SANFORD — Looking to close out a three-match week with its third win in four nights, the Richmond Senior High School soccer team came up just short of achieving that goal on Thursday.
Battling Lee County High School in a mid-season non-conference match, the Raiders were resilient and fought back to end the game in a 2-2 tie after trailing most of the second half. Per North Carolina High School Athletic Association rules, non-conference games do not go to overtime or shootouts.
The Raiders would finish their most productive week of the season with a 2-0-1 record.
Richmond jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the seventh minute on senior Luke Hawks’ third goal of the season. His goal was assisted by fellow senior Drew Davis, who airmailed a long direct kick into the box, allowing Hawks to chip it up and over the keeper’s hands. The early goal was the second night in a row the Raiders took an early lead in the first seven minutes.
Lee County’s Dario Umanzor would slip past the Raider defense in the 31st minute and score the first of his match-high two goals to knot the game. Both teams would carry the 1-1 tie into the halftime break.
Umanzor would light the lamp just two minutes into the second half, breaking loose down the right side of the field to tally his final goal.
“We were all over it the first half, but we just couldn’t put it in,” head coach Chris Larsen said. “It’s been like that a lot of nights this year. After Luke’s goal, we had one or two more chances, but then it was just run of the mill, back-and-forth soccer.
“The we gave one up in the first half and a quick one to start the second,” he continued. “That forced us to play the majority of the second half down trying to find the equalizer.”
The equalizer would come in the 72nd minute when senior Noah Jordan used his head to beat the keeper and tie the game at two goals apiece. The goal was Jordan’s third of the season and was his third tally in as many games this week. He also had a header in Monday’s 5-2 win over Seventy-First High School.
“Noah has seen it go in a few times now, so that’s building his confidence,” Larsen noted. “He’s taking a lot better shots, and is stepping up and helping us win some ball games. As a team, we’re missing some opportunities, but the guys are willing to pull the trigger earlier than what they had been.”
The Yellow Jackets (3-6-1) outshot the Raiders (3-7-2) 17 to 14 in Thursday’s contest. Junior goalkeeper Jay Ammons made three timely saves to help preserve the tie.
“It’s been our best week so far, so we’ll take it and run with it,” Larsen said. “We managed to score nine goals in three games and gave up only five, so that’s encouraging.
“Now we have to refocus on keeping it going when we start our next round of conference games,” he closed. “We’ve dug ourselves into a hole, but the conference is there for the taking. A lot can happen between now and the end of the regular season.”
The Raiders will play a home-and-home against Sandhills Athletic Conference foe Purnell Swett High School. Monday’s match will be at home, followed by a road game Wednesday. Both contests will start at 7 p.m.
JV Raiders score five goals in win over Yellow Jackets
The Richmond junior varsity soccer team defeated Lee County 5-2 on Thursday. Goal scorers were: Cody Eason (2), Duglas Mendoza, Andres Sanchez and Luke Williams. The Raiders improved to 6-1-2 and will play Purnell Swett at 5:15 p.m. next Monday and Wednesday.
