RICHMOND — The Richmond boys soccer team has been known to play its best in the second half.
That trend continued Tuesday, when the Bobcats delivered all of their offense after halftime on the way to a 4-0 victory over Rangeley in a Class D South quarterfinal match at Coughlin Field. Three of those goals came in a six-minute stretch.
“We usually start lighting up a little more in the second half,” Richmond midfielder Nate Kendrick said.
Richmond — the No. 1 seed — improved to 14-1-0 and will host No. 4 Greenville (13-1-1) in the semifinals Friday or Saturday, depending on weather. The No. 9 Lakers finish the season 6-8-2.
The Bobcats outshot the Lakers by a 28-0 margin. Richmond showed strong passing skills and possession throughout the first half, but were short on scoring chances, as any close opportunity was turned away by deflection or an excellent save by Rangeley goalkeeper Hunter Lowell.
That all changed in the second half.
Richmond managed to get aggressive near the Rangeley net, passing the ball around looking for the open shot, almost like a hockey team on a power play. Richmond notched three goals in about a six-minute span. The first came from Kendrick, who knocked a loose ball past Lowell for a 1-0 score.
Four minutes later, Matt Rines took a shot from 20 yards out that found its way to the back of the net. Zach Small wrapped up the scoring surge just two minutes later for a 3-0 lead.
“I think in the first half, we were just too excited, it’s the first game of the playoffs” Kendrick said. “At halftime, coach just calmed us down, told us what we needed to do more effectively, pass more instead of dribble.”
The Bobcats tallied their final goal late in the second half, when Isaac Cappan managed to bounce a shot from 35 yards away for the final 4-0 score.
Richmond head coach Peter Gardner — though happy with the win — would like his team to get off to a faster start, rather than make all of its plays in the second half.
“It gets wrong in the sense that you really don’t want to (get off to a slow start),” Gardner said. “You put yourself in a bind. The defense is solid. They do a good job as a team most of the time, playing defense…It’s still a work in progress.”
The score would have been even higher if not for the superb play of Lowell, who finished the match with 23 saves.
“He made some saves that were almost impossible to make,” Gardner said. “Because the (shots) weren’t lofted, they were driven. He was on them, and he was playing his heart out.”
Richmond went 3-0 against Rangeley this season, with each game a 4-0 victory.
The Bobcats did not see Greenville during the regular season, but there certainly is history between the two squads. It was Greenville that booted Richmond out of championship contention last season, picking up a 2-1 win in the regional final. The Lakers eventually fell to Bangor Christian in the Class D title game. Most of that team has returned this season, and the Bobcats are ready for revenge.
“When we played them last year, they really didn’t graduate anyone, so we know what to expect,” Kendrick said.
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