ROCKY RIVER, Ohio – The Pirates ran a 13-year postseason-unbeaten streak to 22 games, as Rocky River defeated Lutheran West, 7-0, in a DII
Elyria District Tournament match on Saturday.
River got goals from six different players and was especially strong on both sides of the ball in the second half of what marked the team’s eighth shutout of the season. The Pirates scored four goals in the opening half and then three more in the second.
"I really liked the boys' effort in the second half today," said Head Coach Kevin Zerbey. "Being up 4-0 at half, they could have come out and played sloppy and selfishly, but they didn't. They put in a better 40 minutes than they did in the first half, and we did some nice things with the ball.”
Those nice things led to a Rocky River Stadium playoff win, something
with which the River program is well-accustomed. The Pirates are now 21-0-1
over their last 22 postseason games on Detroit Road.
On Saturday, Rocky River opened scoring in the second minute
on a nice combination play. Andrew Fry skittered a pass down the right side to
Nate Keeling for a cross to Gold Rrustemaj, who finished with a 6-yard header.
The Longhorns (8-9-1) would hold sway for much of the next 20 minutes but to no
avail on the scoreboard.
River doubled its lead to 2-0 in the 26th minute
when Chase DeClerck netted his sixth goal of the season on an assist from with
the goal from Rrustemaj. Firing from port side, DeClerck scored from 9 yards
out on a play originating with Athan Tsigas.
In the 35th minute, a Nate Keeling cross found a leaping Hogan Kern, who nodded home his first career goal. Keeling would initiate River’s fourth goal as well, a DeClerck job in the final minute of the first half.
In the final frame, the Men in Maroon would get three more goals (Tsigas – 63rd minute, Emmanuel Loizos from Mark Quaiser – 77th, Michael Triplett from Jack Bowers – 80th) while getting standout defensive play from Keegan O’Neill, Chris Fry and Christian Cukon.
“Our defense buckled down to earn the shutout for Connor [O’Toole],” said Zerbey. “We also got to play all of our field players."
The shutout marked the 20th of O’Toole’s career. That ties him with Dominic Liva (2011-13) for second place in Rocky River’s record book.
The Pirates (10-5-2) – the No. 3 seed in the district bracket – are now slated to take on the second-seeded Buckeye Bucks as tournament play continues. Buckeye – which defeated River, 2-0, on Sept. 4 – will host Rocky River on Tuesday at 7 p.m.
by Skip Snow
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