SOUTHERN PINES — Although the Richmond boys soccer team was unable to take down Pinecrest, head coach Bennie Howard was pleased with his team’s performance.
The Raiders, who allowed five goals in the teams’ first meeting, only gave up two scores in Monday’s rematch. They weren’t able score a goal of their own, though, and ended up on the losing end of a 2-0 decision.
“I’m proud of the way they played. The first game was kind of embarassing,” Howard said. “We had some good opportunities, we just missed high and wide. But we can learn from this.”
Richmond (8-5, 5-4 SAC) held the home team scoreless in the first 35 minutes of play, but “lost focus” as halftime neared and gave up a score to Pinecrest senior midfielder Jimmy Kester — who received a cross from senior midfielder Lucas Woody.
Pinecrest (13-1-1, 9-0 SAC) came out ready to go in second half and snuck another into the back of the net inside the first five minutes of play. Senior forward Noah Edgerly was responsible for the second score.
“I told the guys before the game that the first and last five minutes of both halves are important times,” Howard said. “And I was spot on with that knowledge because we just lost focus in the those two five-minute time frames.”
The Raiders look to get back into the win column when they host Jack Britt on Wednesday. Although they lost to the Bucs 2-1 in the first meeting, Howard believes his players dominated every aspect of the game.
He hopes they’ll be able to do so again and come away with a victory this time around.
“Jack Britt had to play tonight, they play tomorrow and they have us Wednesday. So hopefully they’ll have tired legs,” Howard said. “We’ll have a light practice tomorrow and I hope we come out with some fire on Wednesday.”
Reach sports editor Leon Hargrove Jr. at 910-817-2673 and follow the sports section on Twitter @RCDailySports.