ROCKINGHAM — Two goals from distance, and another from close range, kept the Richmond Senior High School junior varsity girls’ soccer team perfect to start the season Friday.
Playing their second match this week, the JV Lady Raiders defeated non-conference Purnell Swett High School 3-2.
Freshman Molly Covington was responsible for the first goal and the game-winning tally, with fellow freshman Miley Locklear netting the team’s second goal.
“It wasn’t our best team effort tonight,” head coach Bennie Howard said. “We were fortunate to get the win with the way we played. We resorted to some bad habits that allowed (Purnell Swett) to keep it close.
“Molly had a great game in the midfield and created space to score two goals,” he added. “I’m a firm believer that we play games the way we practice, and we didn’t have a good practice yesterday. We have a little bit of time between matches, so we’re really going to focus on correcting our mistakes.”
Both of Richmond’s goals in the first half came in the opening eight minutes.
Covington got the first tally on a shot from outside the 18-yard box, a hard strike that went over the keeper’s hands.
That was followed by a close-range goal by Locklear, who dribbled through traffic in the box to make it 2-0.
Sophomore goalkeeper Sherlyn Ramirez had a relatively quiet first half. Purnell Swett appeared to score a goal in the 9th minute, but was whistled offside.
The JV Lady Rams cut their deficit in half in the 31st minute on a second-chance opportunity.
Most of the second half was played as a back-and-forth battle in the midfield, but the JV Lady Rams managed to tie the match 2-2 with a goal inside the box in the 48th minute.
Covington played hero in the 62nd minute when she made another long-distance goal.
Similar to her first strike, she created space on a run and took a shot from 25 yards. The ball sailed through a window created by the crossbar and the keeper’s hands to make it 3-2.
Ramirez kept the advantage in Richmond’s favor when she made a save with three minutes remaining on a shot inside the six-yard box.
The JV Lady Raiders (2-0) will have off until March 13 when they travel to non-conference Asheboro High School. That match will start at 5:30 p.m.
