ROCKY RIVER, Ohio (April 25, 2023) -- Rocky River dropped its fourth consecutive game, as the Pirates fell to Westlake in a Tuesday Northern Ohio Lacrosse League game. The Demons rallied from a 3-0 deficit, taking control of the contest with a five-goal second, en route to an 8-6 win between the west-side neighbors.
Goals by Wes Bennett, Ryan Hildebrand, and Andrew Lang lifted the Double-R to its early lead. Westlake (4-7, 3-4 NOLL) came alive in the second, getting two goals each from Chris Brown and Ryan Skowronski. The Demons outshot Rocky River 11-5 in the second; they outscored the Pirates 5-1.
The visitors were sharp in the pursuit of loose balls and outperformed the Buccaneers over the middle 40 yards of the field. For the game, Westlake had 34 ground balls to River's 20. That deficit marked the Pirates' largest in a single game since May 1 (minus 16 vs. Columbus Academy).
The Demons scored the first two goals of the third and boat-raced a struggling-to-force-turnovers River squad the rest of the way. Brown scored two of Westlake's three goals in the third and finished with four for the evening.
For the game, Westlake went 13-of-15 (86.7%) on clears and outshot the Pirates 30-20. A River offense that rifled off 41.8 shots per game over its first nine contests this season has been held to just 24.7 attempts per game over its last three.
The Demons second straight win over Rocky River (7-5, 5-3) came on what marked Senior Night for the Maroon & White. Wes Bennett, J.P. Corrigan, Tyler Fortune, Parker Hartup, Ryan Hildebrand, Cole Mackin, Matthew Malloy, Mack Massad, Jack McBride, Niko Rose, Mac Scott, Carter Smith, and Ian Walsh were honored in a pregame ceremony. River scores on the night included Bennett's 56th career goal, Hildebrand's 69th, and Malloy's 15th. Hildebrand and Malloy each added assists to finish with two points. Rowan McDougal (2G) and Andrew Lang (1G, 1A) also registered multiple points on what was a chilly evening at Rocky River Stadium.
Lang also had four ground balls and a caused turnover and was 4-2 on faceoffs. Cohen Blair filed his first career point on an assist and had two scoops and two spills.
Rocky River is now 4-9 over its last 13 games against the Demons.
The Pirates are slated to return to action with a NOLL road game at Olmsted Falls Tuesday.
by Skip Snow
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