RICHMOND — Buckfield girls’ soccer coach Larry Thornton knew that his team needed to start strong and play mistake-free to upend the 12-1 Richmond Bobcats in an East-West Conference regular-season finale clash on Tuesday.
Problem is the Bobcats are the type of team that forces mistakes, a theme in Richmond’s 6-0 win over the Bucks (10-4), who appear destined for the third playoff spot in Class D South once the postseason begins next week.
On the other side, Richmond, a perennial Regional champion, finished 13-1 and has locked down the No. 1 seed. The Bobcats will have plenty of time to prepare, with a spot in the semifinals secured.
“That is the way you write it up, getting off to a fast start and doing the things that we wanted to do,” said Richmond coach Troy Kendrick of his team’s 2-0 lead just 3:32 into Tuesday’s contest on a goal each from Meranda Martin and Autumn Acord.
“The thing with playing Richmond is you can’t make mistakes, or at least you have to limit them, because they don’t make many,” Thornton said. “They bury your mistakes. We were down 2-0 four minutes in and we were on our heels after that.”
Richmond kept coming, outshooting Buckfield 11-0 in the first half and doubling its lead when Caitlin Kendrick and Camryn Hurley scored five minutes apart for a 4-0 halftime edge for the Bobcats.
“We made a good effort today,” said Richmond defenseman Jade Gammon, who along with defenders Kyla Johansen, Cassidy Harriman and Kalah Patterson, made life difficult for Buckfield, with Bobcat goaltender Sydney Tilton mostly a bystander throughout most of the contest. “We always try to stay up. Even up two goals, we knew that we had to play hard.”
“Defensively, I am really pleased with this group,” Troy Kendrick said. “We have tried different formations and I have some talented players in the back. Sydney really doesn’t get too many touches.”
Kelsea Anair
Buckfield defenseman Alexis Bennett marked Richmond top striker Kelsea Anair throughout the first half, limiting her to an assist and just one shot on goal.
That changed in a hurry in the second half. Anair made it a 5-0 game off an assist from Molly Meagher, then headed a cross from cousin Destiny Anair three minutes later into the cage to up the advantage to six. The second goal was a milestone for the Richmond senior as it was her 100th career goal.
“That was awesome,” said Kelsea Anair, who praised the work of her teammates. “Everyone contributed to this milestone, but it was cool to get it from Destiny. This is a special group of players. We act as a team 24-7. We are always together and friends, which is great. When I am marked, I am looking to feed other kids. I know that I am going to be marked, but others on this team are able to get open and finish.”
Richmond held Buckfield to five shots, with Tilton forced to make just two saves for her 10th shutout of the season.
Thornton feels if his squad has another opportunity at Richmond, limiting mistakes will give his Bucks a chance.
“If we meet again, we will have to make far fewer mistakes,” Thornton said. “When we played these guys up at our place (a 5-1 Richmond win on Sept. 22), we made two mistakes in the first half and they buried those mistakes and we were down two goals at halftime. That is why they are who they are.”
Playing well for Buckfield were Julia Dow, Tabea Vatthauer and Brianna Damon, while standouts for Richmond included Gammon, Patterson, Martin, Hurley and Acord.
Buckfield goaltender Hannah Shields had eight saves as Richmond fired 28 shots.
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