No. 4 Lady Raiders fall to No. 1 Union Pines, await state playoff brackets

ROBBINS — The semifinal round of the Sandhills Athletic Conference tournament didn’t end the way the Richmond Senior High School girls soccer team wanted it to Tuesday.

Playing at neutral site North Moore High School, the No. 4 Lady Raiders’ bid to unseat No. 1 Union Pines didn’t come to fruition.

Not from a lack of effort from the team, according to head coach Chris Larsen, Richmond suffered a 4-0 defeat.

It was the third time the Lady Raiders and Lady Vikings played this season, all of which ended in a loss for Richmond.

Union Pines (15-3-2) scored three goals in the first half and added one more tally in the second set of 40 minutes.

Taryn Pekala found the back of the net twice to lead all scorers, with Kylie DiMeyo and Grace Queen each scoring one goal.

“I was pleased, even though we got beat, that the girls created chances,” Larsen said. “We’ve had to shift our lineup around with losing two starters (to injury) this week, but the girls who went in did a great job.”

Larsen shared that the Lady Raiders “had two or three chances on corner kicks” and “five or six crosses over the middle” that presented scoring chances.

“Over the last two nights, I’ve spread the minutes across a lot of players and I’m glad to see so many girls who stepped up,” Larsen added. “That shows their growth from the beginning of the season until now.

“We’ll take tomorrow off, practice Thursday and find out Friday if what we’ve done so far this season will get us into the playoffs.”

The Lady Raiders (9-12-3) are currently considered a bubble team for the NCHSAA 4A East state playoffs. Finalized brackets will be released Friday.

Richmond has been on the edge of the postseason the past two years, narrowly missing out both times.

“If we can get into the playoffs, I see that as a positive for our program,” Larsen closed. “To be one of the best 32 teams in the East, it’s an opportunity for the girls to compete and a testament to their efforts.”

The Richmond Observer will publish playoff information when it’s made available.