ROCKINGHAM — A grueling 80 minutes of action Thursday saw the Richmond Senior High School boys’ soccer team get back in the win column.
Facing familiar Mid-South Conference foe Hoke County High School, the Raiders muscled their way through a physical match to end the first round of conference action with a win.
Thanks to a first-half goal, coupled with a strong defensive effort, Richmond earned a 1-0 win.
Finding the back of the net for the Raiders was senior Elen Fonseca Garcia, who finished the scoring play that was assisted by junior Cole Lambeth.
After Lambeth sent a through ball to the middle of the field, Fonseca squared up his shot and scored from the top of the 18-yard box. The match’s only goal came near the midway point of the first half.
Junior goalkeeper Eric Legrand played the entire match between the posts and was credited with the shutout.
The Raiders (6-8-2, 2-2-1 MSC) return to action Monday to start the second round of conference action at home against Pine Forest High School (3-11-2, 0-5 MSC). They’ll go for the season sweep starting at 7 p.m.
JV Raiders also blank Hoke County
Getting over a mid-season slump that saw two leads and a scoreless game lost in the second half, the Richmond junior varsity boys’ soccer team also picked up a win Thursday.
In their match against the JV Bucks, the JV Raiders cruised to a 3-0 win. All of Richmond’s goals were scored in the second half.
Scoring first was sophomore Drew McCaskill on a hard shot from outside the box. Freshman Mason Huff made it 2-0 when he scored off a flick.
Adding an insurance goal late was sophomore Jayden Scire, who also scored from distance.
“We played so well tonight.” head coach Jessi Weigman said. “The last couple of matches we’ve struggled to be able to maintain a lead or score, so tonight was a really good confidence booster for us.
“I’m happy for all three guys being able to score, especially Drew and Jayden. They create so many plays for us that set up goals for their teammates, so it was good to see them rewarded.”
The JV Raiders (8-6-1, 2-2-1) play Pine Forest at home Monday and will start at 5:15 p.m.
