LAURINBURG — A fast start in the opening six minutes of Wednesday’s Sandhills Athletic Conference match against rival Scotland set the tone for the Lady Raiders.
Using two goals each from juniors Destiny Barrick and Kaitlyn Huff, the Lady Raider soccer team rolled past the Lady Scots 8-0.
Richmond scored three goals in the first half, before pouring it on with five tallies in the closing 40 minutes.
Head coach Chris Larsen said scoring two goals in the first handful of minutes allowed the Lady Raiders to settle in and play their style of game.
“The biggest thing about getting ahead early was it didn’t make us burn ourselves up trying to score,” Larsen explained. “We had two quick goals from Ellie (Buck) and Kaitlyn (Huff), and that let the girls sit back and play relaxed soccer.
“And when we can do that, we tend to play pretty well,” he continued. “We worked the ball around and had a lot of different goal scorers tonight, which will pay dividends when we have to play on back-to-back nights.”
For the majority of both halves, the Lady Raiders commanded possession and field position. Richmond rattled off 23 total shots, with 14 coming in the opening 40 minutes.
Barrick and Huff led the team with four shots each, while Buck, Cheyenne Jacobs and Jayla McDougald all added three shots.
In the fourth minute, Barrick drew a foul at the top right of the 18-yard box. That allowed Buck to send the free kick up and over the hands of goalkeeper Sunny Fairweather for her second goal in as many games and fourth of the season.
Two minutes later, Huff showcased her speed down the left wing to notch the first of her two tallies. Working in open space, she used her left foot to laser a shot from 15 yards across the box and into the back post side netting. Richmond quickly led 2-0.
Junior midfielder Kaitlyn Huff rips a shot in what would be the first of her two goals in the win. (Kyle Pillar)
All around the net for the rest of the first half, Richmond added to its lead when Barrick recorded her first goal this spring. Similar to Huff’s goal, Barrick worked the left side on a counter and booted the ball into the net in the 36th minute.
“My midfielders, Sheccid, Ellie, Kaitlyn and Rylie, I wouldn’t have been able to score without them,” Barrick commented. “They kept their heads up and made great passes to the center. They were definitely team goals.
“Tonight was a good win and we had nice teamwork, passing and our communication was great,” she added. “During warmups, we were really positive and we carried that on the field, which helped us tonight.”
The barrage of second-half scoring started with three Richmond goals in the opening 18 minutes. Barrick netted her second mark in the 44th minute when she faked a defender in the box and blasted a shot into the net.
In the 51st minute, McDougald kept her scoring foot hot with a goal, her 12th of the year, which is tied with Huff for the team lead. Huff extended Richmond’s lead to 6-0 when she scored her second goal of the game in the 58th minute.
Sophomore Sheccid Heaton moves around a defender in Wednesday’s win over Scotland. (Kyle Pillar)
Heaton, who has gotten more playing time the last few games, took advantage with a goal in the 69th minute. Scoring her second goal in as many games, Heaton took a through ball and slotted it past the keeper from the middle of the box.
With the clock winding inside two minutes, Jacobs collected a loose ball on the doorstep of the goal and one-touched it into the net. She now has five goals on the season, which is second to only Huff and McDougald.
Senior goalkeeper Kelly Hoffman didn’t face many shots on Wednesday, and registered her fifth shutout of the spring. A lot of that had to do with Richmond’s offense applying pressure up front, but also thanks to a strong line of defenders.
“We did pretty good as a team and made a lot of passes out of the back that led to goals,” junior center back Paxlee Faircloth said.
“The backline always tries to stay pushed up so we can be there to distribute the ball,” she added. “The wings are always where we are looking to make a pass to, and the backline worked really well as a team doing that tonight.”
Junior center back Paxlee Faircloth clears the ball away from three Scotland players in the first half. (Kyle Pillar)
Of the momentum the Lady Raiders have built during their current five-match winning streak, Larsen said he hopes that will continue to carry the team as Richmond plays one final regular season game ahead of the 4A East playoffs.
“We’ve been playing better each game the last few games, which is something I’ve been preaching to the girls,” Larsen said. “We went through a little dry spell in the middle, but the girls are gearing up for what they know is ahead of them.
“We really tried to rest some girls and save our energy for what will be our third game this week,” Larsen said. “This game allowed all the girls to get some playing time tonight. It’ll be a tough game tomorrow, but we know we have a playoff game.”
Second-place Richmond (11-2 SAC) will wrap up its regular season on Thursday with its third match this week. Purnell Swett High School (6-5-2 SAC), which the Lady Raiders beat 3-2 in the first game of the season, will visit Richmond’s campus.
The Lady Raiders are still projected to be one of the two second-place automatic bids to the NCHSAA 4A state playoffs. Seeding will be released on Saturday. The Richmond Observer will report on the seedings when they are released.
JV Lady Raiders edge Union Pines in season finale
The Richmond junior varsity girls’ soccer team wrapped its spring campaign with a 2-1 win over non-conference Union Pines on Wednesday.
Battling to a 1-1 tie after the opening 35 minutes, it was freshman Allie Rodgers who scored Richmond’s first goal. That tally, her last one of the season, brought her team-leading goal total to 19 goals in 10 games (1.9 goals per game).
Continuing the fight in the second half, freshman Wendy Lopez scored the game-winner with eight minutes left on the clock. Coming off the bench, Lopez wasted no time, scoring on a breakaway up the middle of the field.
It was Lopez’s second goal in as many games and her second of the season.
“It was a tough, but well deserved win,” head coach Tad Hamilton said. “I was very happy to end the season strong and finish the season with another win. I’m proud of the girls and the season we had.
“It’s always bittersweet to see a season come to an end, but it is very encouraging to see the progress and growth the girls made individually and as a team,” he closed. “I hope they learned a few things and had fun in the process.”
Freshman Gabby Lutz finished the season with nine goals, while teammates Kaleigh Cloninger, C’Nedra Hinson and Melissa Hernandez all had three goals. Ashlyn Bouldin scored twice, and C’Niya Hinson, Alex Poplin, Shiana Chaparro and Andrea Ellerbe all tallied one goal.
The JV Lady Raiders finished the season with an 8-2 record, with both losses coming to Pinecrest High School.
