LAURINBURG — Wrapping up the first round of Sandhills Athletic Conference play on Monday, the Raider soccer team did so by adding another win to its record
Richmond traveled to 3A rival Scotland High School and earned a 2-0 win, scoring a goal in each half.
Another fast start on offense for the Raiders put them ahead 1-0 in the fourth minute.
Senior Matteo Rubbiano, who’s a foreign exchange student from Italy, slotted his first goal of the season.
Setting up the goal was fellow senior Jesus Castro, who darted the ball into the box from the left side on a free kick. There to redirect the ball was Rubbiano, who kicked it past goalkeeper Jack Herr.
Richmond dominated possession in the opening 40 minutes, keeping the ball in its attacking third for the majority of the time.
The Raiders outshot the Fighting Scots 11-3 in the early going. All three of Scotland’s shots came in the final seven minutes.
The biggest play of the first half came from junior goalkeeper Adrian Padron. In the 35th minute, following a handball in the box, Padron made a save on a Scotland penalty kick.
Taking the shot for the Fighting Scots (1-6-1, 0-6 SAC) was Elijah Clark, who sent a strike on frame. Making a dive to his left, Padron timed it up and got both hands on the ball to knock it down and let the defense clear it.
Other opportunities in the first half included four shots from senior James Eason, one of which banged off the right post in the 32nd minute.
Rubbiano had two shots and five others — Jesus Castro, Samuel Hawks, Memphis Jacobs, Vernan McDonald and Landon Summerlin — each had a shot.
Hawks had a header attempt on a corner kick by McDonald, Summerlin found the side netting and Jacobs’ shot rattled off the crossbar.
Padron made two other saves in the half, the first a kick save on a close-range shot and the other a save on a free kick.
Taking a 1-0 lead into the second half, Richmond had a couple of chances early on from Summerlin and Daniel Gomez.
But it was Eason who blasted the insurance goal into the net in the 40th minute. He settled a clearing attempt and went top shelf from 30 yards, directing the ball between the crossbar and Herr’s outstretched hands.
The tally was Eason’s sixth of the fall, tying him with Castro for the team lead. Richmond sent another 11 shots on goal in the second half but only Eason scored.
Padron played 73 minutes in goal for the Raiders, with Edwin Estrada blanking Scotland for the final seven minutes to combine for Richmond’s third shutout of the season.
The Raiders (6-5-1, 3-2-1 SAC) begin the second round of conference play on the road at Southern Lee High School on Wednesday. Junior varsity will start at 5 p.m., followed by varsity action at 7 p.m.
Sports editor’s note: The JV Raiders didn’t play on Monday due to Scotland not fielding a team.
