Home Local Sports Raiders suffer road loss at Lumberton

Raiders suffer road loss at Lumberton

ROSports File Photo: Senior Jullian Cline (11) scored Richmond's goal in Thursday's match. (Kyle Pillar, sports editor)

LUMBERTON — A slow start on the road at Lumberton High School resulted in a mercy-rule loss for the Raiders on Thursday.

Richmond fell by a final score of 10-1 to the Pirates (3-2). 

Lumberton scored three goals in the opening 10 minutes, before taking a 7-1 lead at halftime.

Scoring his first goal of the season was senior midfielder Jullian Cline, who found the back of the net in the 40th minute. 

With the clock winding inside of 10 seconds, Cline scored on a rush from 25 yards out following a clear by the keeper.

The Pirates added three more goals in the second half, including the final one with 1:13 to play in regulation.

“They jumped on us quickly and we couldn’t get anything going in our favor,” head coach Chris Larsen said. “When you’re down three goals in the first 10 minutes, it’s hard to rebound. The guys were a little bit shell shocked.

“But I told them it’s a learning experience. We were coming off a big emotional win over Southern Lee, and the guys were still riding that high. And they saw how if they don’t focus and show up, it can catch up with them.”

Richmond, now 2-3-1 overall, is set to return to Sandhills Athletic Conference action next Wednesday at Pinecrest High School (1-4). The opening kick is slated for 7 p.m.

JV Raiders draw even with JV Pirates

In junior varsity action, the JV Raiders couldn’t hold onto a late lead against Lumberton. The JV match finished in a 1-1 draw. 

Scoring for Richmond was freshman Jose Garcia, his third goal in two games. He found the back of the net in the opening five minutes of the match.

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The JV Raiders held strong for the rest of the match, until allowing the tying goal in the final 30 seconds of regulation.

“I told the guys that a tie is better than a loss,” head coach Bennie Howard said. “We had several 1v1 chances and it could have gone either way.

“Gavin Applewhite made nine really good saves that could easily have put us behind. He would be the player of the match and is making good decisions. Now we’ll get ready for Pinecrest on Wednesday.”

The JV Raiders, who are 1-1-2, will play at Pinecrest at 5 p.m. on Wednesday.

Note: Chris Larsen, Bennie Howard and Shannon Mabe contributed to this article.



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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.