ROCKINGHAM — Trending upward each of the last three seasons, Chris Larsen expects the Richmond Senior High School boys’ soccer team to continue that ascension this fall.
Just days away from the first match of the regular season, the Raiders are “more athletic” with better speed and are more “aggressive-minded,” according to Larsen, who enters his seventh season as the head coach.
Richmond’s soccer team, along with the volleyball team, will become the school’s first two programs to compete in the 2024 season Monday.
Having narrowly missed out on the state playoffs a season ago, a sting that hasn’t been forgotten by the Raiders, this year’s squad hopes to make a strong showing in the Sandhills Athletic Conference and punch its postseason ticket.
In 2023, the Raiders posted a 9-11-1 overall record. Against SAC teams, Richmond went 5-7-1, finishing fifth of seven teams in the final standings.
Setting the bar higher this fall, Richmond will try to round out its final season in the 3A/4A split conference with a run toward the top three spots.
The departure of nine seniors from last fall has opened up what Larsen called a higher turnover rate. While six of those players were starters, Larsen has confidence in the rising talent to fill those voids.
Despite the loss of its top two goal scorers, James Eason and Jesus Castro, along with All-Conference center back Daniel Jaimes, the Raiders return eight players who collected a lot of minutes a season ago.
Seniors Noah Gil (forward) and Landon Summerlin (midfielder) are two players expected to lead the offensive push for the Raiders. Gil is the returning leader in goals scored (6) and Summerlin adds speed along the left side.
Also returning as seniors are Gonzalo Gonzalez, Daryan Mendez and Adrian Padron. Gonzalez will serve as Richmond’s holding center midfielder, while Mendez returns to center back where he played beside Jaimes last year.
Padron, an All-Conference selection two seasons ago, will be back between the posts as the starting goalkeeper for his third varsity season.
Juniors Memphis Jacobs (forward) and Kimahri Johnson (defender), along with sophomore Daniel Gomez (midfielder) round out the team’s returners.
Jacobs scored four goals last fall, while Johnson played significant time along the back row. Gomez, who was a starter as a freshman, suffered a leg injury and will begin the season on the sideline.
An influx of younger talent will make the full time jump to varsity this season, a group that Larsen said has shown a lot of promise in conjunction with the returning Raiders.
Joining the Raiders this fall will be 11 juniors — Dougie Dickinson (defender/forward), Elen Fonseca (midfielder/defender), DJ Gainey (midfielder), Jose Garcia (forward), Cayden Gillenwater (forward), Phoenix Jacobs (defender), Erick Jimenez (midfielder/forward), Braxton Martinez (defender), Jason Medina (midfielder), Cole Thrower (defender) and Camden Williams (goalkeeper).
Making the move to varsity after one year of junior varsity experience is a trio of sophomores — German Fonseca (midfielder), Cole Lambeth (midfielder) and Patrick Smith (forward).
Larsen said the Raiders will have one, possibly two, foreign exchange students play on the team this year as well.
As Larsen and the players are feeling good with the team’s progression during the early going, they’ll have to face and defeat a tough SAC slate if they want to resurge toward the top of the conference.
Richmond will face back-to-back SAC champion Lee County High School, along with Pinecrest, Southern Lee and Hoke County high schools, all of which finished ahead of the Raiders in the standings last fall.
Also on the conference schedule are Union Pines and Scotland high schools, two teams the Raiders swept and kept scoreless in 2023.
To help prepare for SAC action, Richmond will face a host of physical and talented non-conference teams — Piedmont, Independence, Sun Valley, Porter Ridge, Rolesville and Terry Sanford high schools, among others.
Richmond was supposed to get a final pre-season tune-up Saturday at Independence but Larsen said the team’s two scrimmages were canceled.
The Raiders’ hopeful climb toward the top of the SAC standings begins Monday, Aug. 12, on the road at non-conference Piedmont (7 p.m.).
That will be the first of two matches in three days to start the season, with Richmond’s home opener against Independence slated for Wednesday, Aug. 14, at 7 p.m.
SEASON SCHEDULE: Click here for an always up-to-date schedule for the Richmond boys’ soccer team.
The Richmond Observer will continue its award-winning coverage of the varsity and junior varsity soccer teams this fall.
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