MEDINA, Ohio – Rocky River had its season closed out by a talented Buckeye squad, as the Bucks defeated the Pirates, 4-1, in DII
Elyria District Tournament action on Tuesday.
The No. 2-seed Bucks – the 15th-ranked DII squad in the Ohio Scholastic Soccer Coaches Association poll – tallied three unanswered goals in the first half. They did so against a stout River team that had allowed as many as three goals in a game just three times all season.
Buckeye (14-1-2) scored on a Jack
Waters free kick in the 11th minute and then on a Clay Gunkelman
header off a corner in the 18th minute.
A failed clear would cost Rocky River
(10-6-2) another goal in the 30th minute. Struggling to create
chances in the first half, the Pirates eventually went into halftime trailing,
3-0.
The second stanza was a battle all
the way. Every part of every possession was contested, with the down-3 Pirates
showing impressive resolve. Buckeye managed to get a fourth goal in the 75th
minute. River would counter when junior Kevin Killeen logged his first goal of
the season in the 78th minute.
The goal required some hustle, heart and extra effort. It would be the Pirates’ lone example of a twine finder on the evening. But the hustle, heart and extra effort were on display all night.
by Skip Snow
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