ROCKINGHAM — Everywhere but in the back of the net is where the Richmond Senior High School girls’ soccer team was Friday.
Despite controlling the tempo for the majority of their non-conference match with Purnell Swett High School, the Lady Raiders weren’t able to finish on their ample scoring opportunities.
Following a pair of wins this week that saw the team outscore its opponents 14-0, Richmond couldn’t score in a 1-0 loss to the Lady Rams.
The only goal scored in the match came in the opening two minutes and was the result of an unlucky bounce for the Lady Raiders.
“We had an unfortunate bounce early that caught one of our hands just outside the box,” head coach Chris Larsen explained. “And you have to give Purnell Swett credit for taking advantage of that opportunity, which was a nice goal.
“We had several chances in the six-yard box to start the game. We just couldn’t direct it past their keeper and into the back of the net.
“I thought we controlled the momentum of the game for the most part,” he added. “Toward the end of the game, we pushed forward to try and create some scoring chances. We got a little bit out of our shape and couldn’t make that tying goal happen.”
Purnell Swett (2-0-1) scored on a direct kick goal following a hand ball in the first two minutes. The shot just made its way past senior goalkeeper Olivia Brown.
Much of the second half was played with Richmond in its offensive attacking zone. The first quality chance the Lady Raiders got was when senior Jentry Denson sent a free kick into the box in the 44th minute that was cleared out.
Freshman Kaylea Peele sent a shot just left of the net in the 48th minute, and junior Mariana Gonzalez nearly redirected a shot into the goal when junior Colbie Covington took a corner kick three minutes later.
Brown’s biggest save of the second half came in the 56th minute when she got big and batted down a shot inside of 10 yards and scooped up the rebound.
In the next five minutes of action, sophomore Mavery Hooks one-hopped a shot on goal from distance and freshman Nayeli Chavez saw her shot outside the box saved.
Two more chances to score on set pieces came in the 68th minute. Richmond had a pair of corner kicks from either side of the field, and it was Denson and freshman Alley Crouch who put her head on the ball, but both attempts were just off the mark.
Crouch had another quality look on goal when she sent a shot from 30 yards along the right third of the field in the 71st minute, but it trailed long past the back post.
Covington closed the last couple of minutes with two looks on frame, the first on a tight-angled shot following a rush down the left side. The other was a high, arching shot from 25 yards that almost curved its way inside the right post.
“I told the girls that Purnell Swett is a good soccer team and that this is the level of competition that we’ll see night in and night out,” Larsen closed. “I’m glad we played them early because we are such a young team, and hopefully we can learn from tonight.
“We have to have a short memory since we have another match Monday against a team that we’ve historically played tight in ball games. We just have to buckle in and play for a full 80 minutes.”
The Lady Raiders (2-2) will look to get back in the win column Monday on the road at non-conference Uwharrie Charter Academy (1-0). The varsity-only match will start at 6 p.m.
