LAURINBURG — Finding the back of the net wasn’t an issue for the Richmond Raider soccer team on Monday, seeing its efforts culminate in a rout of its rival to close the first round of Sandhills Athletic Conference play.
On the road at Scotland High School, the Raiders used six different goal scorers to defeat the Fighting Scots 6-1. Senior midfielder Alex Medina had one goal and three assists.
“At first, I was playing a little greedy and I wanted to change up my playing style,” Medina said. “Eventually that led to three assists and I added a goal. It can’t get much better than that.
“We knocked the ball around a whole lot more than we have in previous games. When we do what Coach (Chris) Larsen tells us to do, it shows we can compete with anyone and put numbers up on the board.”
Richmond controlled the tempo of the game from the opening whistle, maintaining possession and peppering the net with shots. In the first half, Richmond registered 12 of its 16 total shots on frame and scored four goals against keeper Gavin Stanley.
The Raiders scored from all over the field, including two headers, one of which was off a set piece to give them the lead in the 10th minute. Medina registered his first assist when he sent a corner kick from the right side into the 6-yard box.
There to head it in was senior forward Han Jalbasuren, who redirected the shot along the far post.
With 21:25 remaining in the first half, play was stopped following an on-field altercation between players from both teams. Each team received one red card and had to play with just 10 players the remainder of the match.
Senior Luke Williams moves the ball up the field during the first half. (Kyle Pillar/The Richmond Observer)
Larsen explained the Raiders “didn’t have to change too much schematically” since the teams were even, but added that “the guys did a good job adjusting to losing a player in the midfield.”
Medina put the Raiders up 2-0 in the 29th minute, making a run down the left side. He shot the ball from 15 yards that hit the next just under the crossbar.
Richmond’s offense stuck again in the 36th and 38th minutes, starting with senior Luke Williams. Just a minute after putting a shot on net, Williams finished a through ball from Medina, beating Stanley one-on-one to the back right post.
Two minutes later, junior Gerardo Aguirre brought the ball across midfield on an offensive rush, leading to an assist. He laced a pass to sophomore midfielder Jesus Castro, who blasted a shot from the top of the 18-yard box for a goal.
Leading 4-0, Richmond would enter halftime with a comfortable lead over Scotland (2-10, 0-6 SAC).
“We were able to work on some things that will hopefully help us move forward,” Larsen said. “I think we were able to work more freely based on the skill level. Tonight we saw what we can do and that it has to be a lot cleaner and crisper against other teams.
“We’ve started to figure things out as we close the first round of conference play. We got a win when we needed it and hopefully this will springboard us into the second half.”
Scoring in the second half for the Raiders were sophomore James Eason and senior Justin McDougald.
Medina recorded his final assist on Eason’s goal, sending a shot that deflected off the keeper’s hands. There to collect the loose ball near the right post was Eason, who scored his second goal in as many games in the 52nd minute.
Richmond’s final goal came with 24.4 seconds left in the match, a header from McDougald inside the box. Junior Naaman Perakis lifted a pass up and over a defender to find McDougald, and was credited with the assist.
Senior Justin McDougald (16) dribbles around a pair of defenders during Monday’s win. (Kyle Pillar/The Richmond Observer)
Scotland’s lone goal came in the 64th minute, scored by Hector Hernandez on a run down the right side.
“Having six guys scoring shows they’re getting in positive positions to score,” Larsen said. “We’ve made some good runs and tonight we were able to find those spaces a little more easily. The guys were able to capitalize on those opportunities.
“Everybody got some playing time and I tried to mix them into realistic situations. That helped guys be successful and that’s what allowed us to have so many guys score.”
Senior outside back Ben DeAguilar noted Richmond’s defensive success came from remaining composed and being able to move the ball from one side of the field to the other.
“We communicated more and we watched the offsides, which got Scotland tonight,” DeAguilar said. “Switching the field back and forth also helped us, and our midfield did a good job with helping us with that. We really opened up our spaces to shut them down.”
Richmond (4-8, 2-4 SAC) will start its second round of conference play on Wednesday with a road match at Southern Lee High School (6-5 , 3-3 SAC). The Raiders lost 4-2 in the first meeting. Play will begin at 7 p.m.
JV Raiders also defeat Scotland
The Richmond junior varsity soccer team earned another win on Monday, defeating Scotland 4-1. Holding a 1-0 lead at halftime, the JV Raiders added three goals in the second half.
Scoring for Richmond were sophomore Noah Williams and freshmen Noah Gil, Jeremiah Ritter and Landon Summerlin.
The JV Raiders (8-1-1, 2-1-1 SAC) will play at home against Pinecrest on Wednesday, starting at 6 p.m.
