Red Devils drop soccer opener

Mount Vernon needed almost every bit of Monday night to finally put away the Red Devils.

Mouhamed Konate’s score with 5:18 to play gave the Marauders a two-goal advantage they carried to a 3-1 victory over Richmond in boys soccer at Freeman Park.

It wasn’t for lack of effort on the Red Devils’ part. And it was a stark contrast to 2011’s matchup, an 8-0 victory for Mount Vernon.

“I think the coaches were pleased with the effort, definitely pleased with the effort,” said RHS coach Sam Byrd. “A week ago we didn’t know how this game was going to go, but now I think we have a better sense of what our identity is and what we can do.”

What the Red Devils did Monday night was come back from an early 1-0 deficit, then play neck-and-neck with their season-opening foe.

Mount Vernon scored at 26:50 of the first half, but Richmond responded about one minute later.

Richmond’s Dakota Pennington tied the game 1-all after a deflection from a shot by teammate Joel Okafor at 25:43.

http://www.pal-item.com/article/20120813/SPORTS/308130026/Red-Devils-drop-soccer-opener