PEMBROKE — Heading into the final week of non-conference play, Chris Larsen said the main objective for the Richmond Senior High School boys’ soccer team was to earn a pair of wins.
The Raiders achieved half of that goal Monday on the road at Purnell Swett High School.
After a scoreless first half, a goal in the 56th minute proved to be enough in a 1-0 win.
Junior Patrick Smith started the scoring run with a breakaway down the sideline. Credited with the assist, Smith slid the ball to junior Kevin Diaz Lopez in the middle of the box, whose shot fired its way into the back of the net.
Junior goalkeeper Eric Legrand played all 80 minutes in net and recorded the shutout.
“We played well in the first half and had about 70% of the possession in the midfield or our attacking zone,” Larsen said. “We created some chances and a lot of shots, but we struggled to get quality looks on goal. (Purnell Swett) did a good job of setting a low block and their keeper made two or three good saves.
“The second half was a lot like the first until Patrick started that run and found Kevin. (Purnell Swett) threw another body forward in the final 20 minutes and we had to survive a late surge.
“We faced more shots later and Brian (Griffith) was able to clear out a ball that Eric wasn’t able to get to with about six minutes to go. In the final two minutes, Purnell had back-to-back corner kicks that resulted in Eric saving one and Martin (Lopez) clearing the other.
“Hopefully this win will give the guys some confidence and allow us to continue making steps forward,” Larsen closed. “We have one more non-conference game Wednesday and we’ll see if we can get another win.”
Richmond (3-6-1) will head to Uwharrie Charter Academy (1-1) Wednesday for its final non-conference match before starting Mid-South Conference action next week. The varsity-only match is set for 6 p.m.
JV Raiders earn win on road
In Monday’s junior varsity soccer match, Richmond stayed in the win column.
Also on the road at Purnell Swett, the JV Raiders blanked the JV Rams 3-0 for their second straight win.
Helping make the score 2-0 at halftime were sophomore JaVeion Littlejohn and freshman Mason Huff. Adding an insurance goal in the second half was freshman Alan Santiago.
Three players were also credited with one assist each — sophomore Kerick Hairston Jr. and freshmen Kingston Gil and Jude Lantz.
All three of the JV Raiders’ goalkeepers played Monday and contributed to the shutout. Starting in net was sophomore Jake Gardner, who was followed by sophomore Francisco Sanchez and freshman Eric Hicks.
“We played well tonight,” head coach Jessi Weigman said. “This was a match we believed was winnable and the guys went out there and played as a team to get it done.
“We’re still using these non-conference matches to get everyone some playing time and work on getting better, which are good things.”
The JV Raiders (6-4) will have off until Monday when they travel to Pine Forest High School for their first MSC match. The game will start at 5:30 p.m.
