BRUNSWICK, Ohio – Rocky River was ousted from the postseason brackets in a 3-0 loss to Mansfield Madison on Tuesday.
The loss in the Region 6 brackets of the DII
Ohio Girls Soccer Tournament snapped a six-game win streak for the Pirates, who this season passed the district stage of the state playoffs for the first time since 2013. Rocky River marked Madison’s fifth shutout victim this month. The powerful Rams – No. 2 in the most recent Ohio Scholastic Soccer Coaches’ Association poll – went into Tuesday regional semifinal averaging a robust 5.0 goals per game. Madison now heads into the region final (against Oak Harbor) with an eight-match unbeaten streak (7-0-1) in tow.
The Rams (16-1-4) got a Phyllis Stanfield goal – her 18th of the season – in the 19th minute of the match. Madison would tack
on a second goal 10 minutes later when Kalie Blaising dented twine for a ninth
time this season.
Taylor Huff assisted on the Blaising score and would get a goal of her own – her 30th this fall -- to put a cap on the game’s scoring in the 63rd minute.
The Pirates (13-6-1) gave a game effort but were unable to
muster some of the offensive firepower they had displayed in recent weeks.
But River ended its season on the last page – a bracket listing of 16 talented teams in a state full of talented players. Justly so.
by Skip Snow
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