ROCKINGHAM — Completing the season sweep of its closest neighboring opponent, the Richmond Senior High School girls’ soccer team also recognized its senior players in a big way Tuesday.
Rounding out the school’s spring sports senior nights, the Lady Raiders peppered the net in a 9-0 mercy-rule victory over Scotland High School.
Controlling the tempo to hand Scotland its 13th consecutive loss, Richmond scored six goals in the first half and three goals in the second half to implement the mercy rule.
A total of eight players found the back of the net for Richmond. The final goal by Barnes came with 12 minutes remaining in the match to end it early.
“It can be tough to keep your focus on nights like senior night with all the extra celebrations going on,” head coach Chris Larsen said. “But the girls did a great job of locking in and played well tonight. You always want to win on senior night and this was a good memory made for our nine seniors.
“We’ve got three matches this week so I tried to keep our legs fresh and sub a lot,” he added. “That rotation tonight gave everyone a lot of playing time and resulted in a high number of girls finding the back of the net. I’m happy for our seniors and the team for getting another win.”
Sophomore Mariana Gonzalez got the scoring started in the fourth minute when she sent a well-placed shot into the goal from a couple of yards out.
Three minutes later, Vargas became the first of five seniors to score in the win. Making a run into the box, she sent a low roller to the back post in the seventh minute to make it 2-0.
Quick goals by Harris and freshman Mavery Hooks just 37 seconds apart in the 16th minute increased the lead to 4-0. Harris collected a second-chance ball and scored from 15 yards, while Hooks powered a close-range shot off the keeper’s hands and into the net.
Ashly Gonzalez became the third senior to score with her goal in the 27th minute. Taking a pass from freshman Isabella Chavez near the top of the box, Gonzalez went top shelf with a laser just under the crossbar.
Before the break, Mendez collected a third-chance ball inside the six-yard box and laced it low past the keeper to give Richmond a 6-0 lead in the 36th minute.
After the high-scoring first half, Richmond needed almost the entire second half to tally its final three scores to put the mercy rule into effect. Tuesday’s win was the second 9-0 win for Richmond over Scotland this spring.
Ashly Gonzalez netted her match-leading second goal to extend the lead to 7-0 in the 46th minute, which was followed by sophomore Colbie Covington joining the scoring parade with a goal in the 64th minute.
Barnes, who plays defense, was rewarded with her first career goal in the 68th minute. Assisted by Smith, Barnes finished a run with a low shot that went between the keeper’s hands. Bostic recorded the shutout in net.
The Lady Raiders (7-10-1, 4-7 SAC) will have a quick turnaround and host Southern Lee High School (12-4-1, 6-4-1 SAC) Wednesday for another conference match.
