LUMBERTON — Despite not having its full roster Wednesday, the Richmond Senior High School girls’ soccer team kept up its winning ways.
On the road at Lumberton High School, the Lady Raiders used a trio of goal scorers to earn a 3-0 win in the non-conference match.
Helping extend the team’s season-long winning streak to three matches were goals by junior Jentry Denson, senior Ashly Gonzalez and sophomore Colbie Covington.
Covington netted her fourth goal of the season, which tied her with sophomore teammate Marianna Gonzalez for the team lead. Ashly Gonzalez and Denson scored her third and second goal of the campaign, respectively.
With seven minutes remaining in the first half, Denson scored off a set piece for the eventual game-winning goal. Sending a corner kick on frame, her shot deflected off the goalkeeper’s hands and into the net.
Richmond’s 1-0 lead would hold until halftime and it was Ashly Gonzalez who made it a two-goal advantage in the 58th minute.
Following an infraction by Lumberton’s goalkeeper, Richmond was awarded an indirect kick just inside the 18-yard box. Denson started the scoring play by tapping the ball to Gonzalez, who blasted a shot to the left of the wall and snuck the ball inside the left post.
Padding the lead just two minutes later, Covington scored on an assist from senior Hanna Smith. Playing center mid to make up for the short roster, Smith threaded a pass between two defenders to Covington down the left sideline.
Taking a touch into space, Covington sent the ball into the net to make it 3-0 with 20 minutes left in regulation.
“We started slow tonight and that was in part because we had to move people around to adjust our lineup,” head coach Chris Larsen said. “We did a good job connecting passes early, but we couldn’t get anything to connect around the 18-yard box. Lumberton also had some players up top that made us sit back defensively to stop their runs.
“The girls came out strong in the second half and we built some momentum that led to some good scoring chances. That resulted in us being able to score two more goals. Playing back to back nights, and with a short bench, I was happy everyone got to play.
“This has been a good start to the week, but we know going to Southern Lee Friday will be tough,” he closed. “They’re a good soccer team and we’ll need to bring our A game. Hopefully we’ve been able to build some confidence to shoot the ball more frequently in tight situations.”
The Lady Raiders (5-6-1, 2-3 Sandhills Athletic Conference) will play another road match at Southern Lee High School (8-2, 3-2 SAC) Friday. The match will start at 6 p.m.
JV Lady Raiders also win
In its road match at Lumberton Wednesday, the Richmond junior varsity girls’ soccer team also earned a victory.
The JV Lady Raiders won 4-0, bolstering a one-goal lead at halftime with three tallies in the second half.
Scoring two goals apiece were sophomores Cadence Gazoo and Janet Morales.
“We were also short on the bench tonight, but the girls made due,” head coach Bennie Howard said. “We dominated about 65% of the match and made the best of our scoring chances and we outshot them.
“We will take tomorrow off and get back to work Monday to prepare for our match against Pinecrest Tuesday.”
The JV Lady Raiders (4-3, 1-2 SAC) will play at Pinecrest High School Tuesday at 5 p.m.
Sports editor’s note: Statistics and game information provided by head coaches Chris Larsen and Bennie Howard and Brad Denson.
