WAXHAW — Knowing Monday’s playoff opener would be a challenge, the Richmond Senior High School girls’ soccer team saw its 2026 season come to an end.
The No. 23 Lady Raiders made their best effort to upset No. 10 Cuthbertson High School, but they came up short 8-1 in the 7A West first round contest.
Richmond trailed 6-1 at halftime and allowed two more goals after the intermission.
Junior Mariana Gonzalez was responsible for the Lady Raiders’ lone goal in the match. Creating space in the first half, she launched a 35-yard shot into the back of the net for her fifth goal of the season.
Head coach Chris Larsen said Richmond had only “five or six shots” on goal all match, and that miscues in the first half led to a large deficit early.
“We struggled in the first half to keep the ball out of our back half,” Larsen said. “Cuthbertson scored on three corner kicks and then we allowed an own-goal. We had lots of careless mistakes early.
“Going into the match, we knew it’d be a challenge,” he continued. “Cuthbertson plays in one of the best conferences in the state and their overall record was a little deceiving. We just couldn’t seem to get out of our own way and play mistake-free soccer. Had we been able to do that, I think we’d have made it more challenging.”
During halftime, Larsen and the Lady Raiders talked about making adjustments and playing more fundamental soccer. Able to do that, Richmond tightened up its defense and played a better half, Larsen said.
“Even though the girls played a better second half, we dug a hole that was going to be hard to get out of in the first half,” Larsen said.
“Going into this year, we expected it to be an uphill battle without many of our starters returning,” Larsen closed. “But as a program, I think we learned a lot and grew a lot this year. Hopefully this season will help pay dividends as we try again next year.”
The Lady Raiders ended their season with a 5-12-4 overall record and placed fifth in the inaugural Mid-South Conference standings with a 1-7-2 mark.
Richmond averaged 1.86 goals per match this season and allowed 2.33 goals against. Leading the team in scoring were junior Colbie Covington (8 goals), freshman Kaylea Peele (6 goals) and Gonzalez (5).
The team’s largest margin of victory this spring was a 9-0 win over rival Scotland High School.
One of the Lady Raiders’ most notable matches was a 100-minute double-overtime draw with Pinecrest High School to end conference play.
The Richmond Observer will publish an All-MSC Team article when it’s released.
