FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. - The Richmond Senior High School varsity soccer team has endured a tough non-conference schedule through the first eight games of the season.
In the early going, Richmond has battled but lost against Porter Ridge High School (No. 22 in 4A) and Central Academy of Technology and Arts. However, their biggest non-conference win came last week in a 2-1 victory over Lee County High School (then No. 8 in 3A).
Behind the philosophy of facing competitive teams to get better for Sandhills Athletic Conference play, head coach Chris Larsen and his team of Raiders traveled to Pine Forest High School Thursday looking for the team’s third straight win.
But it wouldn’t happen, as Richmond fell in what Larsen described as “another physical game,” by a final score of 1-0 to the Trojans. Thursday’s loss marked the third straight defeat to Pine Forest dating back to the 2016 season.
Just a night after the Raiders brought a wrecking crew against SAC rival Jack Britt High School with a convincing 3-0 win over the Pirates on Larsen’s birthday, they were silenced for just the second time this season (also lost 1-0 to Porter Ridge on Aug. 22).
“The game went like I thought it would -- it was really low scoring,” Larsen commented afterward. “If we played them again, it’d be similar, but I think we’d come out on top. It was really evenly matched, which is what you look for as a coach.
“Coming (to Pine Forest) is a tough road game,” he added. “It hurts when you lose, but that’s what makes you better in the long run.”
Entering the night, the Trojans (7-2) had tallied 48 total goals in eight games (6.00 goals per game). They had also outscored their opponents by a +43 scoring margin, and had collected five mercy-rule wins, their most recent a 13-0 victory over E.E. Smith High School on Wednesday.
Even with the numbers stacked heavily against them, the Raider defense and senior goalkeeper Jackson Haley held their own and limited Pine Forest’s shots on net.
“We dominated possession for about 70 percent of the game,” Larsen noted. “The defense played well like they have all year.”
The game’s lone goal came with 20 minutes left in the first half on a Richmond mistake that Larsen called a “careless pass.” Once Pine Forest intercepted the ball, senior midfielder Walker Shearin dribbled the ball 20 yards before ripping a shot that hit the side net past a diving Haley.
“We had some opportunities to score in both halves,” Larsen noted of his team’s inability to find the twine. “Alexis Gonzalez had a shot that hit the side post, and Carlos Alcocer had shot on goal that was stopped by their keeper in the top right corner. The looks were there -- we just couldn’t put the ball in the back of the net.”
The Raiders (4-4, 2-1 SAC) will heighten the SAC stakes next week as they’ll square off against two familiar conference foes. On Monday, Richmond will host current SAC co-leader Hoke County High School (7-1, 3-0 SAC), before hitting the road Wednesday to Lumberton High School (5-4, 2-1 SAC).
“We’ve got another tough match against Hoke at home Monday,” Larsen concluded. “They’re tied with Pinecrest atop the conference, and any time you have to face Coach (Colin) McDavid, it’s going to be battle.”
Note: Junior center back Drew Davis suffered an arm injury in Thursday’s loss, so Larsen will have to “see if (Davis) can play Monday” and whether or not he’ll have to fill his spot.
