FAYETTEVILLE — Head coach Bennie Howard saw nothing but smiles following Monday’s match at Seventy-First.

After going more than two weeks without a victory, the Richmond boys soccer team finally got back into the win column with a 4-2 win over the Falcons. It had lost three times and tied once in its last four games.

“It’s good to get back on the winning side,” Howard said. “Hopefully this will carry over to Wednesday night.”

The Raiders gave up a goal inside the first minute of the match, something they have struggled with recently, but were able to bounce back with four first-half goals of their own.

Senior midfielder Victor Lucero scored the first goal to tie things up 1-1, senior striker Brett Baucom gave them a one-goal lead with his score, junior striker Carlos Alcocer tallied the team’s third goal and sophmore midfielder Noah Jordan ended the scoring with his lone goal of the night.

Alcocer assisted on two of the goals, Lucero tallied one assist and Richmond went into halftime ahead 4-1.

Seventy-First (3-14, 2-10 SAC) came out and scored its second goal within the first 10 minutes of the second half. Howard said the Falcons began “packing it in the middle” after the break and it took his team some time to adjust to the changes.

Once they did, and got the ball to the outside of the field, the Raiders had a few scoring opportunities. They weren’t able to capitalize, though, and went scoreless in the last 40 minutes.

Richmond (9-8-1, 6-6-1 SAC) will put a cap on the regular season Wednesday evening when it hosts conference rival Scotland on Senior Night. There will be 13 seniors honored prior to the match.

“Hopefully the boys will be fired up and ready to get that win against Scotland,” Howard added. “Then we’ll get ready for the conference tournament after that.”

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

Daily Journal file photo Richmond’s Carlos Alcocer (9) scored a goal and tallied two assists in the first half of the team’s 4-2 victory at Seventy-First on Monday evening.
https://www.yourdailyjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/web1_carl.jpgDaily Journal file photo Richmond’s Carlos Alcocer (9) scored a goal and tallied two assists in the first half of the team’s 4-2 victory at Seventy-First on Monday evening.

By Leon Hargrove Jr.

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