ROCKINGHAM — A scoreless first half quickly transitioned into a lopsided affair as Richmond Senior went on an offensive tear in the final 20 minutes to notch a 4-0 decision over visiting rival Scotland on Wednesday.
For Scotland (3-15-1, 1-13 SAC) the season ends on an eight-game skid as they start next week’s Sandhills Athletic Conference tournament at Hoke as the No. 8 seed.
Meanwhile, Richmond (9-9-2, 9-5 SAC) will be the No. 3 seed and host Purnell Swett in the first round of the tournament on Monday.
The Raiders controlled possession for most of the first half that saw both teams get in the box for scoring opportunities.
Richmond forward Luke Hawks was the closest to netting a goal in the early stretch, getting a brief opening against Scotland goalkeeper Blake Wood in the 35th minute. Hawks tried to play a loose ball past him, but Wood fended off the attempt to keep the match scoreless.
The floodgates opened in the 46th minute when Raiders senior Lee Hayden found a closeby Hector Castro in the box. Castro fired a shot past Wood with his left foot to take the 1-0 advantage.
Seconds later, Hayden rocketed a strike on goal, but Wood’s diving save kept the margin close for the time being.
Noah Jordan got the Raiders on the scoreboard again in the 57th minute, taking a corner kick from Blaise Steadman and scoring on a header to make it 2-0. Jordan found the net again two minutes later on a laser shot that stretched the advantage to 3-0.
Hayden finally made good on his close attempts in the waning stages of the contest, scoring off a rebound to finalize the 4-0 result.
