ROCKINGHAM — Going into Tuesday’s junior varsity soccer game, Richmond head coach Tad Hamilton wanted the Raiders to hang tough against a competitive Pinecrest High School team.
And they did despite not getting the outcome they wanted.
Coming off a tough last-minute loss to Hoke County last week, the JV Raiders dropped their second straight match. Despite a hard-fought battle, as noted by Hamilton, Richmond fell 2-1.
Tuesday’s matchup was a make-up game from the first week of the season when the Patriots had to quarantine to follow the NCHSAA’s COVID-19 protocols.
“We fought hard, but couldn’t quite pull out the win,” Hamilton said. “I am proud of my guys and I hope our performance tonight motivates us for future games to come. We are truly capable of beating any team we play in our conference.”
Early in the opening 35 minutes, the Raiders took a 1-0 advantage. On a free kick, Richmond won possession and freshman James Eason played a “nice cross into the box.”
The ball bounced around the defenders and a deflection by a Pinecrest player scored an own goal to put the Raiders up in the 10th minute. Although the goal wasn’t credited to Eason, he still leads the team with three goals in three matches.
Richmond would lock down on defense the remainder of the half and take to 1-0 advantage into the intermission.
Roughly halfway through the second half, Pinecrest scored its first goal in the 50th minute. The Patriots played a through ball in the air, and Richmond won the initial header, but a Patriots player regained possession.
Hamilton said the defense couldn’t clear the ball quickly enough and Pinecrest tapped the shot in near the goal.
The Patriots scored the winning goal in the 60th minute on a shot from the edge of the box that was chipped over the goalkeeper’s hands.
Now 1-2 on the season, the JV Raiders will have a quick turnaround to try and get back to the .500 mark. Hamilton and company welcome in non-conference opponent Union Pines High School on Wednesday at 6 p.m.
