BUCKFIELD – Troy Kendrick wishes he could chew his soccer team out for something – anything, but after a decisive victory Wednesday, the Richmond girls’ soccer coach just couldn’t find cause.

The Bobcats secured their top-ranking in Western D with a 5-0 win over Buckfield in the regular-season finale. Richmond, which typically has a hard time on the Bucks’ home turf, dominated the game and produced a fine effort.

“We talked a lot about that, the history and the gravity of the game,” said Kendrick, whose club returned 17 players from a team that reached the regional final last fall. “I’ve got a lot of juniors and seniors. I was really proud of the way the kids responded to the pressure. They came ready to play.”

Buckfield lost to Richmond 3-1 earlier in the season but could not get untracked against the Bobcats. Coach Mike Jack hoped to close the gap on the Bobcats but watched his team get outshot 18-0 in the first half.

“We had some injuries early in the season, and we were just getting back healthy, but it’s one of those games that just didn’t go our way,” said Jack. “I thought we had more opportunities in the first game. They just seemed a step ahead of us. When you’re facing a quality opponent like they are, you’ve really got to match their intensity.”

While Richmond (13-1) secured the top spot, the Bucks (9-4-1) expect to finish third. A win Wednesday might have given them second.

Instead, the Bucks face a likely scenario of traveling to Greenville for a Western D semifinal game.

“I just told the kids that we may have a three-hour trip to Greenville now,” said Jack, whose team went 6-6-3 last year. “I told the kids, ‘We’ve had an unbelievably successful season. Let’s not hang our heads. We’ll just save it for the playoffs now.'”

Richmond got a pair of goals from Brianna Clifford and tallies from Melanie Schanck, Katie Cray and Amy Russell. Nicole Tuttle had the shutout in goal with three saves.

“That’s one of our strengths,” said Kendrick. “We don’t have a big gun, per se. I must have five or six kids that are in double figures in goals and assists. So we’ve got some kids that can finish the ball off.”

Clifford buried a loose ball in the box at 16:19. The Bobcats then added two more in less than a minute late in the half. Schanck headed home a corner kick by Cheryl Knight with 4:04 left. Then with 3:09 remaining, Cray scored with a shot from the outside.

Clifford netted her second of the day just 2:48 into the second half. Her cross from the right side bounced in off a body in front. Russell added a direct kick off the crossbar with 13:33 left.

“We thought if we won this game we’d probably secure the top spot,” said Kendrick. “So the kids were pretty motivated.”

Buckfield couldn’t produce offensive pressure until late in the game. Kasey Farrington and Alyssa Henderson each had decent shots. Henderson played well in goal with 19 saves before moving up front.