ROCKINGHAM — A fitting way for the Richmond Senior High School Lady Raider soccer team to cap its 2019 season was with six All-Sandhills Athletic Conference selections.
The mark of six players was tied with Pinecrest High School for the most in the conference, making it the second consecutive season the Lady Raiders had that many players named.
Five Richmond players were named to the general roster: Morgan Hooks (senior midfielder), Jayana Nicholson (senior midfielder), Chloe Wiggins (senior midfielder), Avy Lucero (junior defender) and Valery Standridge (junior defender).
Sophomore goalkeeper Kelly Hoffman was the final selection, as she was named “Co-Goalkeeper of the Year” along with Purnell Swett High School’s Monica Lowry. Lady Patriot head coach Corey Rice was named “Coach of the Year” after leading Pinecrest to a second-place finish in the 4A state playoffs.
Pinecrest’s Keeley Copper, who scored an SAC-best 47 goals, was named “Player of the Year.”
Hooks and Nicholson each earned her third respective All-SAC nod, both getting it last season as juniors, and once before that (Hooks, 2016; Nicholson, 2017). For Wiggins and Lucero, it was the second time they’d been named, with Wiggins earning a spot after her junior campaign. Lucero earned her first bid after her freshman year.
Hoffman and Standridge saw their named punched on the ballot for the first time in their careers. The Co-Goalkeeper of the Year award was the third-straight year Richmond had a hand in the award, as former keepers Allexis Swiney and Tatyana Gould got it the past two seasons.
“This group of girls was selected based on their performance over the whole season and the versatility that they showed,” first-year head coach Chris Larsen shared. “Even though they don’t make up the whole team, and may not be the leaders on the stat sheet, they are a big part of those stats and the reason for our successful season.”
The Lady Raiders finished the season 15-5 overall with an 11-3 mark against SAC opponents, which was good enough for second place outright in the conference. The six Lady Raiders helped Richmond snag a No. 8 seed in the playoffs, as well as make its third-straight trip to the SAC tournament championship game.
Kelly Hoffman
Co-Goalkeeper of the Year
Hoffman exploded onto the scene this season as Richmond’s new goalkeeper, and started 19 of the team’s games. She was responsible in helping the Lady Raiders win all 15 games, while making 77 saves and holding opponents to just 2.1 goals per game. Hoffman recorded five shutouts, while also scoring two goals this season.
“It feels great to be Co-Goalkeeper of the Year,” Hoffman said. “What helped me was my teammates always cheering me on and encouraging me during the games.
“Our defenders were really great in front of me,” she added. “They adjusted well after all the injuries we had. And since we all know each other so well, that helped us communicate on the field.”
“For Kelly to be selected as one of the two keepers of the year, it shows how much her ability has grown in a year,” Larsen said. “Even though she didn’t play much last season, she learned what it was going to take to be one of the top goalies in the league. She worked hard on getting better and it shows by being selected.
“Kelly has set the tone in her sophomore year for what teams are going expect to see for the next two years,” he added. “The biggest thing that set her apart from the rest of the keepers was that once she decided to come off her line, she wasn’t stopping — she never shied away from contact.”
Morgan Hooks
A staple in the midfield the last four seasons, Hooks closed her career in style with her third selection. Also a scoring threat, Hooks scored seven goals in her final campaign, which was tied with Wiggins and sophomore Jayla McDougald for third on the team.
Hooks notched multi-goal games three times this season, coming against Lumberton High School and Scotland High School (twice). Her biggest moment came as the game-winning penalty kick against Jack Britt High School. She also finished with three assists.
“I’m very humbled to be chosen again for the All-SAC team,” Hooks said. “I wouldn’t have been able to do it without my teammates.
“I’m going to miss playing together with all my friends because we’ve grown up together playing every year since middle school,” she continued of what she’ll miss most. “I’m also going to miss going to practice and all the bus rides to games.”
Jayana Nicholson
Cape Fear Community College Commit
One of two seniors going on to play college soccer (Tatum Hubbard, Methodist University), Nicholson mirrored Hooks’ play in the middle of the field the last couple of seasons. Using her speed and footwork, Nicholson was responsible for helping set up several scoring runs this season.
She netted four goals and recorded three assists, and scored Richmond’s lone goal against Pinecrest High School in the SAC tournament championship game. Two of her goals came against Seventy-First High School, and the other was against Cape Fear High School early in the season.
“It feels great knowing I’ll leave my senior year with an All-SAC selection,” Nicholson said. “Playing at Richmond helped me prepare for playing in college by making me a better teammate, a leader and overall player.”
“Morgan and Jay, as I have said time and time again, helped control and distribute the ball all over to have multiple scoring chances this season,” Larsen said of his two midfielders. “Jay was more defensive than Morgan and we used her to shut down certain plays at different times during the season.
“Morgan was just a constant threat of finding the open play when she got the ball at her feet,” he added. “Even though she didn’t score many goals this year, she managed to step up in different ways for us that you can find stats for.”
Avy Lucero
Lucero’s two roles on the team the past couple of seasons have been to be a lock-down defender, while also serving as the Lady Raiders’ go-to free kicker. This season, she lived up to her hype in the backfield, while also netting six goals.
She made a team-high three PKs this season, and scored the game-winning direct kick against Purnell Swett in the two teams’ first meeting in March with no time on the clock.
“It feels great to be selected again,” Lucero noted. “I’m very grateful I was selected … I hate seeing all the seniors leaving, but I wish them the best.
“I feel like Val and I did a great job of keeping other teams from scoring,” she added. “We have a great connection and we talk so well, which helps us when we play together.”
Valery Standridge
An early-season injury bug that saw Hubbard and follow defender Emily Buie go out for extended periods of time moved Standridge from midfielder to full-time defender. She accepted the role well and paired with Lucero to shut down opposing offenses.
Standridge also found the back of the net twice during her junior campaign, the first one coming against Jack Britt in the PK win. Her goal in the second half tied the game, forcing it to extra time. She also scored in a loss to Union Pines High School the same week.
“I was pretty surprised to make All-Conference by playing defense,” Standridge said. “I wasn’t really confident playing in the back to start, but throughout the season it got better and I really enjoyed it. Avy and I have been playing together since we were little and we have a really good connection.
“My favorite part of the season was beating Jack Britt three times,” she added. “We all played so good and we accomplished something that hadn’t been done in a while. Coach Larsen was really proud of us, which made it even better.”
“Valery and Avy stepped up big time when Tatum and Emily went out on injury,” Larsen explained. “The two of them control the ball so well and were able to set the tone and pace of the game by holding possession and allowing their teammates to get up the field.
“Avy’s unique ability at free kicks and Valery’s willingness to take on multiple roles are big pieces looking forward to next season,” he said.
Chloe Wiggins
Wiggins’ speed and ball control down the right side of the field has been something Richmond fans have come to expect the past couple of seasons. She’s also the team’s No. 1 corner kicker, and her ability to cross balls into the box led to her team-high six assists this season.
Scoring seven goals this season, which was tied for third on the team, Wiggins notched solo tallies in seven different games. In both games against Seventy-First, she had a goal and an assist to help the Lady Raiders to wins.
“It feels great to make All-Conference because I’ve worked so hard for four years,” Wiggins commented. “I’ve played by best and it paid off.
“The most unique thing about this group of 11 seniors is that we’ve all been playing together since we were little,” she added. “We are so close with each other, and we know how to have fun on and off the field.”
“Chloe also moved back to help match up with the speed of our opponents and was given the flexibility to make the deep overlapping runs to use her own speed to catch opposites by surprise,” Larsen said of the senior.
“She was just as much, if not more, involved in plays as she has been in years past even though she was learning a new position,” he closed. “Her ability to collect the ball and get crosses off will be hard to replace.”
