PEMBROKE, N.C. – At the beginning of the week, Lady Raiders’ head coach Bennie Howard expressed how important Monday and Wednesday’s games against Sandhills Athletic Conference opponents Scotland and Purnell Swett high schools were heading into spring break.
And he should be satisfied, as the Lady Raiders (9-2, 6-2 SAC) followed up their win against Scotland on Monday with a 4-2 victory on the road at Purnell Swett Wednesday night. It was the second time this season Richmond defeated the Lady Rams, outscoring them 8-3 in those contests.
Prior to the game, Howard addressed his players and reminded them not to play sluggish and put forth maximum effort. During Monday’s 4-0 win against the Lady Fighting Scots, Howard noted he was happy with the victory, but wanted to see more fight from his girls. And they responded in the opening 40 minutes against the Lady Rams (6-5, 2-5 SAC).
“I kind of got on my players before the game started,” Howard explained after the game. “They looked lackadaisical warming up so I called a meeting. But we came out in the first half and dominated. We scored three goals in the first 12 minutes. They (Purnell Swett) were shell-shocked, and I was pleased with our quick start.”
In the fourth minute, outside sophomore midfielder Emily Buie got things rolling for the Lady Raiders as she sent a cross into the box. Her pass connected with junior midfielder Chloe Wiggins, who sent the ball into the net for her team-leading seventh goal of the season.
Continuing the offensive rush for the Lady Raiders, junior striker Jessi Graham scored her sixth goal of the year on an assist from senior defender Shelby Matheson. In the 12th minute, Wiggins shot a ball on frame and Richmond got rewarded when a Purnell Swett player scored an own-goal to put the Lady Raiders up 3-0.
The Lady Rams finally got on the board when sophomore forward Abigail Lowry, who Howard described as a “very, very good player who is the whole package,” scored a goal in the 32nd minute to cut the lead to 3-1, her SAC second-best 14th goal of the year.
Five minutes later, Richmond junior midfielder Jayana Nicholson would end the first half’s scoring to give the Lady Raiders a 4-1 lead heading into halftime.
Out of the break, the game became intense as both teams ramped up their physical play. A total of six yellow cards were issued, with four of them going to Purnell Swett. Lowry collected two second-half yellow cards, which is the equivalent to a red card, and was sentenced to the bench for the remainder of the game.
Forced to play a player down, Purnell Swett didn’t surrender, and held Richmond scoreless in the final 40 minutes. Junior forward Maddison Oxendine made things closer in the game’s final 4:35, as she netted her ninth goal in 11 games.
“This win came at a good time right before (spring) break,” Howard commented. “Everybody can go on break happy that we’re 9-2 and third in the conference. We’ll have a couple of practices over break, get a chance to heal some minor injuries and get ready for Pinecrest (High School) the Monday we get back.”
With their win Wednesday, Richmond stayed locked in third place in the SAC behind first-place Pinecrest (12-0-2, 8-0 SAC) and second-place Jack Britt High School (7-3, 7-1 SAC). Richmond will travel to visit the Lady Patriots on Monday, April 9, and will look to avenge a 9-0 loss during the fourth game of the season. The game is slated for 7 p.m.
Note: In junior varsity play, Richmond also won. The JV squad defeated the Lady Rams 4-0. Taylor Casteen, Jakerra Covington, Allyson Legget and Jayla McDougald each had one goal in the victory.
