ROCKY RIVER, Ohio (April 22, 2024) -- Rocky River earned a split in a pair of weekend games in the Columbus area. On Friday, the Pirates earned a 10-9 thriller at Columbus St. Francis. On Saturday, the Double-R was dealt its first loss of the 2024 season when the Buccaneers lost a 13-3 neutral-site game against Medina.

Friday's triumph -- in a heart-stopper sealed by a last-second Acadia Hover save -- came against a St. Francis squad ranked No. 1 among Ohio DII programs (LaxNumbers). The Pirates (9-1) rallied from a 6-4 halftime deficit in the victory. Beginning with a Grace DeWitt goal at 10:55 of the third quarter, the Maroon & White went on a 6-1 run to take control of the game. The host Stallions rallied late, getting within two of the Pirates at 1:28 of the fourth and then edging a goal closer at the 15-second mark. After winning the next draw, St. Francis was set up on a free-position look with a third-of-a-second remaining, and Hover speared a would-be game-tying rifle shot from just inside the arc to preserve the 10-9 win. DeWitt led the River attack, scoring four goals.

On Saturday, Rocky River fell behind 4-1 at the outset and never recovered, as the Bees held the Buccaneers to their lowest single-game goal total since April 13, 2019 (three vs. Dublin Coffman). The Pirates were still down by just three early in the third, but Medina finished out the contest with the final seven goals.

Saturday's game was held in Worthington as part of Worthington High School's Hannigan-Galipault Tournament, an event that dates back to 1979.  

FROM THE BUCS SCORE: Grace DeWitt (five goals), Kaitlyne Byrne (two goals, one assist), and Alexis Tisler (1G, 2A) were River's leading scorers on the Columbus trip. Mackenzie Russell filed a goal, an assist, five ground balls, three caused turnovers, and 11 draw controls. Russell now has over 100 draw controls (106) in her career.

TOUGH SLATE: The twin games against tough foes (LaxNumbers pegs Medina as the Buckeye State DI No. 6) marked the beginning of a stretch that has the LaxNumbers No. 2-ranked Pirates (DII) playing top-15 squads in 8 of 10 games between April 19-May 14. That stretch will continue Tuesday when the Pirates host DII No. 3 Walsh (Rocky River Stadium, 7 p.m.).  

by Skip Snow

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