the board.
Junior midfielder Noah Jordan, who Larsen has noted as being one of the best players on the team in terms of setting up plays, gave Richmond its first look on goal in 6th minute. After Jordan intercepted a pass near the top of Jack Britt’s box, he sent a pass to Hawks, whose shot was just off the mark.
Using that play as a stake that would drive Richmond to controlling the game from that point on, Gonzalez would blast a putback goal past Jack Britt goalkeeper Deondre Largent just 10 minutes later. Jordan again had a foot in setting up the goal, as he took a free kick along the right side of the pitch following a Buccaneers foul.
Jordan’s initial shot ping-ponged around the box, and he regained possession and sent a shot on net. The ball was shouldered by Gonzalez, who one-time the ball past a flurry of defenders inside the box for the eventual game-winning score.
Moments later, Jordan would make a sliding tackle on a shot by Ryan Hebl off a corner kick, which thwarted a shot by the Buccaneers that sailed wide.
Richmond wasn’t without its fair share of yellow cards on the night, as Hawks was awarded the team’s first in the 24th minute. Senior Carlos Alcocer would pick up his only yellow card, and Richmond’s second, in the closing moments of the first half. During the same sequence, Jack Britt received its first red card of the night, making only 10 players eligible to play on the field at the same time the rest of the night.
Senior Alexis Gonzalez (10) collects the ball just prior to knocking in his first goal of the night.
Before the first 40 minutes were over, Hudson would make a run down the middle of the field after knocking the ball down with his face and gaining possession at midfield. A give-and-go play with junior midfielder Chandler Sinclair saw the ball come back to Hudson near the top of the box. He took an initial shot that kareened off Largent, but Hudson collected the bouncing ball and sent a rocket into the wide-open net for his second goal of the season.
Gonzalez would extend the lead to 3-0 with his third goal of the season when he stayed onsides just long enough to take a perfectly placed pass from Allen just outside the 18-yard box. With Largent charging, Gonzalez flicked the ball up and over the keeper’s head for the final score of the game.
“Alexis has stepped up big in the last few games,” Larsen said if his two-goal scorer. “It took him a while to get going, and he was even telling the guys he was having trouble scoring. But like most of the guys, when he saw it go in the net, he’s found a way to keep putting it in.
“Evan is a center back, but I tell him that if he can make a run, I want him to take it,” he continued. “It was a nice give-and-go play, and he created an opportunity for himself.”
The second half was quiet for both Largent and Haley, as both were replaced by backup keepers Jordan McMillan (Jack Britt) and Kaden Walker (Richmond). While the score remained the same, several more cards were issued.
To start the second half, Jack Britt earned another yellow card, before being awarded a second red card in the 60th minute. For Richmond, Davis was yellow carded with just over 15 minutes left in the game.
The win over the Buccaneers sets the stage for Richmond’s game Thursday against a tough non-conference opponent in Pine Forest High School (6-2, 5-0 Patriot Athletic Conference). Last season, the Trojans knocked off the Raiders 5-1 in Rockingham.
“Pine Forest sits atop its conference, but I was able to play everyone tonight to try and keep some fresh legs for tomorrow,” Larsen concluded. “It’s going to be a battle and hopefully we can keep things going.”
The match in Fayetteville is set to start at 7 p.m.
Note: The Raider junior varsity team also defeated Jack Britt Wednesday 4-2. Sophomores Noah Aiken and Trevor Moss each tallied two goals in the win.
