ROCKY RIVER, Ohio – The Rocky River Pirates looked the part of a district No. 1 seed on Thursday, as the Maroon & White defeated the Padua Bruins, 7-0, in an October playoff rout. The contest marked Rocky River’s first in the DII
Elyria District Tournament brackets.
The Pirates (11-5-1) got three unmatched goals in the
opening half and four more in second-half action, as Rocky River won its fourth
consecutive game.
As they would throughout the contest on what was a chilled, overcast autumn evening at Rocky River Stadium, the Pirates controlled the soccer ball with authoritative skill and sharp decision-making. Padua didn’t register a semblance of a possession until the seventh minute of the match. Rocky River, meanwhile, had more than a few looks at the net 120 yards south of a well-protected Sabrina Rick.
Those looks translated into a score in the 13th minute when Sophia Murray nodded home an excellent corner kick from Addie Harris. Ten minutes later, the Detroit Road Buccaneers would add to their lead on a tremendous pass from Lizzie Hamker to Maya Patti, who beat Padua ‘keeper Colleen Doucette on a 50/50 and chipped the ball into the left third of a yawning Bruin goal.
The River 2-0 lead was protected two minutes later by a fine
Sabrina Rick save which thwarted a Padua breakaway. The play marked the front
half of all the shots on goal the Bruins would muster in an opening 40-minute
session that saw Rocky River outshoot Padua, 15-5 (shots on goal: 8-2). The Pirates went into halftime off an
Alexandra Pike goal (35th minute) – on another fine pass from Hamker – and with a 3-0 advantage on the stadium scoreboard.
The second half opened with a tic-tac-toe set play off a River kickoff. The Patti-to-Byall-to-Murray possession resulted in a Sophia Murray high-lofted chip shot over Doucette and into the north-goal twine for a 4-0 Pirate lead. Murray’s two-goal night came amid a slew of athletic hustle plays turned in up and down the field by the agile sophomore forward.
The Maroon & White made it 5-0 on a Maya Patti goal in
the 45th minute. Lizzie Hamker got in on the act in the 56th
minute to up the Pirate lead to 6-0.
The final 24 minutes were an endgame, running-clock march to
triple-zeroes on the scoreboard clock. With one more goal (Pike in the 74th
minute) for the home side. Chloe Eberlein, Lee Hornig, Nicole Contenza, and Vivian
Brandt logged standout minutes down the stretch for a Pirate side closing out
its ninth shutout win of the season.
For the match, Rocky River outshot Padua, 27-12. The Pirates put 17 shots on frame to the Bruins’ five. Junior netminder Sabrina Rick played 74 minutes, making four saves in the contest. She was spelled by Arden Berg who registered one save.
With the victory, the Pirates survive and advance in the
single-elimination state brackets. The top-seeded Maroon & White will now
play host to the fifth-seeded Holy Name Green Wave on Monday (7 p.m.).
CANNON FIRE …
MAKING THEIR POINT(S): Logging multiple points Thursday night were Sophia Murray (two goals), Lizzie Hamker (goal, two assists), Maya Patti (two goals, assist), and Alexandra Pike (two goals).
WIN STREAK: Over its four straight wins, Rocky River has outscored foes, 20-1. Sophia Murray has tallied five goals over the win streak.
by Skip Snow
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