ROCKINGHAM — A late burst of offensive opportunities got the Richmond Senior High School girls’ soccer team on the board Monday, but it wasn’t enough to get a win.
Starting their final week of the regular season, the Lady Raiders tried to erase a two-goal second-half deficit against non-conference Sun Valley High School.
Scoring one goal, the Lady Raiders ran out of time before they could score another, falling 2-1.
Richmond trailed 1-0 at halftime and both teams scored a goal in the final 40 minutes of action.
Senior goalkeeper Sa’Quanna Bostic made back-to-back diving saves in the third minute against a Sun Valley offense that put numerous shots on net in the first half.
Head coach Chris Larsen said he was pleased with the Lady Raiders “winning the ball in the middle of the field” in the first half, which led to several chances on net.
Sophomore Colbie Covington recorded Richmond’s first shot on goal in the fourth minute following a lead pass from senior Mascha Theijs. Senior Hanna Smith followed a minute later with a shot just right of the back post on a Covington cross.
The Lady Spartans scored the only goal in the first half in the 15th minute. Unable to clear the ball out of its defensive third, Richmond committed a turnover.
Nicole Kleyner caught Bostic off her line and won the 1v1 opportunity to put the ball just inside the left post to make it 1-0.
Richmond’s next quality scoring chance came in the 23rd minute when sophomore Mariana Gonzalez blasted a shot just over the crossbar.
Bostic kept the deficit to one goal when she made a sliding stop on another 1v1 situation in the 33rd minute. She followed that with a catch on a follow up shot a few seconds later.
A corner kick by Covington in the 36th minute hit the side netting and senior Yarely Vargas made a turning shot in transition just before the break for another quality scoring chance.
Sun Valley (13-5-2) netted its second goal early in the second half when Kleyner capitalized on a failed clearing attempt in the 46th minute.
For the remainder of the match, Richmond upped its offensive intensity and started peppering the net against goalkeeper Maria Trhin. First was a run into the box by Covington that was stopped by the keeper.
Senior center back Ava Thompson got the first of her three quality scoring chances in the second half when she put a free kick from 40 yards on frame in the 59th minute. Her shot one-hopped into the hands of the keeper.
Pulling the Lady Raiders within a goal in the 62nd minute was Gonzalez. Following a handball in the box, Gonzalez pelted the penalty kick goal above the keeper and below the crossbar to make it 2-1.
Larsen switched up the team’s formation for the better part of the remaining time, dropping the back line to three defenders to add a second forward up top. Thompson’s second chance came in the 67th minute when she was just high on a rebound following a corner kick.
Making a back post run in the 73rd minute, senior Mariana Mendez almost finished a cross from Gonzalez inside the six-yard box, but she had too much power on it.
Bostic made an athletic save on a Kleyner shot less than a minute later to keep Richmond within striking distance.
The Lady Raiders’ final two quality looks on net came in the 75th and 78th minutes. First, Thompson took a free kick from outside the box on the right third that was just over the bar. Covington followed that with a 25-yard boot that was on frame but was stopped.
Richmond (8-11-2) will wrap up its regular season Thursday at the Central Academy of Technology and Arts (8-12). Play will begin at 6 p.m.
