MONROE, N.C. - Richmond Senior High School head soccer coach Chris Larsen made his varsity coaching debut Monday at Central Academy of Technology and Arts (CATA), and despite an early goal, the Raiders fell in their season opener.
Playing at Walter Bickett Stadium just down the road from CATA’s campus, Richmond (0-1) began the 2018 campaign with a non-conference loss that saw the Cougars (2-1), who Larsen noted as “a quality team,” score three unanswered goals.
It was just the second time the Raiders have faced CATA, the other being in the early part of the 2017 season, which resulted in a 3-1 Richmond victory over Jay Niessner’s team. The Cougars compete in the 2A Rocky River Conference.
After a fast start by CATA that saw two shots just off frame, Richmond’s season got off to what looked to be a promising start. Senior goalkeeper Jackson Haley made a sprawling save in the third minute, and just two minutes later, senior midfielder Evyn Brower booted in the Raiders’ first goal of the year.
Junior defender Lee Hayden threw the ball in from the right sideline, and a couple of lucky bounces found the ball at Brower’s feet in the middle of the box. Brower then blasted a shot on frame and watched the ball hit the twine behind CATA goalkeeper Kyle Weston.
For much of the remaining part of the first half, Larsen’s team controlled the match, seeing several opportunities to score. In the seventh minute, senior forward Carlos Alcocer had a shot stopped on a pass from fellow senior Alexis Gonzalez, while a minute later Brower had another chance on a cross from senior Nolan Allen that sailed just over the crossbar.
Alcocer, who was second on the team last season with 14 goals, had a breakaway chance following a Kyle Goodwin throw in, but his grounder trickled just to the left of the near post in the 13th minute. Richmond’s last big scoring chance of the first half came when senior midfielder Jose Fonseca blasted a shot from nearly 40 yards out that soared inches above the crossbar.
“We came out of the gate pretty good tonight,” Larsen said following the match. “We moved the ball around well enough to allow us to score first. Evyn got one in, and we dominated the first half.
“But a miscommunication in the back allowed (CATA) to tie it up just before the half,” he continued. “And I told the guys at the half that if we could keep the ball wide and put some passes together, we could probably get other opportunities to put the ball in the net. Unfortunately, we couldn’t maintain possession and achieve our goal.”
The Raider defense was also solid in the opening 40 minutes of play, as Haley made several stops on shots from both inside and outside the box. One of his more athletic saves was a diving snag on a Julian Barrera attempt from outside the 18-yard box. Allen and fellow senior defender Evan Hudson each had sliding blocks that thwarted deep CATA runs.
However, it was Cougar senior midfielder Sergio Garcia who knotted the game at one in the 22nd minute, as he took a pass inside the box and beat a diving Haley. Both teams would enter the half without another goal.
Out of the halftime break, Alcocer raced down the middle of the field and nearly connected on a rip that was lifted just over the crossbar. But that would be the last time for nearly 15 minutes that Richmond would pose a threat in the offensive zone.
The Cougars would net goals in the 51st and 60th minutes to cap off the night’s scoring. The game-winning goal was scored by junior forward Landon Atwell, who redirected an Ethan Cammer direct kick about 10 yards in front of Haley.
Nine minutes later, senior midfielder Hender Hernandez broke down the right sideline and created a one-on-one opportunity against Haley. Richmond’s keeper charged out of the net to try and limit Hernandez’s angle, but was unsuccessful as the Cougar midfielder chipped it into the net.
The Raiders made it interesting with several late-match runs that saw the ball put on frame, including two crosses made by junior forward Steven Morales that were scooped up by Weston. At one point, Weston deflected a shot that sent the ball bouncing near several Richmond players in the box, and even with an open net, the Raiders’ offense couldn’t score.
“In the second half, I think the guys hung their heads a little bit,” Larsen noted. “Soccer is a team sport and you have to play that way. When guys start trying to do two, three or four different things, they feel like they’re doing a lot, but they’re also hurting the team. And I think we ran into a little bit of that tonight.”
In keeping with his philosophy of getting all of his players experience in the early going, Larsen replaced Haley with sophomore keeper Kaden Walker with 17 minutes to go. Walker, the lone sophomore on this year’s team, made a couple of nice stops to keep the game at 3-1.
Larsen also used the opening match to substitute his players frequently to keep fresh legs for a three-match week, as well as try to get guys acclimated to playing his system.
“Being down two goals, I wanted to get as many guys on the field as possible,” Larsen explained. “If the guys don’t have experience in game situations, it’s harder to do their job when they do get in.
“I’m trying to keep all of the guys’ legs fresh with three games this week,” he added. “I’m still trying to find the perfect combination of guys on the field. We haven’t been too successful in putting the ball in the net, so I’m trying to piece together the right fit. It’s one of those things that’s a revolving door.”
Richmond will return to the pitch twice more this week, as it’ll face non-conference opponents Porter Ridge (Wednesday, 6:30 p.m.) and Forest Hills (Thursday, 6 p.m.) high schools. A win would mark the first of Larsen’s career.
Note: The Richmond junior varsity team won its season opener over the Cougars 4-2. A first-half goal by sophomore Bradford Pittman led to a tie at the half, before fellow sophomore Cale Luckey netted two goals early in the second half, both from close range.
Sophomore Trevor Moss capped of the game’s scoring with a shot inside the box midway through the second half. It was junior varsity head coach Tad Hamilton’s first career win. The Raiders (1-0) are back in action Wednesday against Porter Ridge at home at 5:15 p.m.
