ROCKINGHAM — Using five different goal scorers, the Richmond Senior High School girls’ soccer team extended its winning streak to four games on Monday.
The Lady Raiders rolled past Seventy-First High School 5-0 on senior night, using two first half goals and three tallies in the final 40 minutes to ice the season sweep.
The program honored its five seniors ahead of the opening kickoff: four-year players Kelly Hoffman (goalkeeper) and Caroline Whitley (midfielder); along with three-year contributors Shelly Hoffman (midfielder), Allyson Leggett (midfielder) and Jayla McDougald (striker).
“The seniors have been a firm foundation that has carried us, and they’ve been part of teams that have had success,” head coach Chris Larsen said. “I’m glad they were a part of it and that they got to play this year. Kelly has been solid in the back and she’ll be greatly missed, and Allyson made the best of her season by being a great teammate after getting hurt early.
“Caroline has done some great things this year that aren’t on the score sheet and she gave the girls a lot of knowledge,” he continued. “Shelly came back from injury and has been enjoying this year fulfilling what she started. Jayla has been a solid player for us, scoring a lot of timely goals, and it’ll be hard to find someone to replace her on the left side.”
Left to right: seniors Shelly Hoffman, Allyson Leggett, Jayla McDougald, Caroline Whitley and Kelly Hoffman.
Junior Ellie Buck would score the eventual game-winning goal in the sixth minute on an assist from McDougald. Playing the ball off her body, McDougald sent the ball to Buck in open space inside the 18-yard box.
Taking a touch, Buck lifted a shot into the upper left hand corner of the net past goalkeeper Ariah Gillis from 15 yards. It was her third goal of the spring, and McDougald’s fourth assist.
“Tonight we had a quick goal, and once we score the first one, we keep it going,” Buck said. “I think my goal really helped pick up the momentum for our team, and Jayla made a nice play to get me the ball. I was able to take advantage of the opportunity she gave me.
“The key to the game was we didn’t want to mess up our record or our spot in the standings,” she added. “Our goal is to finish second in the conference and I think that was a big motivator for us tonight.”
Junior Ellie Buck rips a shot that proved to be the game-winning goal in Monday’s win.
Shelly Hoffman had several header chances around the net in the first half, and McDougald would be the lone senior to score in the game. In the closing two minutes of the opening stanza, McDougald went one-on-one against Gillis and sent a shot low into the net to extend the lead to 2-0. It was her team-leading 11th goal of the season.
“It felt good to score on senior night,” McDougald said. “I knew I wanted to score on such a special night, and it was great with all of my family here.
“The win was important because it really helps our chances to take second in the conference and make the state playoffs.”
Out of the break, the Lady Raiders scored three quick goals to put the game away. Freshman Gabby Lutz, who was called up from junior varsity, scored in her varsity debut. Taking a cross from junior Kaitlyn Huff, who was credited with the assist, Lutz found twine to make it a three-goal advantage.
Sophomores Jennifer Gomez and Sheccid Heaton would be responsible for the final two goals, respectively.
Gomez netted her second goal of the season on an assist from Cheyenne Jacobs, and Heaton took a pass from junior Saniah Durham, worked through a tackle, and found the back of the net midway through the half.
“It was good to see Jayla score on senior night, but it was also good to see some of the other girls take advantage,” Larsen said. “Ellie and Jennifer both had nice goals, and Gabby scored in her first varsity game, which is good for her future.
“Sheccid hasn’t gotten a lot of minutes, but she played well and worked hard to score her goal,” he added. “The work the girls are putting in at practice is paying off and getting the job done.”
Goalkeeper Kelly Hoffman recorded her fourth shutout of the spring, stopping several shots by Seventy-First (2-10-1) in the process.
Senior GK Kelly Hoffman clears a ball during the first half in what ended as her fourth clean sheet of the spring.
The victory locks up Richmond’s second-place finish in the Sandhills Athletic Conference standings, regardless of what happens in the Lady Raiders’ final two games. Richmond has five more wins than third-place Jack Britt (5-2-2), a team it beat twice this season.
“Going into the year, we knew we’d be able to battle for second,” Larsen said. “Pinecrest is leaps and bounds better than anyone in the conference, so for us to finish at the top of the more evenly matched competition is big.
“We were able to beat Jack Britt, Hoke and Lumberton twice, and that was big for our girls,” he closed. “”They’ve persevered through the challenges and it paid off. Hopefully we can continue that in our last two games.”
The Lady Raiders (10-2) will look to extend their winning streak with a road game at Scotland (1-9) on Wednesday and wrap the regular season with a home game against Purnell Swett (5-4-2) on Thursday.
Current playoff projections have the Lady Raiders as one of the two second-place automatic bids, which will place Richmond as a No. 8 or No. 9 seed.
Rodgers' hat trick helps JV Lady Raiders to fourth straight win
On the road at Hoke County High School on Monday, the JV Lady Raiders earned a 5-0 win.
Freshman Allie Rodgers scored a hat trick, improving her season goal total to 18 goals in nine games. Richmond led 3-0 at halftime.
Also scoring were sophomore C'Nedra Hinson, her third goal of the year, and freshman Wendy Lopez netted her first goal.
Sophomore goalkeeper Chloe Nunn registered the shutout. Head coach Tad Hamilton and the JV Lady Raiders improved to 7-2 on the year.
