The senior has been entrenched in the soccer, basketball and baseball starting lineup for every game but one in his four years. It’s no coincidence Monmouth has enjoyed a great deal of success in all three sports with the perennial conference all-star in the lineup. But on Saturday, Richardson will be playing in his first state championship when the Mustangs face Washington Academy in the Class C soccer championship (5:30 p.m. Hampden Academy).

Richardson and the Mustangs experienced several close calls and some crushing defeats in pursuit of a state championship over the last three years, particularly in soccer and baseball. But even with the sunset of his high school career approaching, he never doubted he would get to play in the ultimate game.

“This is no surprise for me,” he said. “I knew by senior year all three sports were going to be pretty strong. For soccer, I knew we could make it to states if we pushed ourselves and worked hard, and that’s exactly what we’ve done.”

Monmouth coach Joe Fletcher saw Richardson’s resolve as early as his freshman year, when the Mustangs lost to Sacopee Valley in a preliminary round game.

“He took that to heart, and he’s grown a lot since then,” he said.

Each successive year, Richardson, a center midfielder, has helped Monmouth clear one more hurdle in the tournament.

His sophomore year, they reached the quarterfinals. Last year, they avenged their quarterfinal loss to Hall-Dale by upsetting the top-seeded Bulldogs in the semifinals. They lost to Waynflete in the regional final, but it was clear to them that they were building toward something.

“Coach has been trying to build this program for years and this year is the year it finally came together,” Richardson said. “Last year we came close. We had expectations this year to go undefeated, win the MVC and make it to states. We’ve managed (the latter) two of those.”

“I’ve come close. We’ve had games where we’ve come close and we’ve learned that we can’t look past (the regional final) game,” Richardson said.

He credits his father, Matt, with helping him and his teammates maintain their focus. An assistant coach on Fletcher’s soccer staff, Matt helped Monmouth win back-to-back Class D baseball titles in 1991 and 1992 and has tried to impart some of that experience to the team.

“He’s been with me through all sports. We’ve become so close,” Hunter said. “He won two state titles and he knows what it takes to get there. He’s the one that really helped our team with not looking past (the regional final against Lisbon).”

Hunter also had to alter his game and his role this year to help them take the next step. His father saw him jump at the opportunity.

“He’s the athlete and the person that will adjust to anything that you ask him to do,” Matt Richardson said. “He’s always been that way. A lot of that has come from all of the coaches he’s had here, too. But he knew that a midfielder is a big-time leader. A midfielder takes care of offense and defense. He makes his runs when he has to and he gets back when he has to.”

Last year, the Mustangs needed Hunter to make more runs and put the ball in the net. This year, with strikers Avery Pomerleau and Mat Foulke capable of carrying more of the offensive load, Fletcher has asked him to be more of a playmaker.

“But not necessarily the playmaker that gets the assist,” Fletcher said. “He’s the type of player that will control from the top of the 18 to the top of the 18, and lead by example. He plays hard and he doesn’t allow players to be lazy.”

“We have a lot more experienced players. We have a lot of juniors that are very experienced players,” Richardson said. “I knew that if I set other people up for opportunities to score, we’re going to be successful. Avery and Mat are two of the top strikers in the MVC and if I’m able to set them up, they’re able to finish.”

Less pressure to score gives Richardson the chance to play a bigger part in Monmouth’s formidable defense.

“I feel our defense gets very much overlooked,” he said. “We have an incredible offense but our defense doesn’t let up many goals.”

Now closer to raising a gold ball than he’s ever been, Richardson and the Mustangs won’t let up until they’ve met their next goal.