GATES MILLS, Ohio -- The Pirates were behind early. And then they were in front. And then they were in front by a lot. Rocky River battled back from an early 3-1 deficit in an 18-5 rout at Hawken Wednesday.
What marked River's fourth consecutive victory also marked the team's regular season finale. The Striped Buccaneers are now bound for the DII Buckeye State brackets. The team will open regional tournament play -- as the No. 1 seed in Region 5 -- on May 18 (vs. Olmsted Falls/Copley winner).
River heads into that postseason off three straight wins by a double-digit cushion. Wednesday's 13-goal conquest was in doubt early when the host Hawks outscored the Pirates 3-1 over the first seven minutes of play. But a goal by Kaitlyn Byrne at the 17:20-mark ignited a torrid streak for the Maroon & White. Over the next 13 minutes of clock time, Rocky River would edge even with Hawken, then pass the Hawks ... and then lap them a few times over.
From 17:20 to 4:16 of the first, River netted 13 straight goals. There were many cooks in the Pirate galley as the Bucs prepared that baker's dozen. First to fire up the oven was Byrne, but it was the Hawks who got burned. Four times by Byrne in that stretch, twice by Ella Nejad, twice by Olivia Konopka, and twice by Lucy Kolonick.
The Pirates added a last-minute goal before halftime and went into the break fully in command, 15-3. Kitchen closed. Just an endgame 2-for-3 exchange to play out before the clock hit triple zeroes.
For the game, Rocky River (14-2) outshot Hawken 31-7. River won 20-of-24 draws and filed an edge in turnovers (12-19) and ground balls (15-12).
Byrne finished the evening with six goals and an assist and was one of a half-dozen Pirates to register multiple points in the non-conference victory. Nejad logged a three-goal, three-assist game. Her goal at 11:22 of the first half -- on a Byrne assist -- marked the 100th point of her career. Konopka (3G, 2A), Mackenzie Russell (G, 3A), Kolonick (2G), and Daisy Thompson (G, A) also had multiple points in the contest.
Konopka has ledgered 12 points (9G, 3A) over River's last two games.
The Pirates have now won nine games by a margin of 10 goals or more. For the season, Rocky River is averaging 12.4 goals per game while yielding just 4.3.
Those are the numbers for the first season. What begins next Wednesday is something different. And this is a Rocky River team that want to keep cooking right into June.
by Skip Snow
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