SOUTHERN PINES — A day after holding conference rival Scotland scoreless, the Richmond Senior girls soccer team failed to score any goals of their own in a loss at Pinecrest.

The Lady Raiders couldn’t recover from their slow start and ultimately fell 4-0 on the road. They will enter next week’s conference tournament as the third seed.

“When you play good teams and you make errors in the back, they’re going to capitalize,” coach Bennie Howard said.

Pinecrest broke down Richmond’s defense and put a lot of pressure on goalkeeper Tatyana Gould in the first half. Gould held strong and made a handful of saves, but the senior goalie couldn’t get a hand on every shot.

“Tat played her tail off. I don’t know how I’m going to replace her,” Howard added.

Molly Niewald got the Lady Patriots on the scoreboard first — in the 11th minute — off an assist from teammate Carly Veit, who had her penalty kicked blocked by Gould at the 20:47 mark.

Niewald took advantage of an opportunity from the corner inside the 16th minute in order to score her second goal of the night and give Pinecrest the 2-0 lead. Danielle Richmond’s goal with 4:13 left in the opening half led to the Lady Raiders trailing by three scores at the break.

Richmond (12-4-2, 6-4 SEC) gave up one more goal in the last 40 minutes when Chloe Brown put one in the back of the net with 32:39 left in the game. Jessi Graham got off the cleanest look for the Lady Raiders in the second half but her shot rolled left.

“I thought we missed a couple of opportunities to slip one in and make it respectable — especially at the end of the game,” Howard said. “We’ve got a little light practice tomorrow and then we got Scotland on Monday.”

The Lady Raiders look to pick up its third win over Scotland in the opening round of the SEC tournament. If it wins, Richmond will get a shot at Lumberton — who, along with Pinecrest, received a bye — in the second round.

Reach sports editor Leon Hargrove Jr. at 910-817-2673 and follow the sports section on Twitter @RCDailySports.

Leon Hargrove Jr. | Daily Journal
Richmond’s Hannah Millen (3) watches as Pinecrest’s McKenzie Wagler (15) kicks a through ball in the second half of Thursday’s regular-season finale.
https://www.yourdailyjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_kick-1.jpgLeon Hargrove Jr. | Daily Journal
Richmond’s Hannah Millen (3) watches as Pinecrest’s McKenzie Wagler (15) kicks a through ball in the second half of Thursday’s regular-season finale.
Lady Raiders give up 3 first-half goals

 

By Leon Hargrove Jr.

[email protected]