STRONGSVILLE, Ohio -- The surge was stifled on Tuesday. A high-scoring Rocky River squad -- one in search of its 13th straight victory -- was stopped one contest shy of the state championship game, with Chagrin Falls dealing the Pirates a 3-2 loss.
In a facility called Pat Catan Stadium, it was the Tigers crafting an artful one-goal triumph despite being outshot, 22-7, for the match. A dominant River midfield led to plenty of field tilt throughout, but Chagrin got key plays when they were most needed.
The Tigers (17-3-2) also got a monster momentum boost at the outset, when a second-minute corner kick resulted in an Elana McGinnis goal. Chagrin Falls weathered the Pirate attack in the early going and upped its lead to 2-0 when McGinnis scored again -- her 30th of the season -- in the 18th minute.
Rocky River (19-3) countered when Ava Patti finished on a through ball in the 29th minute. The pass came from Maeve Kelly, and the assist marked her 50th point of the season (20 goals, 10 assists) The Pirates found themselves down, 2-1, at the halftime intermission.
The River Raiders knotted things up (2-2) in the 50th minute, when Patti dribbled through tight quarters, some 40 yards up the middle of the field, before delivering a well-placed 14-yard shot into the lower-left corner of the Chagrin goal.
Rocky River, which had defeated Chagrin Falls, 2-0, on Sept. 27, had a solid grasp on the game's momentum at that juncture. But the Tigers wrested it back in the 68th minute when a foul in the box set up a Kate Bartlett penalty kick. Bartlett scored, and Chagrin Falls re-established its lead.
The final 11 minutes-and-change amounted to a scoreless exchange, and the sixth-ranked (Ohio Scholastic Soccer Coaches Association) Tigers pulled off the win to advance to the Ohio DII title match, which will be held Friday at 4 p.m. at Lower.com Field in Columbus, Ohio. (The
tournament will conclude with Chagrin taking on Cincinnati Wyoming.)
For the match, River put 11 shots on frame to Chagrin's five. The Pirates had five corner kicks, and the Tigers had two. Chagrin goalkeeper Peyton Gellin registered nine saves in the semifinal battle; Pirate netminder Caitlin Rose had three saves.
Rocky River closed out its season with 19 wins, which is tied for the second-most in program history. A talented senior class (Vivian Brandt, Taylor Byall, Chloe Eberlein, Addie Harris, Sophia Murray, Maddie O'Malley, Riley Wasserman) leaves the program having logged 38 wins over the last two seasons and 51 over the last three. They and their teammates gave a game effort -- all season, all through a remarkable run through the playoff brackets, and certainly on Tuesday night in Strongsville.
One hundred-seventy-eight schools play DII girls' soccer in the Buckeye State. Only one of those teams gets to finish its season with a victory. The Pirates had their shot at being that team.
You tactically and tenaciously put yourself in position to succeed. But not every shot lands on goal.
The high-octane, twine-tearing, bracket-busting drive to get one game away from a state final was heart-stopping, heartwarming, wholehearted, stouthearted, and heart-breaking. Or more simply: it was a season played by a team with a lot of heart.
CANNON FIRE ...
SWORDS & STRIPES: Tuesday's state semifinal marked the 15th all-time match between Rocky River and Chagrin Falls. The Pirates lead the all-time series, 9-4-2.
SUPER SOPH: With her two goals against Chagrin, Ava Patti finished with 22 points (nine goals, four assists) in the playoffs. Patti scored a goal in all six River postseason games and finished the season with 40 points (15G, 10A). Both Patti and senior Sophia Murray finished the season ranked in Rocky River career top-10 in points -- Patti with 99 (eighth); Murray with 98 (10th).
FINAL TICKS: Maeve Kelly's 50-point season marked the 13th 50-plus season in program history. ... Caitlin Rose finished the season with a 0.73 goals-against average. That marks the fifth-best single-season average in River history. ... The Pirates' 5.09 goals per game finishes as the school's second-best average (2013 -- 5.73 GPG).
by Skip Snow