PEMBROKE — The last time the Richmond boys soccer team faced off against Purnell Swett, it only needed a little more than 56 minutes to earn a mercy-rule victory.
Head coach Bennie Howard didn’t see that same kind of dominant effort when his team visited the Rams on Wednesday. Although they were able to grab a 3-0 win on the road, Howard wasn’t pleased with the Raiders’ effort.
“Any time you beat somebody the first time, you can’t assume you’re going to do it second time. You can’t always just walk in and give it 50 or 60 percent. We got the victory, but we can’t rely on that,” he said. “If we want to push to make the state playoffs, because right now we’re kind of on the outside looking in, we’ve got to come ready to play.”
Richmond (8-5, 5-3 SAC) got its first score after a Purnell Swett foul in the first half. Senior midfielder Victor Lucero converted on a free kick from about 23 yards out, placing it in the lower right corner of the goal.
“I don’t think we played our best soccer in the first half, but we played better in the second half,” Howard said.
Senior midfielder Patrick Hamilton recorded his only goal of the night in the 58th minute and gave the Raiders a two-goal lead. Almost eight minutes later, senior striker Brett Baucom scored the game’s final goal off an assist from fellow senior striker Jonathan Tadlock.
The Raiders have a “big one” on Monday against a Pinecrest team that has yet to lose in conference play. When the two teams met late last month, the Patriots took advantage of Richmond’s slow start on its home field and earned a 5-1 win.
Reach sports editor Leon Hargrove Jr. at 910-817-2673 and follow the sports section on Twitter @RCDailySports.