Set pieces hurt Raiders in 5th straight loss

ROCKINGHAM — Giving its opponent “too many” chances Wednesday, the Richmond Senior High School boys’ soccer team couldn’t reenter the win column.

Hosting non-conference East Mecklenburg High School, the Raiders were shutout 4-0. The loss stretched the team’s losing streak to five matches.

A close match through the opening 40 minutes, Richmond trailed by a goal at the break. The Eagles added a trio of goals in the second half, including two on corner kicks.

Head coach Chris Larsen noted that Richmond afforded East Mecklenburg (3-2) more than enough chances to score. The Eagles had 17 corner kicks in the game, which kept the Raiders’ defensive third on its heels.

“Set pieces got us tonight,” Larsen said. “We conceded way too many corners, especially in the second half, and they were able to score on two of them.

“I told the guys we are getting better but we have to stop shooting ourselves in the foot,” he continued. “The first goal came because we turned it over in a bad positon and they were able to capitalize. Those little mistakes cost us.”

The Raiders had their best scoring chance in the first half in the seventh minute. With the East Mecklenburg keeper off his line, chances by junior Memphis Jacobs and senior Landon Summerlin missed.

Jacobs had a shot in the box that was stopped two minutes later and senior defender Cole Thrower made a sweeping clear on a shot in Richmond’s end on the next Eagles’ rush.

Senior Noah Gil had two quality chances in the final 20 minutes of the first half. His first came from the left side of the 18-yard box that was stopped by a sliding keeper.

Senior goalkeeper Adrian Padron, who returned after a couple of games due to injury, made an athletic save to keep the game scoreless in the 25th minute.

The Eagles made it 1-0 in the 30th minute after a failed clearing attempt by Richmond’s defense. A cross from the right side of the box found Charlie Wehrheim for the tally inside the six-yard box.

Gil’s next chance came on the ensuing kickoff, but again his hard strike was stopped.

In the closing minutes of the half, Jacobs missed a header wide and Gil, who led Richmond with four shots, narrowly missed when he put the ball in the side net.

To begin the second half, Richmond’s offense showed some life when Gil was able to take another shot near the top of the 18-yard box that was saved.

Junior Elen Fonseca followed that in the 51st minute with a chance from the right third, but his attempt on an open net sailed high and wide.

Eleven of East Mecklenburg’s corner kicks came in the second half, as the Eagles netted their second and third goals on volleys into the box.

After Padron and the Raider defense stopped a flurry of corners, Erick Galvez redirected a set piece into the net to make it 2-0 in the 63rd minute. Niko Demakis followed with a goal off a corner in the 74th minute, making a run unmarked on net.

Junior goalkeeper Camden Williams replaced Padron between the posts following the third goal. Wehrheim slotted his second goal of the match with 59 seconds left in regulation to record the final score.

As Richmond continues to adapt to a new offensive formation this season, Larsen said the team understands the need to score. But, he added, the Raiders are showing progress in areas not reflected on the scoresheet against quality opponents.

When it comes to the team’s inability to put up productive numbers in the scoring column, Larsen said the Raiders “just need to break the ice.”

During the current losing streak, Richmond has been outscored 22-3.

“Our tendency is to play a long ball into the three forwards making runs, which doesn’t always give us a lot of opportunities in 1v1 or counterattack situations,” Larsen said. “We’ve talked about building up possession in the midfield to get the ball wide and give the guys time to get forward.

“When we did that tonight, or were able to get a turnover, we had some nice scoring opportunities,” he closed. “We’re just not consistently doing that throughout the whole game. We had the best chances tonight that we’ve had all season, we just need to break the ice.”

The Raiders (1-5) will have an extended break and return to play next Thursday at non-conference Terry Sanford High School (3-3). Play will start at 7 p.m.

JV Raiders also fall to East Mecklenburg

In its match against East Mecklenburg Wednesday, the Richmond junior varsity boys’ soccer team couldn’t erase an early deficit.

Trailing by two goals at halftime, the JV Raiders lost 2-1. Netting Richmond’s lone goal was freshman Allen Franco.

“The first goal we allowed on a miscommunication in the back,” explained head coach Bennie Howard. “On the second goal, it was a direct kick that bounced and was redirected into the net.

“We scored late in the game and we had another chance in the final seconds, but couldn’t score. I thought the guys played a better second half and were able to put some passes together.”

The JV Raiders (2-3-1) will also play at Terry Sanford next Thursday, beginning at 5 p.m.