FAYETTEVILLE — Finding the back of the next came in waves for the Richmond Senior High School girls soccer team, which entered the win column during its season opener Tuesday.
Hitting the pitch for the first time this spring, the Lady Raiders defeated non-conference Jack Britt High School 5-4 on the road.
Letting a pair of one-goal leads diminish in the first half, Richmond scored three straight goals to start the second 40 minutes to secure the win.
Senior forward Allie Rodgers started her final campaign with a hat trick, scoring a goal in the first half and two more in the second half.
Adding a pair of tallies was junior forward Ashly Gonzalez, who split her scoring between each half.
“I thought we knocked the ball around pretty well and it took the first six to eight minutes to get into the swing of it,” head coach Chris Larsen said. “At halftime we made adjustments and came out to score three unanswered goals in the first 15-20 minutes.
“I’m happy to see we were able to put the ball in the back of the net,” he added. “That’s been our Achilles heel, and scoring five is not our customary goal number. But it’s encouraging for us to put five in and hopefully that will continue.”
Gonzalez scored first to make it 1-0, blasting a shot into the net from the top right of the 18-yard box. But a few minutes later, the Lady Buccaneers evened the score.
Rodgers netted her first goal before the halftime whistle, making a run down the left side and beating the keeper to her left. Jack Britt (0-1) managed to tie the game again to go into the break 2-2.
Rodgers started a strong burst of scoring for Richmond, tallying her second goal early in the second half. Gonzalez followed to make it 4-2 with a goal from a similar location as her first one.
Netting what proved to be the game-winning goal, Rodgers headed her third goal of the game into the net off a corner kick.
Larsen called for a near post run and Rodgers was there to redirect the ball inside the post through traffic.
The Lady Buccaneers chipped away at Richmond’s lead with their third goal with about 12 minutes left in the game.
They followed that with one more tally in the closing minute, but Larsen made some lineup changes to stop the comeback attempt.
“The scrimmages helped get the girls settled in, and we’re getting better,” Larsen explained. “And that has alleviated my worry of rebuilding our chemistry and experience this year.
“I’m proud of the way they played the whole game,” he closed. “We got a lot of leadership from Gabby (Lutz) and Jenna (Gardner) in the middle tonight and they kept us organized. We’re moving in the right direction, it’s a building process.”
The Lady Raiders (1-0) will continue their three-match opening week Thursday at home against non-conference Uwharrie Charter Academy. Only varsity will play, starting at 6 p.m.
JV Lady Raiders also win
Starting its season also on the road at Jack Britt, the Richmond junior varsity girls soccer team earned a 3-1 win.
Leading 2-0 at halftime, the JV Lady Raiders used two goals from freshman Addison Butler and another tally from fellow freshman Kadence Gazoo.
“I’m happy and pleased that we got the win tonight,” head coach Bennie Howard said. “But there is some work we need to do to get better organized.
“We don’t want to play as many long balls as we did tonight and string some passes together like we do in practice. But for having 15 freshmen and five sophomores, it was a great win.”
The JV Lady Raiders (1-0) return to the pitch next Wednesday, March 6, at home against non-conference Terry Sanford High School. The match will start at 5:15 p.m.
Sports editor’s note: Unofficial stats provided by head coach Chris Larsen and JV head coach Bennie Howard.
