Richmond soccer teams draw with Franklin County, Connersville on senior night

RICHMOND, Ind. — There were some things to be happy about for Richmond's girls and boys soccer teams on senior night Thursday.

Other things? Not so much.

A good crowd was on hand at Lyboult Field to recognize five senior girls and seven senior boys as the two teams faced Franklin County and Connersville in a pair of nonconference games.

While the celebration of the seniors and the boys drawing 0-0 against a then 9-1, now 9-1-1 overall Connersville squad were worthwhile, the girls also finishing in a draw, 1-1 with Franklin County, was not something that thrilled coach Justin Snider.

"I'm never going to be too upset about a tie against a good team like Franklin County," Snider said, "but that is absolutely a game we should have won. We could have won, and there could have been better call-making as well, which influenced the results of the game."

Red Devil girls take early lead, before Franklin County ties in second half

Three minutes into the game, freshman Sophie Reising put the Red Devils on the scoreboard with a shot from the left side of the field into the bottom right corner at the 37:17 mark.

"She took a shot from well outside the 18 off her non-dominant foot," Snider said. "The keeper got hands on it but I think it took a little skip and it ended up in the goal."

It was the first shot of the game for Richmond (5-3-1 overall) as it went on to control the remainder of the half, outshooting the Wildcats 9-2, with five shots on goal.

But just four minutes into the second half, Franklin County scored the equalizer when freshman Calie Lee found the ball at her feet after a corner kick that bounced around in the scrum for it sending it into the back of the net.

The Wildcats controlled much of the rest of the half, flipping the script by outshooting Richmond 9-4, but a perfect through ball leading to a goal by senior Claire Reising with five minutes remaining seemed to seal the victory for the Red Devils, until it was ruled offsides and was wiped off the board.

A ruling that Snider did not agree with.

"I never expect refs to be perfect," Snider said. "I was a ref, and I was by no means perfect. Sometimes they do miss calls. That was just a very, very big missed call that led us to tying the game."

Prior to the removed goal, with 15:46 remaining, Sophie Reising was knocked down to the turf after having been several times throughout the match, but this time was slow to get up. She eventually did and walked off the field under her own power, returning just over five minutes later at the 10:14 mark.

With 3:15 remaining, Reising was knocked down again and was slow to get up, coming out of the game for good due to what seemed like an injury.

"She's a good player, and of course good defenders are going to mark on good players, as they should," Snider said. "But there was a lot of elbowing, pushing and non-calls that led her to getting fouled over and over and over again. Physically, I'm sure she's fine, but she is upset, as she rightfully should be."

Freshman Willow Flanagan was back in goal for the Red Devils, making eight saves across her 80 minutes in action, while junior Liz Wendel made nine saves in goal for the Wildcats (7-4-2 overall).

Seniors honored between games were Emma Bell, Claire Reising, Vallolet Chama-Rodriguez, Bella Wesler and Abby Hatch.

Saturday's home game against Indianapolis Arsenal Tech was canceled and in its place will be a home contest against Lawrenceburg at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Boys game ends in scoreless draw, coach Jones pleased

In what coach Carson Jones said was one of his team's best matches of the season, the Red Devils (4-5-2 overall) and Connersville threw everything but the kitchen sink at each other, with neither team able to find the back of the net.

Some could consider it a big win for the Red Devils, as the Spartans had scored at least five goals in their previous six games leading up to Thursday, while only giving up two total to opponents and have outscored opponents 63-5 all season.

"I'm very happy and very proud of the boys," Jones said. "I thought they played really well and played to our plan exactly. There were really no weaknesses throughout the field and any mistakes we did make, we had someone backing up their teammates, which is what we've been preaching here."

Both teams had several opportunities throughout the night, with shots either sailing wide or being saved by each team's respective goalkeeper, Richmond junior Clifton Attis and Connersville junior Tyler Garrett.

"We had some chances here and there and on different days some of those shots go in, but that's soccer I guess," Jones said. "On different days, maybe their shots would have gone in too, but we can't really talk about what ifs."

Jones added that it was his team's best defensive performance since the Mt. Vernon (Fortville) game at the start of the season, two days removed from a "not so great game" against Jay County on Tuesday.

"If we can keep that defense strong, then I say we have a pretty good chance at winning going forward," Jones said.

Between games seven seniors on the boys team were honored: Kelvin Rojas-Contreras, Yael Garcia-Gomez, Josiah Moore, Xzavier Cox, Adal Santiago, Jesus Hernandez-Rojas and foreign exchange student Noah Schaffer.

The next game for the boys will be Saturday, Sep. 16 in a home North Central Conference contest against Lafayette Jeff.

This article originally appeared on Richmond Palladium-Item: RHS soccer teams draw Franklin County, Connersville on senior night