ROCKY RIVER, Ohio -- The Pirates advanced in DII Northeast District Tournament play with an 8-0 victory over Coventry on Tuesday evening.

Sharp passing and unselfish play pushed the Pirates (10-6) to a lightning-quick 3-0 lead, and a relentless ball-control attack kept the field tilted toward the Comets goal the rest of the way.

Nate Keeling's sixth goal of the season -- a sixth-minute penalty kick after Gold Rrustemaj was taken down in the box -- lifted River to an early lead. Rrustemaj scored just moments later on a nifty tic-tac-toe pass play run by Hogan Kern, Rrustemaj, and Charlie Russell. Rrustemaj finished on a tidy return pass from Russell to net the Pirates' second goal of the sixth minute.

Rrustemaj scored again -- off a stolen outlet pass -- in the 10th minute, upping the Rocky River lead to 3-0. The Sons of Blackbeard planted three more scores (Kern, Jack Maher, Russell) before the end of the first half.

The River scoring surged spilled into the second stanza when Kern assisted on a Chase DeClerck goal in the 47th minute. A Michael Triplett goal in the 75th minute -- assisted by Christian Cukon and Mark Quaiser -- closed out the scoring in the match. River's eight goals marked their most in a playoff game since Oct. 21, 2017 (eight vs. Lutheran West).

A busy Cameron Young -- the freshman 'keeper for the Comets -- made 15 saves in a match that saw Rocky River outshoot Coventry, 33-5. Ian Tomsik (68 minutes played -- three saves) and Will DeClerck (12 minutes -- one save) split time in the Pirate goal. The shutout marked River's sixth of the season.

DeClerck's goal marked his team-leading 16th of the season and the 25th of his career.

Rocky River, which has played a tough home slate over the back half of its 2020 season, ran its home-field record to 6-4 with the victory. The Pirates have now won at least one playoff game in 16 straight years (2006-20).

The 2020 postseason will continue with a road match at Benedictine on Saturday. Kickoff between the Pirates and Bengals is slated for 4 p.m.