ROCKINGHAM — Wanting to try and rebound from last season’s overall performance, the Richmond Senior High School boys’ soccer team will get a chance to do it with a clean slate.
With less than a week separating the Raiders and eighth-year head coach Chris Larsen from starting the regular season, Richmond is set to begin competing in a new classification and conference.
Following the North Carolina High School Athletic Association’s realignment earlier this year, all of Richmond’s athletic programs are now in the 7A classification and will play in the Mid-South Conference (MSC).
On Tuesday, the soccer program, along with the volleyball program, will be the school’s first teams to officially begin the fall sports regular season.
A season ago, the Raiders went 5-15-2 overall and finished in sixth place in the former Sandhills Athletic Conference with a 4-8-1 mark.
While Larsen said that winning matches is a pivotal part of the team’s success, and is something Richmond will strive to do more of in 2025, the Raiders aren’t banking total season success on just wins and losses.
Success, Larsen continued, can be determined by many other things not on the scoresheet — among them being how hard the Raiders compete night in and night out.
The Mid-South Conference, like the SAC, will be split between two classifications — 8A and 7A. Richmond, Jack Britt, Overhills and Pine Forest high schools are all 7A; Hoke County and Pinecrest are 8A.
Larsen called the new conference an even playing field, noting there isn’t a clear favorite to win the conference crown. Richmond is familiar with Hoke County and Pinecrest, both former SAC members, as well as Jack Britt and Pine Forest from non-conference action.
The Raiders will look to make a dent in the MSC championship race with a 22-player roster. Despite losing five seniors from a year ago, Richmond returns a dozen players who played varsity minutes last fall.
While the starting lineup will be fluid through the first couple matches of the season, Larsen expects to have several players step up and fulfill new roles.
Among the returners are nine seniors — Elen Fonseca Garcia, DJ Gainey, Cayden Gillenwater, Memphis Jacobs, Phoenix Jacobs, Kimahri Johnson, Jason Medina, Cole Thrower and Camden Williams.
Underclassman players back for another season include juniors Cole Lambeth and Patrick Smith, and sophomore Jake Gardner.
Newcomers to the varsity team include juniors Giovani Chavez, Kevin Diaz Lopez, Eric Legrand, Ashton Mabe, Jeffrey McAuley, Cailin Moore; and sophomores Allen Franco, Angel Huerta, Martin Lopez and Bryan Mendez Mendoza.
Memphis Jacobs (3) and Smith (2) return as the team’s leading scorers from a season ago, trailing or tying former players and All-Conference selections Noah Gil (7) and Landon Summerlin (2).
Fonseca Garcia, who played defense last year, will move up into the midfield and take over the holding position held by former player Gonzalo Gonzales. Larsen added he also expects Fonseca Garcia to fulfil the captain’s role.
Johnson, Thrower and Phoenix Jacobs are all returners to the back line. They’ll play defense in front of either Williams, Legrand or Gardner in net, one of whom will become the starting keeper after Adrian Padron’s three-year run in goal.
The Raiders’ chase for the top spot in the MSC standings begins Tuesday, Aug. 12, when they host non-conference Lumberton High School at 7 p.m.
That will be the first of two home matches during the first week of the season. Richmond will also host non-conference Forest Hill High School Thursday, Aug. 14, at 7 p.m.
SEASON SCHEDULE: Click here for an always up-to-date schedule for the Richmond boys’ soccer team.
The Richmond Observer will continue its award-winning coverage of the varsity and junior varsity soccer teams this fall.
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