LAURINBURG, N.C. – For the fourth time this season, the Lady Raiders soccer team shutout an opponent during a game. In Sandhills Athletic Conference play at rival Scotland High School on Monday, Richmond walked away with a 4-0 victory.
Coming off a season-best scoring performance in which they scored 10 goals against Seventy-First High School on Thursday, the Lady Raiders followed up with a dominating performance that saw them maintain possession for the majority of the game, keeping the ball in Scotland’s defensive zone and limiting the home team’s scoring chances.
Richmond (8-2, 5-2 SAC) used four different scorers to put the ball in the back of the net, and among them was junior midfielder Chloe Wiggins. Even though her only goal of the night served as the final tally of the game, Wiggins was instrumental in getting the Lady Raiders on the board. She finished the night with one goal and two assists.
In the fourth minute, Wiggins took a pass down the right side of the field following a Richmond throw in. Like she has done so many times before, she sent a perfect cross into the box to the far post from the right corner for her first assist on the night, finding teammate Hanna Millen, who headed the ball past Scotland’s goalkeeper.
Ten minutes later, Wiggins ran an identical play down the right sideline. In déjà vu fashion, she finessed her way around a Scotland defender and sent another cross to the far post. Junior Morgan Hooks crashed the box to contest the shot, and came out on the right side of the battle, as she used her right hip to nudge the ball into the left half of the net.
Up 2-0 just 14 minutes into the game, head coach Bennie Howard didn’t want his team to let its foot off the pedal. Richmond would tack on another goal in the first half, courtesy of junior midfielder Jayana Nicholson.
In the 33rd minute, Nicholson took control of the ball at midfield off a Scotland turnover. Dribbling up the center of the field, she split two Lady Fighting Scots defenders as she entered the goalie box, managing to muster the ball into the net as she fell to the ground.
Wiggins was rewarded for her sharing of the ball, and finished off the night’s scoring in the 45th minute with a strike from the top of the 18-yard box that sailed into a wide-open net on the back post. Sophomore Avy Lucero also had a couple of opportunities to score, banging the ball off the cross bar twice during the game.
Millen’s goal was her team-leading sixth of the season. Hooks and Wiggins’ goals were their fifth goals of the year, and the two assists tallied by Wiggins put her season total to a Richmond-best nine on the year. After Monday’s win, Nicholson has four scores through 10 games.
This was the sixth time in seven games this season that Scotland (1-6-1, 1-5 SAC) was held without a goal.
Though he was glad to get the win on the road, Howard said his team has some improvements to make entering a couple of big-time SAC games before and after spring break.
“Any time we can beat Scotland, that’s a plus because they’re our rivals,” Howard commented. “I thought we coasted a little bit tonight. Thank goodness Chloe showed up and had a goal and two assists – she was the entire offense.
“At this stage of the season, we’ve got to start putting complete games together,” he continued. “We can’t make excuses, we have to step up and play. I’m happy that we won, but not happy with the way that we won. We can do a whole lot better.”
The Lady Raiders will head to Purnell Swett High School Wednesday to finish the regular season series against the Lady Rams (6-3, 2-3 SAC). Richmond defeated them 4-1 in the third game of the season. Following spring break, the Lady Raiders will head to SAC leader Pinecrest High School (11-0-2, 7-0 SAC).
Howard noted that the schedule “doesn’t get any easier” moving forward, and stressed the importance of having a good week of practice and game against Purnell Swett.
“We have to have a good practice (Tuesday) and get ready for Purnell Swett on Wednesday. It’s tough to go into someone else’s place and win,” Howard concluded.
