Trio of Raider scorers ends Southern Lee’s 12-match winning streak

ROCKINGHAM — It was only a matter of time before the Richmond Senior High School boys’ soccer team’s hard work paid off.

A grueling season filled with several close losses continued to shift in the right direction for the Raiders, who won their second straight match Wednesday.

Beginning the second round of Sandhills Athletic Conference play, Richmond defeated co-conference leader Southern Lee High School 3-1.

Thanks to a pair of penalty kick goals and an insurance tally, the Raiders snapped the Cavaliers’ 12-match winning streak and also gave them their first SAC defeat.

Richmond found a scoring groove late in the first half, punching the back of the net twice in a span of four minutes to take a 2-0 lead at halftime.

Junior Memphis Jacobs, who had a couple of shots just off frame in the opening 40 minutes, set up the first goal. Making a run into the box, Jacobs went 1v1 with the keeper.

Trying to make a stop, keeper Danny Cabrera slid and upended Jacobs for a foul.

Awarded a penalty kick, Richmond sent senior PK specialist Gonzalo Gonzalez to the line. Timing his kick, Gonzalez went low and to the keeper’s left to score the goal.

With the tally, Richmond took a 1-0 lead in the 35th minute.

A similar play four minutes later resulted in another PK opportunity for the Raiders. This time, Cabrera slide-tackled senior Noah Gil on a rush inside the box and received a yellow card.

Gil got the nod and facing a backup keeper, he snuck a shot inside the left post for the goal. The Raiders took a 2-0 lead with 1:39 left in the first half.

The momentum carried over into the second stanza for Richmond, as well as junior goalkeeper Camden Williams. Senior Adrian Padron started in goal, but exited with 13 minutes left in the first half due to a nagging injury.

Gil sent a rocket on frame in the 44th minute that was stopped by Cabrera, but that shot kept Richmond in the attacking third.

A couple of rushes later, Gil made a dash down the right sideline and created space for another shot attempt. The ball deflected off Cabrera’s hands and trickled wide into open space.

Making the back post run, sophomore Patrick Smith collected the loose change and took a touch. Using his left foot, Smith chipped the ball into the open net to make it a three-goal lead in the 50th minute.

Southern Lee (12-2, 4-1 SAC) wouldn’t back down easily, scoring a penalty kick goal in the 60th minute to cut Richmond’s lead to 3-1.

Williams made a key save on a rebound attempt following a corner kick in the 69th minute, as well as a handful of other stops to keep the Cavaliers out of the net.

Gil sent a shot just over the bar on a cross from junior Cayden Gillenwater and senior teammate Erik Reichert also had a good look on goal late in the match.

Junior Dougie Dickinson made a kick save with 90 seconds left in regulation, sliding to the ground and clearing out a potential scoring opportunity.

The Raiders’ adjustments on defense the final 10 minutes of the match held strong and secured the victory.

Richmond (3-9-2, 2-3-1 SAC) plays its third match of the week Thursday at home against non-conference Sun Valley High School (4-9-1). THe varsity-only match will start at 5:30 p.m.

JV Raiders roll Southern Lee

The Richmond junior varsity soccer team also picked up a win against Southern Lee Wednesday.

Hosting the JV Cavaliers, the JV Raiders won 5-1.

Richmond took a 2-0 lead at halftime before outscoring Southern Lee 3-1 in the second half.

Freshman Allen Franco recorded a hat trick with three goals, as freshman teammates Javeon Littlejohn and Bryan Menedez both had a goal and an assist.

Freshman Kerick Hairston chipped in an assist.

“This was our best game this season in terms of passing, hitting our targets and making runs off the ball. I’m very happy with that,” head coach Bennie Howard said.

The JV Raiders (7-4-2, 4-0-1 SAC) will host Pinecrest High School Monday at 5:15 p.m.