ROCKINGHAM — Persistence paid off for the Richmond Senior High School boys’ junior varsity soccer team Thursday.
Getting its season started two days later than expected, the JV Raiders scored late in its non-conference match with Forest Hills High School.
Richmond edged the JV Yellow Jackets 1-0 in its home opener. The victory was also the first win in head coach Jessi Weigman’s career.
The first half was 35 scoreless minutes as both teams split time in their respective attacking third.
Richmond controlled the tempo for the majority of the beginning of the half. Sophomore goalkeeper Jake Gardner was busy the final 15 minutes, making several saves to keep Forest Hills out of the net.
In the closing seconds of the opening half, sophomore Kerick Hairston Jr. was tripped about 30 yards from the goal. Sophomore Jayden Scire took the free kick, Richmond’s best look on net, but it sailed high as time expired.
A better second half yielded the match’s only goal. The JV Raiders started with shots on net by Hairston and Scire in the first five minutes.
Gardner made a diving save across the goal mouth with 10 minutes remaining, sparking an uptick in Richmond’s momentum.
Making a run down the middle of the field, freshman Eduardo Lalito Soriano arced a shot from distance outside the 18-yard box into the net to make it 1-0 in the 63rd minute.
Gardner made one final athletic save less than a minute later, leaping above a horde of players in the box to punch a shot clear of the danger zone.
Sophomore JaVeion Littlejohn nearly gave Richmond a two-goal lead in the final 90 seconds, but his charge into the box was deflected wide.
“I’m glad we started the season with a win,” Weigman said. “The guys played well to start and got better in the second half. We moved the ball better, used the outside of the field more and more of our passes hit their target.
“Eduardo came in clutch at the right time with his goal,” she added. “That’s something he’s proven he can do. Jake made a couple good saves tonight and his experience in the back helped with keeping the team organized.”
The JV Raiders (1-0) play at non-conference Porter Ridge High School Monday. The match will start at 5:30 p.m.
The Richmond Observer will publish a photo gallery of Thursday’s season opener soon.
